A small business owner’s quest for bank financing
As any small business owner can tell you getting a loan right now is a challenge. If their business revolves around real estate it’s nearly impossible. Banks are still dealing with the consequences of the real estate melt down and are doing everything in their power to get real estate loans off of their books. Given this reality you can be of high character, possess the capacity to repay, and have a strong capital position, but if your collateral is real estate you are definitely in for a uphill battle. But I’ve never been one to let a challenge stop me. Right now people are uncertain, banks are scared, and property is out of favor. Sounds like the perfect investment opportunity!
Being an experienced real estate investor I have loans with over a half dozen banks in the area, but have been bounced from institution to institution over the past 2 years as financing has dried up. I temporarily found a home at US Bank where I got great rates, and horrible loan to value ratios (something’s better than nothing) but I was recently informed that they were no longer interested in adding more investment loans to there books (I knew that was going to happen).
So now its back to the grind to locate a lender and achieve my goal of financial independence. I will catalog my experiences in finding a lender in hopes that it will make other’s pursuit of financing more efficient and less painful than mine is sure to be.