patrick.net

Dont lend any money less you have a contract and have calculated the interest rates necessary for you to get a return on your investment in this home. Also, make sure to get a lean/lene/leen/? on the house should he fail to pay you back.

You may need that 10k in the future. If the positions were reversed, would your friend loan you the money, or would he even have that much to lend?
Would he be willing to sell some of his toys to lend you money? I think you already know the answer to that question.

Didn't take long for this to become political:
Entitlemented says

He sounds like a democrat

and personal:
clambo says

I suggest you connect the friend who “needs” your 10K of cash with those posters here who think it’s a good idea. They all can show the strength of their convictions, and you get to keep your money.

and so many other things. But it's been a few days, just curious what you decided.

VAIN wrote:

If you lend money to him, this is what’s gonna happen:
-You give him the money
-He pays the credit card debt
-He tries to refinance the loan value + $25k in equity.
-He gets rejected
-He has no way to pay you back
-He promises to pay you back
-The relationship gets awkward
-You write off your loss
-He buys a new motorcycle

And BULLETDODGER wrote:

Is it just me or do these numbers seem a bit off/very bad?

AT 65k a year, assuming only a minimal health insurance and no 401k contribution his after taxes take home every month is ~4150. If his monthly payment on his house is 3k, he has
1150 for everything else.

====================
If you lend him the money and truly think that he will pay you back, then you are in denial of the obvious reality that awaits you (so eloquently stated above by VAIN and BULLETDODGER). If you lend your immature friend money, you deserve to lose it. Funny how you (the frugal saver) are bailing out him (the lover of debt).

A friend in need should help, but how much is this need really? If the one who receives the money is living in luxury because of his/her friend's gift (especialy when the friend is frugal) something is wrong.

EBGuy says

Interest was always charged at a rate that was a good deal for both parties.
At this juncture, it may be good to point at that the IRS sets a floor on the minimum interest rate that is charged. Well, you can go lower than that rate, but the you still owe the IRS taxes on phantom income based on the imputed rate. As eHow points out, the one nice part about this law is that it requires you to document the loan with at least some paperwork.

I don't know what you mean by "at this juncture..." Our family loans were always documented with a signed contract. Any loan contracts were added to my parents' trust, so that if any of us adult children had an outstanding loan at the time of their death, the balance would be deducted from that person's inheritance. At my parents' age, all their money is in cash, almost no stocks or other investments. As I'm sure you know, CD rates have sucked for years. Anything my parents can get over CD rates is a win for them. Interest is always between CD rate and lowest credit union rate for a vehicle loan. That's a win for me.

I think he already gave his (former) friend the money and now regrets it.