Archive for February, 2010
Many small business owners have been disappointed when their applications for small business loans were disapproved by banks under the Small Business Administration’s program for America’s Recovery Capital. According to an article written by Robb Mandelbaum in the August 12, 2009 edition of The New York Times Online, “the program is off to a slow start.” It seems that most banks are reluctant to approve applications for small business loans.
Mandelbaum reports that the Small Business Administration’s program has $255 million to give away, enough to give small businesses 10,000 loans reaching as much as $35,000 each. However, two months after the program was launched, there have only been 1,127 small business loans released, with a total of $36.8 million.
Sources are saying that banks are not very keen on participating in the Small Business Administration’s program because giving the small business loans would not be very profitable for them. Paul Merski,.chief economist of the trade association Independent Community Bankers of America, said, “There’s not a lot of profit motive in a $35,000 loan stretched over six years.” Bob Seiwert from the Center for Commercial Lending and Business Banking at the American Bankers Association reveals that, because of strict underwriting standards, servicing the small business loans becomes even more expensive.
The banks have also found more ways to restrict the approval of small business loans with the Congressional restrictions on loan eligibility. According to Congress, in order to qualify for the Small Business Administration loans, small businesses need to be both struggling and viable. That means the business should have had an “immediate financial hardship” such as a 20 percent decrease in revenue. However, the business must also be at least two years old with proof of positive cash flow in one of the previous two years. It should also submit a two year cash-flow projection proving that it will be able to afford loan payments.
Because of the Congressional restrictions, banks are more likely to approve small business loans from their existing clients. Merski said, “From a financial perspective, it really is a loan that makes sense for an existing customer. You’re not going to have to put out a lot of resources to do a very costly underwriting. You know the business.”
Those who are working in support of small businesses are very much disillusioned. An example is Alex Cooper who is a counselor at the Pima Community College Small Business Development Center in Tucson. He said he had assisted almost 30 small business owners with their loan applications but none of them had been approved. “It’s a disappointment. I thought the banks would be more interested in the community and try to help small businesses,” he said.
When the applications for small business loans are disapproved by banks under the Small Business Administration’s program for America’s Recovery Capital, small business owners still have another option. They can get the equivalent of small business loans from their credit card services.
Credit card services provide their clients with the ability to accept payments through credit cards or debit cards in person, online or through the phone. Clients who have established a certain minimum in average monthly credit card sales are qualified to apply for cash advances that are like small business loans. Payments are automatically deducted from future credit card sales.
If you are a small business owner, you do not have to go through the hassles of applying for small business loans with banks who are reluctant to participate in the Small Business Administration program. Get your trouble free small business loans from your credit card services instead.
By admin in
Student Loans
Feb
26
Every person who has ever done a search on the internet for student loan debt consolidation has found that there are unbelievable numbers of websites that claims that their company is the one that can help you consolidate your debt into one low monthly payment. But no matter how many times you read that line on website after website, you don’t feel the trust that you need to continue. This is because these companies often avoid explaining themselves to you, and you need to understand exactly what it is that is going on to avoid the scams that are undoubtedly out there as well.
Now let us set a picture to help you understand. You are a student who is about to graduate. You have tons of credit card bills, student loans, and medical bills. Though you are able to make the minimum payments on most of your monthly bills, you are starting to fall behind on other. This then give you late fees to pay along with everything else, unless you are lucky, and now you have decided to look towards student loan consolidation, as well as other debt consolidation plans.
Next, let us focus on your student loans. For student loan consolidations you want to split your loans into two groups. First one for your federal student loans and then another one for your private student loans. You must avoid combining these student loans at all cost. The reason is that you get certain benefits from federal student loans that you can get in federal student loan consolidation only if there are no private student loans mixed in. These include tax breaks on the interest rate and pardons on certain federal student loans. For those reasons you will want to avoid private student loans as much as possible in the first place.
Next we will focus on debt consolidations in general, including the student loan consolidation. For loan consolidations in general, a settlement plan will be made to your loaners that will help to decrease how much you owe. Like you would with the different types of student loan debt consolidation, you should keep different types of debt separate from each other. This means group secured with secured, and unsecured with unsecured.
When you are looking to consolidate your debt, with student loans debt consolidation included, you want to take a look at the interest rates available. If you have different set interest rates for your different loans, then your interest rate for your consolidated loan should be set somewhere in between the highest and lowest. This is decided by multiplying each of the loans by the corresponding interest rates, and adding all the values together (this total will be X), then adding all of the original loan values together (this total will be Y). You then divide the first answer by the second one, which would be X/Y.
Student loan consolidations for students and other loan consolidations for anybody who is in need is a good thing for most people, especially those who do their research, and then pick their plan.
By admin in
Personal Finance
Feb
26
Redundancy can happen at anytime but you can protect against the unknown and the fact that it might happen to you. Income protection insurance would allow you to take out a policy for a fixed premium each month depending on how much you want to protect and your age.
This form of protection insurance should not be confused with income payment protection insurance. Income payment protection insurance would provide you with a replacement income if you were made redundant or were unable to work after suffering an illness or an accident. It would provide you with an income from between 30 and 90 days depending on the provider which would last for between 12 and 24 months.
Income protection insurance would not payout if you were to become unemployed by redundancy. It would cover you in case you should fall ill or if you had an accident that meant you were unable to work. Another big difference between the two policies is that it would provide long term protection, up to the age of retirement if needed. This means that if you fall ill or suffer an accident the cover would begin to provide you with a replacement income and continue to do so right up to you retiring if you could not go back to work.
Many providers who offer this type of insurance also offer premium rate. This means that you are able to take out premiums that remain fixed the whole time you are paying for the policy. The actual premium you will be asked to pay will depend largely on your circumstances. Your age might play a factor in the rate for the premium however other factors will also be taken into account and play a big part. Your gender, medical history and occupation will be taken into account and if your job puts you at a bigger risk then the premium will be higher. Another big difference between the two types of insurance protection policies is the deferment period. In the case of this policy it is considerably longer.
Covering your income against a loss is essential whichever form of protection insurance you wish to take out. You would be able to continue meeting your essential outgoings and of course one of the most important is your mortgage. If you get behind on your mortgage then you are risking losing your home, as the lender can choose to start repossession proceedings. Just one missed repayment is enough to have the lender send you a letter and wanting to know when you are going to catch up on the arrears. If you do not know when you are able to go back to work you would not be able to make any arrangement to repay.
Of course you would also be able to continue to pay all your other essential outgoings such as loan, credit card repayments and also other bills that have to go out each month. Both income protection insurance and income payment protection are both valuable forms of cover which can save you additional stress and anxiety.
Financing a small business can be a difficult job if no one is willing to spend money on what you’re selling. But in order to stay afloat, business owners go for the option of applying for small business loans. A business loan can give you more leeway to buy new supplies, pay off debts, or expand your business.
However, more banks nowadays are enforcing stricter rules and guidelines for giving out business loans. Policies on approval of small business loans are now less lenient and some banks have even demanded additional requirements.
A bad credit history is one important criterion for the approval of a business loan. Like every other bank or lending institution, risk factors have to be taken into consideration before they hand you their money. The credit card services you have availed and how you paid these services are very important information for these companies because it will be their basis on the approval (or disapproval) of your request, and the rate of interest they can give you. You need at least 700 points to securely get approved.
Fortunately, there is now an easier way to get a small business loan without the fear of your own credit card history. Getting a business cash advance is a faster and less stressful option for a business loan. A business cash advance is a lending service offered to business owners who accept credit cards as payment for their goods or services. This alternative form of business loan has a shorter processing time and has lesser requirements than a bank loan. This type of small business loan is quite perfect for those emergency situations where you need a large sum of money, fast. Approval of a business cash advance usually only takes 24 to 72 hours, depending on the company. Upon approval, the money is automatically transferred to your personal account. This fast-paced business loan is usually applied for online, which is very convenient.
The requirements are quite similar to those of most lending institutions, but your credit history would not be put under strict reviews. In fact, unlike business loans from the bank, bad credit history is not that big of a deal for cash advance providers. You only need to be of legal age, have a registered business in the US, have a small business that subscribes to credit card services for payment, and have been in business for at least a year.
The payment terms for a business cash advance are, of course, different from that of a business loan from the bank. But in general, the payment terms for this lending service will greatly depend on the amount of money you will be borrowing. The higher the amount, the longer time you’ll have to pay it off. But note that interests tend to be a bit higher for this type of business loan. For banks and other big lenders, payment terms for business loans can be paid off in longer terms, usually, over a year or more. Small business loans payment in banks usually does not exceed five years.
Payment for this type of business loan can be done in one single drop or monthly. It all depends on your capability to pay, and the amount of money you borrowed. The payment terms will usually require you to pay the cash advance company each month and you will get the payment structure with the amount that they expect you to pay every month. If you can afford to pay it off all at once, the better.
Get this special small business loan now.
It is not easy for small businesses to get small business loans. Banks and other lenders require them to go through strict and complicated financial procedures with stringent requirements for qualification. After everything, credit approval is not even guaranteed.
Even the financing for loans supported by the Small Business Administration (SBA) cannot meet the needs of the majority of small businesses. Although the amount of credit available for small businesses has reportedly been increased by 25% since March this year, it is not that easy to avail of the said small business loans.
Small businesses seeking small business loans should know how to prepare the right kind of business plans that banks are looking for. To justify the loan, they should be able to show the banks in detail how they intend to use the money in business and how viable their plan is. Experts say lenders have specific points which they scrutinize applications for and applicants should know these points and tailor their submitted business plans accordingly.
It is also said that loan applicants should first establish a strong relationship with the lending bank in order to increase the possibility of having a loan approved. Banks supposedly give more small business loans to businesses they have already known and trusted long term. Since small businesses are usually new businesses, this is quite difficult to do and it cannot be done in a hurry. How can a new small business with financial needs establish a good long term relationship with a bank in time to meet its current needs?
Another requirement of lending institutions from small businesses applying for small business loans is a good credit history score. A small business should first be deemed credit worthy by the bank before it can even be considered for loan approval. Again, small businesses that are stll young are at an immediate disadvantage here. How can they establish credit worthiness in time?
The US Congress has also placed Congressional restrictions on eligibility for the Small Business Administration loans. Small businesses first have to prove that they are at least two years old and are both struggling and viable at the same time. They should present proof that they have had a positive cash flow in one of those previous two years in business. They should, however, be currently struggling with “immediate financial hardship” with a decrease in income that should not be less than 20 percent. At the same time, they should submit their projections for cash flow for the next two years, proving that they will be able to meet loan payments.
A faster way to get small business loans would be through credit card services.
Any small business should have credit card services. Credit card services enable a company to accept customer payments for goods and services via credit cards or debit cards, whether over the counter in brick and mortar settings, through the phone or online. Credit card services provide the hardware and software for this.
Being able to accept payments through credit cards or debit cards can greatly enhance a small business’ income earning potentials. In addition to that, credit card services can provide the equivalent of small business loans with no need for any collateral. The amount of the small business loans are computed based on the average monthly income of the small business from credit card payments. The small business loans are then amortized through automatic monthly deductions of a certain percentage from the small business’ future credit card revenue. This means small businesses can almost automatically qualify for small business loans through credit card services, and will surely be able to pay such small business loans. Is there a faster way than this?