Doing the Math

[Guest]

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[Dottie b]

How can 9 lenders fund a $925 loan if the individual loan limit is $25 (as I assume it's been the last few days)?

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=17364

Dottie B

[Diane R]

Dottie, while the loan limit per click is $25, some crafty lenders have discovered that once they're looking at their basket to check out, they can increase the $25 to a larger number on that screen, and checkout having loaned more than the $25 default limit.  Some of them would need to have contributed VERY much larger amounts for 9 to fund a $925 loan, but it's possible.

Another possibility with the loan you cited and others like it is that although it says $925 "Raised so far", that only means lenders have clicked to reserve that much funding.  It's likely not all of them have checked out yet, and until they check out, their pictures/names do not show up in the list below the description.  The only names showing up there (the 9 you counted, now up to 12) are the people who have paid their money for the loan portion they reserved.  Some large fraction of that $925 is likely still sitting in baskets waiting to be paid for.

--Diane.

[Dottie b]

Okay, thanks!

I did try to raise my "limited" $25 to $50 once, but I was charged just the $25. I could have made an error, though. Has anyone actually pulled this off?

Dottie B

[Diane R]

Yes.   

[AccountAbility]

There are 17 lenders on that loan now, so you can re-work the math again. 

I have wondered what happens when you put a loan in your basket and then after putting some other loans there, put that same loan again in your basket.  Does the loan get funded at $50 or does it block the second investment?

I really had no desire under the circumstances to try it, but maybe someone has done that before.

Dan

[Diane R]

It increments by $25 if you are "shopping" and click "Loan" again, yielding a $50 loan in your basket.

[Robert]

And what happens when you pay for your basket, check out, and then want to lend more to that person? I cannot remember ever having seen twice the same lender on a borrower's page, but this situation should occur from time to time. Is it impossible or is the initial amount incremented by the additional loan?

[Diane R]

Um.... I've done that, too.     (But not recently!)  It just increments your original amount, you don't show up twice in the lender list. 

--Diane.

[AccountAbility]

That really is very good to know. 

There are times when we subscribe to a loan and check out.  Then when we peruse the remaining loans we end up thinking the one we just subscribed to is really the best and wished we had put more on that borrower.  But the possibility that we would end up being listed twice on the loan was just enough to not put more funds there.

Dan

[ngungo]

In the same token, is it possible that someone lowers her lending amount to less than $25.00?

[Diane R]

You can lower your lending amount to "zero", in which case the loan is removed from your basket when you check out, but there is no opportunity to change the amount to anything other than a multiple of $25.

--Diane.

[ngungo]

You can lower your lending amount to "zero", in which case the loan is removed from your basket when you check out, but there is no opportunity to change the amount to anything other than a multiple of $25.

--Diane.

Hah! That is very well thought and efficient way. Thanks.