Credit information Atlanta

For would-be entrepreneurs who do get financing, unsecured loans are relatively rare.

Even those with good credit may have to crack their retirement nest eggs to come up with enough cash to make a deal work. "The first thing we want to know is, 'How much cash do you have?

Any outside income coming in?' " says Rick Anderson, general manager of Franchise Finance of Little Rock, Ark., a company that originates loans and leases for the franchise industry. Anderson says if borrowers have substantial cash, "we'd recommend credit information Atlanta they put more money into the deal -- maybe 40% to 50%, and we'd finance it conventionally." If they aren't flush, he says, they still may have to contribute at least 20% along with collateral credit information Atlanta -- perhaps just enough from a retirement account to cover the down payment to qualify for an SBA loan.

Brian Colburn, managing director of franchise finance at Butler Capital Corp., credit information Atlanta a commercial lender in Hunt Valley, Md., says that the "only bank loans I see being made to new franchisees are if a person has established other relationships with a banker, or has previous experience, or is a local figure in the marketplace. The average Joe, 99% of the time the bank credit information Atlanta will turn him over to an SBA" office. Indeed, with banks becoming more tight-fisted, the SBA is becoming the place more would-be franchisees are turning to. check credit online free "It's what the SBA was created for, to provide access to capital for small businesses who can't get it through conventional means," says Christine Reilly, head of small-business lending at CIT Group Inc., a New York-based finance company. Reilly, CIT has recently "made some changes" to its underwriting criteria for franchising in order to reduce its risk exposure. The standard SBA loan credit information Atlanta for franchisees is known as the 7(a), which is issued by a bank or other qualified lender, and partly guaranteed against default by the government. Because of that backing, such loans are seen as relatively low-risk. SBA loans include those for short-term working credit information Atlanta capital and equipment, which often have a five- credit information Atlanta to six-year maturity; and real-estate loans, which credit information Atlanta can run for 20 years or more. Despite the current tight-money situation, "we expect to credit information Atlanta have adequate funding to meet demand for credit information Atlanta fiscal '09," says James Hammersley, director of the agency's loan-programs division. free credit re port About 10% of all SBA loans go to franchisees, with the size running between $250,000 and $500,000, although the maximum is $2 million.

Most of that money is earmarked for franchise credit information Atlanta entry fees, improvements or working capital. Even so, the program is feeling a bit of the crunch. Hammersley says about 300 of some 4,000 bank participants around the country credit information Atlanta have reduced their SBA lending activity. He also suspects that many bankers still in it are asking for more collateral. Borrowers must be creditworthy, typically contribute some equity, and are credit information Atlanta expected to repay the SBA loan out of the franchise's cash flow.

"You need to have your own blood, sweat and tears in the business," Mr. While the actual rate is negotiated between the bank and the borrower, it's subject to SBA maximums, which are tied to the prime rate. While a low rate may be attractive initially, if borrowers can't generate enough business to cover their payments, "they could be in a bit of a bind," says Mr. "I get a lot of calls from individuals with SBA loans who want to refinance them," he says.

"They might have gotten in at 8%, and now the rate has gone up to the high 9s or 10s." For at least one big SBA lending participant, Wells Fargo Bank, a unit of Wells Fargo & Co., it's still business as usual. Burke, senior vice president of the bank's SBA lending credit information Atlanta unit. free annual credit report without credit card Nor, he adds, has the bank changed its credit criteria. Last year, Wells Fargo closed 209 SBA loans to franchisees and "year over year we're up," he says. Wells Fargo concentrates on lending to service- and restaurant-industry franchisees -- both first-timers and established multiple-unit operators.

Interest rates are market-driven and credit information Atlanta terms depend on the specific deal, Mr. Another credit information Atlanta government lending program involves the Department of Veterans Affairs. The program, called Patriot Express because of its relatively fast approval time, makes loans up to $500,000 to active-duty military preparing to transition to civilian life, as well as to spouses and survivors of veterans.