Finance Roll

This is the number one question that I am being asked every day. When will they return, and start to lend money again, when will credit be freed up, when will it trickle down to us again?

I have no idea! But the important point is that everyone I talk to is waiting for that magic event to happen, Free up Credit. Credit may never be freed up again the way we have seen it over the last couple of years. If you were breathing you could get a loan.

I am here to share that there are certain boutique lenders that are still doing business opportunity loans for QUALIFIED borrowers. The best advice at this point I can share with you is stick to the 5C's +E , pre-qualify everyone and when you have a strong borrower Don't Give Up, there are lenders out there that still want good deals.

Loan packaging and presenting of the loan has never been more important than it is now. Deal with a qualified loan developer/packager and you will get your deal done, if it makes economic sense to the lender as well as to yourself. Lenders still have their prohibitive lists so stay away from those areas that most lenders do not like, ie Start-ups, Restaurants, Rolling Stock based companies.

If you are thinking about purchasing a business and are going to be looking for Gov't Assisted Financing programs like the SBA, then buy a business that is manufacturing rather than service oriented. With manufacturing there is more collateral and usually less goodwill.

Banks do not like to finance goodwill, they consider it pie in the sky, and they want the seller to carry the value of the goodwill.