As you may have guessed restaurant loans are taking a serious beating in the current credit crisis. A year ago, and even 6 months ago there were many options. In fact, 30 year fixed programs on restaurant loans where an option, stated income commercial loans where available, borrowers with very low and or no net income could still get decent restaurant loans. Even borrowers with other issues like bad credit could find restaurant loans.Now almost all of these creative options have frozen up and or are simply gone. What’s left are traditional loans. Primarily SBA commercial loans and a few, scattered, and only for very strong borrowers, conventional commercial mortgages. With these types of options, restaurant owners are going to have to start planning for the future and be more conscious of playing the traditional game. In other words, you’ve got to show some income! If you don’t show any income on your tax returns you’re not going to get a loan.If for example you know you have a loan ballooning soon or if you’re in the process of expanding locations you’ve got to tell your CPA now to start showing some income. Yes you might increase the amount of tax you will have to pay but the alternative could be much more expensive.We get calls all the time from borrowers that have had a restaurant loan balloon, and have now simply not been able to secure a new loan. They go to multiple banks and lenders and all say the same thing “you don’t prove that you make any money, sorry”. Their existing lender starts the foreclosure process and the borrower continues to shop with no luck. The existing bank hikes up their rates in an effort to further “motivate” them to find another bank and to cover their risk. It goes on and on and gets uglier for all involved.Bottom line, despite restaurant owners enjoying cash related business; you’re going to have to start playing the game to secure traditional SBA loans and conventional financing. In addition most banks will want to see a debt coverage ratio of a 1.3 on restaurant loans, so you’ll have to show a decent amount of cash flow.
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How Long Will a Loan Modification Take?
There is nothing short of a crisis from which we’re slowly beginning to recover in the United States. The economic problems have been global in nature, but no where are they more evident than in the United States, and nowhere is that more apparent than in business and industry. The smaller businesses are suffering the most, but they are not by any means the only ones to suffer. By many estimates, the United States business person may have lost as much as 25% of their revenue, if not more. This has, of course, led to crisis in the business and in the case of some small to mid-sized businesses, to the inability to pay the mortgage that inevitably comes along with your business. I can’t afford my mortgage is something that no businessperson wants to say. How can I lower my mortgage is foremost on your mind when it comes to keeping your business.The business community as a whole is looking at commercial mortgage modifications in an entirely new light, as something that is viable and often necessary in order to save their business and their income. The commercial loan modification industry does have challenges of their own, not the least of which will be the means to evaluate a property and business. There are no hard and fast rules for the business or commercial loan modification plans as there are for the residential ones.Wide and diverse value differences in the cost and worth of the business make the process dependent upon finding out the precise worth of the business. For example, a huge difference lies between the value of a condo or rental property in Phoenix Arizona and a dry cleaner in upstate New York. Lower my mortgage payments on any commercial property will help the business owner to get a better handle on their payments and their business.The commercial process program can be arranged and arrived at in any number of ways and may include such things as a lowering in the actual rate of the commercial mortgage, as well as fixing the mortgage rate, changing the loan margin, or even changing the rate at which the loan must be repaid. You don’t want to be saying “I can’t afford my mortgage” again and you won’t if you’re careful to select your loan modification carefully.It is often difficult for the business or commercial owner to find a loan company or bank who is willing to offer a refinancing in light of the fact that they may have a balloon payment coming due in a given amount of time. Commercial loan modifications to assist you in keeping your business and give you more working capital in order to improve your business are very possible these days, thankfully.The commercial loan modification programs have been remarkably effective and helpful to literally thousands of commercial loan customers who need and deserve a chance to modify their loans and to keep their businesses alive. The United State government has made accommodations to business owners in order to assist them in attaining a loan modification program.If your business is behind on payments or on the mortgage and you want to keep the business alive and viable and to provide for your own livelihood as we all do, seek out a loan modification program. It is one of the most effective ways to help yourself to get your financial problems in business under control and to move forward to a brighter financial future for your commercial endeavor.