Are Business Loans Now Easier To Get?

The news regarding business loans has been anything clear over the last several months.  We have been hearing that Government backed business loans would be readily available since the passing of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.  So what is really going on, and what can small business owners expect to find in the marketplace.

The truth seems to be that while SBA restrictions have eased regarding the cost to apply for business loans and the percentage of amounts of the loans they will guarantee has increased, little has been done to help borrowers understand whether or not they will qualify for loans.  Easing restrictions and lessening the risks for lenders to encourage them to lend is just one part of the equation.

The part that really matters is that these same lenders who have easier access to funds are now being held to higher standards with regards to how they distribute the money.  Before 2008, banks would do just about anything to push loans through with little concern for a borrower’s ability to pay back money or if their businesses were credit worthy to begin with.  We have already seen the consequences of such lending practices and the banking industry has recovered nicely due to the bailouts.

But things have changed and banks are now being held responsible for vetting their applicants and pushing through every applicant is simply not happening anymore.  You may not infer this from the headline news stories we see about small business owners being eligible for all types of loan programs designed to jump start the economy, but there is no reason to believe that Government backed money is out there for everyone.  SBA Loans are only for those who are attractive applicants, and while this is exactly how it should be, it does not really help those who have been treading water since 2008 and sacrificing their good business credit in order to do so.

The good news for the economy is that more and more people are looking to borrow money.  This is a key indicator on the state of economic conditions and shows that things are looking up.  On a larger scale, commercial mortgage lenders are reporting an increase in demand for capital and community banks are reporting a rise in requests for small business finacings.  So the overall picture is definitely positive, but for the little guy looking for a break, nontraditional lenders are going to be the best option.

Small business owners have been turning to unsecured business loans from companies like Seed Capital for years.  The availability of such business loans has remained constant through good economic times and bad ones.  Unlike SBA Loans, these particular loans do not come with restrictions regarding the way proceeds are allocating and the fact that they can be used to pay down current debt is particularly appealing to borrowers in the current economic atmosphere.  The application process is much quicker and in the majority of circumstances will be absolutely free.  So for anyone struggling with decisions about borrowing, they should consider these type of business loans as a very viable option.

Credit Card Processing And Durbin's Amendment

In just over a week the Durbin Amendment goes into affect targeting credit card processing fees.  It has been a long time coming but will it provide the relief that it is intended too?  The common belief is yes but if we dig a little deeper, questions will arise.

The whole thing started as a result of the credit crunch which rocked the economy in 2008.  Last year the Dodd-Frank Act was passed which attempted to reel in financial regulations which Wall Street sorely lacked.  This new Amendment focuses on Credit Card processing fees which of late, have become overly burdensome for small business owners.  The fees they must pay to their merchant account providers is dipping into their profits and must ultimately passed on to consumers.

To make a confusing piece of legislation as simple as possible, let us define a generalization for the entire Dodd-Frank Act as it applies to humans.  It was simply a reaction to the credit crunch of 2008 and contains what is considered to be the most drastic attempt at policing financial regulation ever.  Whether it works or not or is simply nothing more than political posturing is yet to be determined but we will only concern ourselves here with the Durbin Amendment to Dodd-Frank.

This Amendment is focused on credit card processing, mainly debit cards and how big banks have been muscling merchants and forcing them to accept less than competitive merchant services because of their sheer size and power.  Currently, big banks are able to impose penalties on merchants for giving customers incentives to pay by cash or using other payment networks to pay for items.

As consumers we often believe the price of something is what we pay for it but it is a little more complicated than that.  Merchants must pay transaction fees to accept credit cards and these fees dip into their profits when accepting a credit card as opposed to cash.  This is why there are always little signs on the register telling us that we must spend a minimum for a merchant to accept credit cards, or sometimes they tell us that it will be a dollar or so surcharge before they swipe our card.  This money does not go to the merchant, but the merchant services provider.

In a lot of cases a merchant has to declare a minimum or even maximum sale to avoid the pitfalls of they may face from their merchant services provider and the Amendment aims to stop this.  Merchants are even penalized for loyalty programs, accepting checks and processing gift cards so this legislation was needed to provide relief for merchants drowning in fees.

The Durbin Amendment clearly states the maximum a merchant services provider can earn on a transaction and for those keeping score it goes like this.  For a debit card transaction highest interchange fee an issuer can charge 21 cents plus a max of 5 basis points multiplied by the amount of the transaction.  This Amendment also focuses on interchange, which simply put, is the fee a merchant's bank has to pay to its customer's bank to pull the money due from the customer's account. 

The intent of the Durbin Amendment is to bring direct relief to merchants but many critics say the banks will resort of other tactics to make up the lost revenues.  We have already seen the disappearance of debit rewards programs for consumers and the days of free checking accounts are all but gone.  An assortment of new fees we have never even heard of will undoubtedly pop up on or about October 1st so while there are major changes around the bend for credit card processing, ultimately we will have to watch the spending behavior of consumers to gauge its success.

Lifestyle Lift is a Neck Lift Without Surgery

My recent post about a neck lift without surgery caused me a lot of grief around Uberazzi so I really need to clarify my position on the neck lift. First, Lifestyle Lift is the name of the surgical we all hear about and the Neckline Lift is the new As Seen On TV neck lift without surgery product I was wanting to make fun of. The only thing was that when I saw the corny Neckline Lifts infomercial I actually liked the product.

It is pretty much my passion to make fun of all the silly things people do in Hollywood for vanity and I planned to jump all this neck lift without surgery fad as it ripped through L.A. but that dumb infomercial made me begin to pay attention to just how much demand there was for Neck Lift Surgery. I knew about the run of the mill face or brow lift and I'm a big proponent of Hair Transplants as long as the expectations are reasonable but I was baffled by the neck lift.

But as I started writing jokes for my post, I began to see the benefit of how simple the Neckline Lifts were and how much pain and money they could save people because I'm not seeing tremendous results from the actual Lifestyle Lifts surgery. In Beverly Hills a neck lift will run you over $8,000 and there is no hiding the fact that you've done it. As with any surgery there is a recovery period and no matter what anyone says, there will be at least minor pain involved.

My theory is that if we could all see what we would look like after the Lifestyle Lift, most of us wouldn't even bother with the procedure. This was my main point. I wasn't knocking cosmetic surgery. I love cosmetic surgery, especially the bad kind. There is nothing better than seeing some lady walking down Rodeo with giant sun glasses and huge duck lips just thinking she's cheated Father Time with her Gold Card and special relationship with Dr Whoever. It's hilarious. But really not necessary.

And here is why. I'm sure there are many cases where the Lifestyle Lift surgery is really the right answer for a patient and the surgeon performing it can really change their lives. But, for most people it is not corrective or life changing. It's a little whim of a surgery that they believe will make them look better. But most of us look fine and and the change will be so very slight we will just think we notice. And, I'm not about surgery for that reason. Well, at least until you've thought it through.

If you can invest $9 in Neckline Lifts instead of $8,000 for Lifestyle Lifts you can figure out what you may look like after a procedure and play around to find your best look. Often times when we go for a consult, the surgeon tells us what we want to look like based on what he can do. We need to have our own understanding of what we want and then find out the surgeon can do. If they say they can't do it, don't get talked into their plan. Either find another opinion or accept that you are not a candidate for the type of procedure you want.

So being who I am professionally, I encourage you all to go out and get bad cosmetic surgery that you can't afford so I can make fun of you. But as a person I would prefer that you got Neckline Lifts and tried a neck lift without surgery before you did anything costly, painful and drastic.

Lifestyle Lift is a Neck Lift Without Surgery

My recent post about a neck lift without surgery caused me a lot of grief around Uberazzi so I really need to clarify my position on the neck lift. First, Lifestyle Lift is the name of the surgical we all hear about and the Neckline Lift is the new As Seen On TV neck lift without surgery product I was wanting to make fun of. The only thing was that when I saw the corny Neckline Lifts infomercial I actually liked the product.

It is pretty much my passion to make fun of all the silly things people do in Hollywood for vanity and I planned to jump all this neck lift without surgery fad as it ripped through L.A. but that dumb infomercial made me begin to pay attention to just how much demand there was for Neck Lift Surgery. I knew about the run of the mill face or brow lift and I'm a big proponent of Hair Transplants as long as the expectations are reasonable but I was baffled by the neck lift.

But as I started writing jokes for my post, I began to see the benefit of how simple the Neckline Lifts were and how much pain and money they could save people because I'm not seeing tremendous results from the actual Lifestyle Lifts surgery. In Beverly Hills a neck lift will run you over $8,000 and there is no hiding the fact that you've done it. As with any surgery there is a recovery period and no matter what anyone says, there will be at least minor pain involved.

My theory is that if we could all see what we would look like after the Lifestyle Lift, most of us wouldn't even bother with the procedure. This was my main point. I wasn't knocking cosmetic surgery. I love cosmetic surgery, especially the bad kind. There is nothing better than seeing some lady walking down Rodeo with giant sun glasses and huge duck lips just thinking she's cheated Father Time with her Gold Card and special relationship with Dr Whoever. It's hilarious. But really not necessary.

And here is why. I'm sure there are many cases where the Lifestyle Lift surgery is really the right answer for a patient and the surgeon performing it can really change their lives. But, for most people it is not corrective or life changing. It's a little whim of a surgery that they believe will make them look better. But most of us look fine and and the change will be so very slight we will just think we notice. And, I'm not about surgery for that reason. Well, at least until you've thought it through.

If you can invest $9 in Neckline Lifts instead of $8,000 for Lifestyle Lifts you can figure out what you may look like after a procedure and play around to find your best look. Often times when we go for a consult, the surgeon tells us what we want to look like based on what he can do. We need to have our own understanding of what we want and then find out the surgeon can do. If they say they can't do it, don't get talked into their plan. Either find another opinion or accept that you are not a candidate for the type of procedure you want.

So being who I am professionally, I encourage you all to go out and get bad cosmetic surgery that you can't afford so I can make fun of you. But as a person I would prefer that you got Neckline Lifts and tried a neck lift without surgery before you did anything costly, painful and drastic.

Perfect Punch MMA Reistance Training System

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Burn Fat and Get Ripped with Perfect Punch!

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Punch Your Way to a Perfect Body!

Perfect Punch training gloves also feature a Form Feedback Strip on them which give you instant feedback so that you can insure you are using perfect technique. In addition, the comfort foam-plus elastic chest strap keeps the band in place on even the hardest punches so that you don't have slow down or break your rhythm. The MMA athletes that Jay Glazer has trained using this program swear by Perfect Punch and say that it is the ultimate way to burn fat and get ripped!

 

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Hard Water Wand As Seen on TV

The Hard Water Wand As Seen on TV by Anthony Sullivan will make stubborn, embarrassing toilet stains disappear like magic!  The secret is the imported volcanic pumice stone that is tough on stains but super gentle on porcelain.  The extended reach comfort handle means you never have to touch the dirty water. Hardwater Wand will remove tough stains like calcium, lime, rust and hardwater.

 

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Dress Up Your Credit To Get A Business Loan

It is fairly common knowledge that excessive inquiries on a credit report will have a negative impact on one’s credit.  But there is a widespread misconception as to why the inquiries are considered negative, especially as it relates to the business loans underwriting process.

The universal belief is that each inquiry causes a small one to two point reduction in the FICO and thus, having a large number of inquiries will result in a significant aggregate point reduction.  Although true to some extent, most times when individuals have their credit accessed frequently in a short period of time, it is as a result of shopping for the best rate for an automobile or home loan.  In these cases, such “same industry pulls” as they relate to the FICO score will only count as one pull.  Several years ago, Congress passed a bill that required the credit bureaus to recognize that just because a consumer was shopping for the best rate on a large ticket item, they should not be penalized for being financially responsible and searching for the best deal possbile.  As such, most debt instruments will not decline an application due to excessive inquiries, however, this is far from the case regarding business loans, especially unsecured business loans.

In the unsecured business loans underwriting process inquiries are examined on two levels: amount and type.

• Amount – The number of inquiries on a potential applicant’s credit report are an important factor in underwriting business loans as it typically demonstrates just how much “shopping” for credit that person has done before submitting the most recent application.  Business loan underwriters detest inquiries because they represent hidden financial landmines.  Each prior inquiry means that the applicant has applied for credit with other lending institutions, therefore, there is simply no way the underwriter can determine which of those inquiries will ultimately become new debt on the applicant’s credit over the next several weeks.  Due to the fact that new accounts typically take 30-60 days to begin reporting, inquiries create an unknown variable in the business loan underwriting process that will cause applications to be declined.

Seed Capital maintains a database of all business loan lenders in the nation and understands what bureau each bank will pull and what each bank’s individual inquiry threshold guideline is before it will decline for excessive credit reviews.  This allows Seed Capital to assist its clients in designing a methodical and surgical business loan application strategies taking into consideration exactly what banks and order in which to apply.  This is one of the key contributors to the 98% successful business loan approval rate for clients that utilize Seed Capital’s business loan application consulting.

• Type – In the business loans underwriting process, just as important as the number of inquiries of a potential applicant are the types of inquiries.  Obviously if an applicant has a large number of car loan or mortgage pulls, that will typically not spook a business loan underwriter as it is a reasonable assumption that the individual was shopping for the best rate and those inquiries most likely will result in a new car or home loan which are considered extremely low risk debt.  However, due to the fact that most initial underwriting is done by a computer application, these digital underwriters will not take into account the type of inquiries, only the sheer number.  Therefore, regardless of the reasons for the inquiries, a computer will decline systematically if a certain threshold is reached.  This is why it is extremely important in understanding how to have the application reviewed by a human business loan underwriter whom can override the computer’s decision should the inquiries be for non-unsecured debt instruments.

On the other hand, once a human underwriter reviews the credit and sees numerous inquiries for unsecured business loans or unsecured credit in general, that will weigh heavily on the underwriting decision for a business loan.  Banks are highly fearful of being the last lender to the party.  The last thing a business loan underwriter wants to do is grant another $20,000 approval when the applicant has already been approved for another $100,000 that is not yet reporting to the applicant’s credit report.  This is why underwriters will systematically decline a business loan application for too many recent inquiries and tell the application to reapply for the business loan in 6 months; the safe time period to allow any new credit to start reporting and to make sure the applicant will not overextend themselves with that new credit.

Inquiries are the very reason you have one shot at designing a systematic business loan application strategy.  All too often we have clients come to us that have tried to apply for business loans on their own without the in-depth knowledge of managing inquiries that Seed Capital offers.  And like clockwork, these clients have racked up numerous inquiries and been declined for a majority of their business loan applications.  At that point all we can do is tell them the same thing the underwriters have been telling them; “try again in 6 months.”  Don’t make the mistake of fooling yourself you can navigate the unbelievably complex world of business loans with the same degree of achievement as Seed Capital with its unparalleled understanding of the business loan underwriting world.  Put your faith in Seed Capital and we will guarantee your business loan results with a 98% success rate.