joshgolob,

Peer-to-peer lending practices are new and evolving rapidly, so you will want to check with the lender you are considering borrowing from to confirm just how they will or will not report your activities to credit reporting agencies.

The largest, Prosper.com, current claims at http://www.prosper.com/help/topics/start-faq.aspx that they report all activity. I could not find clarification on exactly what format this reporting takes.

Do keep in mind that most lenders are quite strict about not allowing borrowed funds for the down payment. They will often demand an accounting of where that money came from in order to enforce prohibitions against this practice.

Hi there. The good folks at FiLife asked me to chime in since there's a credit score question in here somewhere. ;)

If P2P lenders report your personal loans to the credit bureaus then they will, in fact, have an impact to your credit scores. I know that Prosper checks your credit when you apply so the inquiry can also hurt.

Having said that, it's not a bad thing if they're reported. You want EVERYONE to know about your solid credit management practices.