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Many traditional lenders have unofficially removed bar and restaurant properties from their short list of business loan candidates. Other lenders will restrict their restaurant lending to a handful of restaurant businesses with a long track record. There are two dominant reasons for these actions by traditional lenders:

(1) Bars and restaurants will usually have the highest failure rate among new businesses. Traditional banks have discovered that an infallible strategy for avoiding such business loan failures is to avoid making these kinds of loans in the first place.

(2) Commercial mortgages for bars and restaurants will involve special financing requirements for liquor licenses and items generally categorized as FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment). As a result, there will be a perceived intermingling of various assets looked upon as collateral by the traditional banks, and this extra level of complexity discourages many traditional lenders from actively making commercial real estate loans to bar and restaurant owners.

BUSINESS LOAN SOLUTIONS FOR RESTAURANTS AND BARS

(1) I believe that one of the primary underlying reasons for a high failure rate among bars and restaurants is directly due to the commercial borrower being forced into short-term financing when long-term financing is essential to the health of the business investment. Businesses (and especially restaurant and bar properties) should not be financed with short-term funds. It is essential to obtain long-term commercial financing of at least 15-20 years (and longer is even better).

(2) Seller seconds and other variations of subordinate financing should be considered. This will permit the most aggressive commercial financing for bar and restaurant commercial mortgages, up to 90% of the property value. This is important if you are the buyer because it will provide another financial tool to help with financing. It is important to the seller because it might enable someone to buy the property who could not otherwise do so. Subordinate financing (including seller seconds) is not permitted by many/most traditional banks.

(3) For bar and restaurant loans under $1 million, a Stated Income commercial mortgage should be actively considered. This form of commercial financing will not require income tax returns or other income verification. This especially benefits self-employed bar/restaurant borrowers who frequently have income that is erratic and difficult to document properly. Stated Income commercial real estate loans are not provided by many/most traditional banks.

(4) Finally, restaurants and bars will frequently benefit from using credit card receivables to convert future cash flow into immediate working capital via a business cash advance up to $300,000.

Copyright 2005-2006 AEX Commercial Financing Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Author: Stephen Bush
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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In recent years, businesses needing restaurant loans have been treated as an almost separate, and some may say unequal, category of financing for business loans. Many lenders that understood the special needs of restaurant owners are no longer lending, and other lenders have placed them on a so-called “black list” separate from other small and medium sized businesses because they are considered too risky.

This has left restaurant owners in a real predicament as they fight to regain much of the working capital that they lost in the economic downturn. Even healthy establishments have seen their lines cut due the banking collapse, and this has forced restaurant owners to seek out other sources of financing such as secured equipment loans, commercial mortgages, etc.

However, these types of loans are different and not really catering to the needs of restaurant owners because of the fact that restaurants need a steady infusion of working capital, even when business is slow, to keep deliveries flowing through their back door. Without it, the business will be forced to close, even if traffic is healthy. Because mortgages and secured business loans take a lot of time to process, underwrite, and decision, they have not been able to fill the financing gap that currently exists.

This has left business owners in the unsavory position of having to accept cash advances from their credit card processing company. These high rate, unregulated advances are quick and feature low documentation. However, they often comes with many strings attached such as the requirement to switch processors, buy equipment and pay large upfront fees. Added to this is the fact that the interest rates on these advances can often exceed 50% and may change at any time during the repayment period

Luckily, a better way has entered the market in the form of a new, regulated business loan called credit card receivable financing, that is as quick and easy as a cash advance without all the disturbing requirements such as buying equipment and switching processors. On top of this, the rates are normally 50-80% lower than a merchant cash advance with no upfront fees.

It’s time the restaurant business owners had a real, cost effective option when it comes to obtaining restaurant loans for their establishments. Today’s economy demands creative solutions to the capital intensive needs of business, and this new option that is on the market that fills a gap that major banks and the SBA have left.

Author: Neal Coxworth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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