SmallBusinessNewz

One - perhaps the only one - nice thing about the housing market crash is that the drop in prices has made homes more affordable.  Foreclosures have also made banks more or less lock up their vaults, though, and so less traditional loan sources may see some new business.

Perhaps you're familiar with Kiva or MicroPlace; both of these sites facilitate loans between comfortable individuals and needy people in third world countries, and they've gotten a fair amount of press for their good deeds.  Other entities do the same sort of thing for less disadvantaged folks.

Maureen Farrell lists Prosper.com, Zopa, Lending Club, and GlobeFunder as sources of person-to-person (or person-to-small-business) loans.  You're not likely to get more than $25,000 at any of these sites, yet the terms of a loan are apt to be better than what anything else would give.

"For example," writes Farrell, "Renaud Laplanche, CEO and founder of Lending Club, estimates that borrowers on his site pay 12% interest rates on average.  Ben Decio, CEO of GlobeFunder, points to a higher range for his company's borrowers: between 18% and 22%.  By contrast, many credit cards charge between 20% and 30%."

Had any luck with an unconventional lender?  Found one line of banks that is particularly accommodating?  Feel free to say so in the comments section, or literally share the wealth with others through Prosper or a competitor.