Getting approved for a business loan is not an easy task. There are many requirements to be met whether you are looking for a starting business loan or a running business loan. There are however, many things you can do to boost your chances of getting approved for a business loan and at the same time obtaining the best loan conditions available.
Understanding the requirements for loan approval and other additional variables that you can alter in order to increase your possibilities of getting approved is essential. Also, the difference between secured and unsecured business loans is not a mere distinction and can determine your ability to obtain finance for your company among other things.
Requirements For Loan Approval
In order to get approved for a business loan you need to show a clean credit report. If you are planning to start a new business, you personal credit score has to be in a good stance. If you need finance for your running business, your company’s credit score will be analyzed. It is always possible to act as a guarantor of your company’s loan and thus your personal credit score will be taken into account as well.
As regards to income, either your budget or your company’s budget need to be able to afford the monthly payments with comfort. This means that the loan payments must not exceed (in most cases) 30% of the overall income of your company or yours if you are starting a business.
Avoiding Delinquencies
The best thing you can do to ensure qualification for a loan is to avoid having delinquencies from being recorded into your credit report. The easiest way is of course to pay everything on time, without missing payments or paying late. However, if that is not possible for any reason, you should not let time go by without taking care of those stains.
You can always negotiate with lenders and them reporting your delinquencies or not can be part of the negotiations. Also, if they have been already recorded you can always make them rectify the situation by offering to pay or negotiate part or your whole debt. In any case, if a stain remains on your credit report the only thing than can erase it is the passing of time.
Providing Collateral
Providing collateral does always reduce the risk of a financial transaction and thus increases your chances of getting approved for a business loan. Basically, collateral implies that the lender will recover his money one way or another and thus, gives him confidence to lend money to an otherwise risky applicant.
There are many things that can be used as collateral of a business loan. You can use business assets or personal assets too. Real estate are the most common assets used to guarantee a loan. However, business loans are more flexible on this matter and can be backed up with the company’s earnings, equipment, non real estate assets like the company’s discoveries, developments, designs, etc. Anything of certain value can be used as collateral for commercial loans and lenders are very used to these kinds of transactions.