Business Debt/sba loan

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Expert: - 3/21/2011


Question
Hi Christine,I own a construction business and in 2007 we were very busy,the future looked great and we were making good money.we decided to buy our own building with half the money coming from a loan from our local bank and half from an sba loan.Both loans were secured by the business and personally.In 2009 the economy hit us hard and we could no longer afford the building payment.Our bank tried to work with us on a short sale but it could not be sold for the amount they wanted so they foreclosed on it about 8 months ago,then ended up selling it for about what we owed them. They kept all the procedes and now the sba wants there half,around 500,000 dollars.we tryed to work out a payment plan but they wanted a lump sum.They have just turned this over to the treasury dept.We are still running the business out of a building my father owns but are just making ends meet,but things seem to be picking up and we dont want to lose it all.We have 50,000dollars in a retirement fund we could use and afford around 800 dollars a month to go towards the loan.Our house is worth about what we owe,we dont have many assets,maybe 20,000 personal and 30,000 in the business.what advice would you give us.Thank you so much

Answer
Danny:
Thank you for your question. I regret that your business did not fare well during this tough economy. There are two rules of thumb regarding SBA, on is that if attempting to modify a payment with the SBA, all assets attached or pledged to the loan must be liquidated before they will consider. Second, if you were to attempt an offer in compromise, you must close the business, sell the assets and have cash to make and pay the offer. It is possible to do one or the other in most cases, however those implications must be considered. If you do want to attempt either option I highly recommend you hire a commercial loan/SBA negotiator to do this for you as they can better navigate the pitfalls and package the best possible deal for your company. My company offers this service and we would be pleased to evaluate your situation should you have interest, please visit our site at www.settlesource.com enter, All Experts in the comment and I will do so personally.

I wish you the best, and welcome the opportunity to assist. If you found this answer helpful, please take a moment to provide a positive rating so others may benefit as well.

Respectfully,

Christine Janklow  

Business Debt

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Christine Janklow

Expertise

As President of SettleSource,Inc. a business debt settlement firm, I invite you to inquire about all aspects of business debt solutions to best determine which may be most appropriate. If you have questions such as: What is debt settlement and how process provide debt relief to my business? What options are available to deal with my business debts? Is it possible for a business owner to negotiate their own settlements? Why is debt settlement preferable to filing a bankruptcy or debt consolidation? Why are creditors willing to provide settlements to a business? How will settling debts affect credit scores? or How to rebuild a business after debt is eliminated. Please ask it now! For more information regarding how debt settlement can help your business, please visit www.SettleSource.com and place your inquiry. Mention All Experts to have a confidential no cost consultation with Christine. If this is your business situation time may play a very important factor in getting matters resolved proactively before they have negative affects on the business.

Experience

My expertise is specific to providing business solutions that will have profound positive impacts on the financial health of businesses. I have 25 years experience as an entrepreneur and have developed national sales programs; strategic alliances; product development; marketing programs; business and turnaround plans and debt settlement programs all providing methods to improve the financial outlook for large and small businesses. In the area of commercial debt settlement I have over 10 years experience working with large and medium corporations and closely held businesses to enable successful debt reduction and turnaround. I am a professional debt arbitrator and have negotiated with major banking institutions as well as vendors, suppliers and other trade creditors.

Organizations
Provisors;Turnaround Management Association; Los Angeles area

Publications
Accounting Today; Web CPA; National Restauarant Association;Los Angeles Daily News; Today Magazine Monthly series of business articles entitled "Brand News."

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Business Administration; Associate of Arts Merchandising

Past/Present Clients
American Airlines, American Express, Safeway Inc., New York Life, consumer products manufacturers; retailers, food service industry and other small businesses and service providers.

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