Sometimes they're good and sometimes they're bad. I tend to have most faith the parties with the most interest ( :-) ) in the question - the borrower and the l

Sometimes they're good and sometimes they're bad. I tend to have most faith the parties with the most interest ( :-) ) in the question - the borrower and the lender - are the best ones to manage the risk. 3rd parties will both be lacking in information and have obligations beyond just seeing the loan paid back.