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Dun & Bradstreet is the primary company used to evaluate business credit and issue a credit score known as Paydex.  There are also other companies that provide similar credit evaluation services to businesses based on their independent databases. 

One of them is Equifax who offers a business scoring credit model knows as Equifax Small Business Enterprise/ Equifax Small Business Credit Risk Score.  Equifax, one of the three major consumer credit rating bureaus, is now providing business credit evaluations for over 22,000,000 small businesses and corporations to detect early signs of trouble by monitoring key customers, suppliers & partners.  Equifax's model is designed for companies that provide goods and services to small businesses. 

The score was created to enhance risk assessment throughout the account lifecycle by predicting the probability of a new or existing small business customer becoming seriously delinquent on supplier accounts, or bankrupt, within a 12 month period.  Credit scores range from 101-816 with a lower score indicating a higher risk for serious delinquency. 

There are also four reason codes which indicate top factors that impact the credit score for a better understanding of risk.  Equifax does provide both consumer and business credit risk models, but there are considerable differences between the two. 

You can get setup with Equifax credit monitoring through our Business Finance Suite. There is a cost for enrolling with them, although you can get free access to your Experian Smart Business data in our Business Finance Suite. 

Contact me today to get access to your very own Business Finance Suite and start getting all the money you need for your business while building an exceptional business credit profile.. 


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More than 10 million homeowners are still deeply underwater on their mortgages, according to a leading housing analytics firm.

In a report released Thursday,RealtyTrac said that 10.7 million U.S. homeowners owe at least 25% or more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, and another 8.3 million are either slightly underwater or just barely above it.

The numbers are improving, however. Deeply underwater homeowners – with a loan-to-value ratio on their properties of at least 125% -- represented 23% of U.S. residential properties with a mortgage in September, according to RealtyTrac. That number is down from 11.3 million deeply underwater homeowners – about 26% of all residential properties – in May. A year ago, there were 12.5 million deeply underwater properties.

“Steadily rising home prices are lifting all boats in this housing market and should spill over into more inventory of homes for sale in the coming months,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Homeowners who already have ample equity are quickly building on that equity, while the 8.3 million homeowners on the fence with little or no equity are on track to regain enough equity to sell before 2015 if home prices continue to increase at the rate of 1.33 percent per month that they have since bottoming out in March 2012.”


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by Ryan Smith | 28 Aug 2013

A former Missouri bank chairman is facing up to a year in federal prison after he admitted to using federal bailout funds to buy a vacation home.

Darryl Layne Woods, 48, pleaded guilty Monday to misleading federal investigators about his use of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to buy a luxury condo in Fort Myers, Fla.

Woods is the former chairman and CFO of Mainstreet Bank in Ashland, Mo., as well as chairman, president, and majority shareholder of Calvert Financial Corporation, the bank holding company for Mainstreet. In November of 2008, Calvert applied for TARP funds and in January 2009 was awarded $1,037,000 through the TARP Capital Purchase Program, according to the Special Inspector General for TARP Christy Romero.

Woods admitted Monday in federal court that within days of receiving the cash, he used $381,000 of the TARP funds to purchase the Fort Myers condo for his own use and the use of other bank executives. When investigators quizzed Calvert on how the money was being spent, Woods failed to disclose the purchase.

“The purpose of TARP is to promote financial stability and lending in a time of national economic crisis, not to bankroll the purchase of luxury vacation properties for bank executives,” Romero said Tuesday.

“At a time when many other Americans were losing their homes, he was siphoning off public funds to buy a luxury vacation condo in Florida,” U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson said. “These federal funds were intended to help stabilize the economy during a fiscal crisis. Instead, this disgraced business leader took advantage of the situation to benefit himself and other bank executives, then lied to federal investigators in an attempt to hide his scheme.”

As part of his plea agreement, Woods must sever his professional ties to the banking industry, and can no longer serve as an officer or employee of any financial institution. He could also face up to a year in federal prison, and be ordered to pay restitution and a fine of up to $100,000.

My 2 cent Commentary:  Now if some Joe Nobody went into the Mainstreet Bank in Ashland, Mo and robbed them of $381,000 and was later apprehended, do you think that, if found guilty, would get UP TO a year in federal prison?  No way!  That poor Joe Nobody would be looking at 7 to 10 years and not in some country club prison.  This seems to be another example of corporate greed in the bank system.  Although not entirely getting away with it, the punishment does not seem to be a adequate.

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 by Ryan Smith | 23 Aug 2013

A major bank and an Ohio mortgage broker are being charged with discriminating against a couple with disabilities, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD announced Thursday that it was charging Fifth Third Bank and the Clinton Township, Ohio-based Cranbrook Mortgage Corporation with discrimination against a couple who were trying to refinance their home. HUD alleges that the bank and the mortgage firm required unnecessary medical documentation when the couple applied for a Federal Housing Administration loan.

According to a Thursday news release, a couple who received Social Security disability benefits filed a claim that their loan application had been wrongly denied. HUD alleges that both Fifth Third and Cranbrook required the couple to provide physician’s statements as proof of their Social Security income. According to HUD, at the time the couple applied for the loan, “Fifth Third’s underwriting policy explicitly specified a physician’s statement as appropriate evidence for establishing continuance of disability income.” The couple refused to provide the statements and was denied the loan.

According to the Fair Housing Act, lenders may verify the amount and source of an applicant’s income, but can’t place higher standards of proof or qualification on those who receive disability benefits.

“Persons with disabilities should not have to meet higher mortgage qualification standards because they rely on disability insurance payments as a source of income,” said Bryan Greene, HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.  “Banks and mortgage companies may verify income and have eligibility standards, but they may not single out homebuyers with disabilities or deny financing when they are otherwise qualified.”

The charge will be heard by a U.S. administrative law judge, provided no party in the case requests a hearing in federal district court, according to HUD. If an administrative law judge finds that discrimination has occurred, he or she may award damages and order other relief, including injunctive relief and payment of attorneys’ fees.  If the case goes before a federal court, punitive damages may also be awarded.

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The FHA has made it drastically easier for once-struggling homeowners to qualify for an FHA loan.

The Federal Housing Administration has announced in a letter to mortgagees that it will reduce the time homebuyers must wait after a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale before qualifying for an FHA-backed mortgage. The period had previously been two years following a bankruptcy, and three years following a foreclosure or short sale. The agency has now reduced the waiting period to one year.

"FHA recognizes the hardships faced by these borrowers, and realizes that their credit histories may not fully reflect their true ability or propensity to repay a mortgage," FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said in the letter.

But fulfilling the new, more lenient waiting period won't automatically qualify borrowers for an FHA-backed loan. Borrowers will have to show that they experienced an "economic event" whereby their household income fell by 20% or more for a period of at least six months. They must also demonstrate that they have fully recovered from the event, and agree to complete housing counseling prior to closing.



 by Adam Smith | 19 Aug 2013

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There’s nearly $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt, and more than $1 trillion of it is from federal student loans, the federal government says.  Those federal student loans come with more repayment options than private ones, but most students aren’t taking advantage of them. Why not? They may not know how, Bloomberg Businessweek suggests.

Two-thirds of Federal Direct Loan Program borrowers are on a normal, 10-year repayment plan. The rest are on different kinds of plans, with about two-thirds of this group using options that make loans cheaper in the short term but more expensive in the long term, Businessweek says. That’s either through increasing the term of the loan or by using a gradually increasing payment schedule.

That leaves just three out of 10 who are using an income-based repayment plan, which not only ties payment amounts to monthly income but also forgives the balance remaining after 10, 20 or 25 years, depending on the program. They are:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Full-time employees in some public service jobs, such as teachers, can have their remaining debt forgiven after 10 years of on-time, income-based payments.

Pay As You Earn. This income-based repayment plan debuted in December 2012 and is available only for those who received a loan disbursement more recently than September 2011. Eligible balances are forgiven after 20 years.

Standard income-based repayment allows forgiveness after 25 years.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each option, but you have to know about them to even consider switching to income-based repayment. The problem is, “publicizing the programs is largely up to the loan servicers that collect monthly payments and are supposed to work with borrowers in trouble,” Businessweek says. They don’t always do a good job of it.

The application process was streamlined this summer, the White House says, and the U.S. Department of Education is pushing borrowers to educate students about their repayment options before they leave school.

Do you know someone who would benefit from one of these programs?

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Get approved for up to one-hundred and fifty thousand dollars  in funding for your business with our business revenue financing program.

Our Unsecured business revenue financing is perfect for a business that has consistent revenue that is verifiable through business bank statements.   You do not need good credit to be approved.  Nor do you need to have any collateral to qualify.  If your business has steady
revenue, you might qualify right now.  Approval amounts range from fifty-thousand dollars to  one-hundred and fifty thousand dollars and are based on the amount of annual revenue your business has now. You can typically be approved for revenue financing for as much as 4-8% of your total annual income.   Most payback terms range from 3-18 months, and your interest rate and payments are fixed, helping insure your payments are predictable from month to month.  You can also renew your loan and secure even more money once your initial loan is paid down by 45%.

Business revenue financing is much easier to qualify for than conventional loans. You can easily be approved if your business has been open for more than one year and if your
business earns over $150,000 in annual revenue.  Our business revenue financing program is much more affordable than high risk merchant advances. And unlike merchant advances, with our revenue financing you will not need to switch your merchant accounts.  And the interest you pay is 100% tax deductible.  This makes it even more affordable for you to access the money you want and need to grow your business. 

You can qualify for our business revenue financing program even if you have challenged personal credit now.  Unlike SBA loans which require a 620 credit score to qualify, with
revenue financing you can be approved with a FICO credit score as low as 500.

Business revenue financing is a perfect way for you to obtain business financing quickly and with little hassles, even if you have challenged personal credit now. 
Published on
 by Adam
Smith | 29 Jul 2013

A bankrupt former mortgage giant will have to pay $230m to borrowers in an enforcement action by the Fed.

The Federal Reserve Board on Friday amended an enforcement action from earlier this year, announcing that it will require GMAC Mortgage, which entered bankruptcy last year, to make approximately $230m in cash payments to mortgage borrowers.  The Federal Reserve said the enforcement action was due to "deficient practices in mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing".

The amendment will see payouts to more than 232,000 borrowers whose homes were in any stage of foreclosure in 2009 and 2010 with GMAC. As a result of the amendment, which was approved by the bankruptcy court overseeing bankruptcy
proceedings involving GMAC, independent foreclosure reviews on GMAC borrowers will be halted.

The Federal Reserve Board said accepting a payment will not preclude borrowers from taking action related to their foreclosures, noting that servicers are not permitted to ask borrowers to sign a waiver of any legal claims they may have
against a servicer.

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If you are looking for money for your business than you will be happy to know you only need one "C" to qualify.

In lending when we look to see if a client is fundable we are looking for one of the 4 "C"s. You don't have to have all of the 4 Cs, only 1 to secure funding.

The first C is Cash Flow. When you have an existing business with good cash flow you can qualify for business funding.

If you do have verifiable cash flow this substantial increases your chances of being approved for funding.There are
many funding programs you might qualify for including Business Revenue Lending.

If you don't have cash flow your business still might have Collateral, the second  C. Collateral for your business is really your business assets. Many things can be used as collateral including equipment, purchase orders, even account receivables.  Having Collateral greatly increases your chances of being approved.

If you don't have cash flow or collateral, don't worry you still can qualify for business funding.  Lenders also look at your business Credit to qualify you.Business Credit is our third C.  Lenders will lend you money with no personal guarantee based on your business credit profile and score. If you have a good business credit profile you can use that as security to obtain funding.

If you don't have business credit built now, call me so I can help you quickly build an excellent business credit score and profile.  Maybe you are just starting a new business, and you have no business  credit, cash flow, or collateral. In this case you can still qualify for funding. But lenders will use your personal Credit to qualify you.

Personal Credit is the fourth and final C that lenders will look at to approve you for funding. You can secure credit lines, through me, up to $250,000 with as low as a 650 credit score.

These types of unsecured credit lines do not look at revenue or financials. Your credit is all that is used to qualify you for funding.  If you don't have good credit, call me. I can also help you insure you have an excellent personal credit profile to secure funding.

All you need is 1 of the 4 "C"s to qualify. Contact me and I will help you secure money for your business. 

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If you are a business owner - even if your credit is flawed and you own no commercial real estate - you can borrow between $25,000 and $150,000 based solely on your signature!  Some of the uses can be to bolster liquidity, to pay for third party costs - like appraisals, inventory, environmental reports, - or for any other business need.

Using this program, you can get as a business owner money within just three to five business days without any collateral.  There are no up-front fees to get this loan.

There is no requirement to own commercial real estate either.  Your borrower could just be renting commercial space. 

There are no mortgage or UCC costs or liens.   It is strictly a signature loan.   Credit can be as
low as a 500 FICO to qualify.

The key issue with this program is that the borrower must own a business.  He can borrow up to 10% of his annual sales / revenue.

A buddy of mine used this program to get his client a quick $50,000 when his client's credit deteriorated so badly that his SBA loan was turned down.

This program was also used recently to raise the money for third party reports.  In this case, the borrower owned commercial real estate, and he was trying to borrow almost $500,000
secured by his industrial building.  The problem was that the borrower's cash flow was so overstretched at the moment that the borrower couldn't come up with the $6,000 he needed for the appraisal and toxic report.  This borrower was able to use this quick, unsecured commercial loan program to borrow the money necessary to eventually obtain a $500,000 commercial real estate
 loan!

The paperwork requirements are pretty easy too - just a 1003 loan application, a credit report, 12 month's worth of bank statements for the company, and last year's company tax returns.  As I mentioned earlier, there are no application fees, and your client will have an answer within just 3 to 5 days.

A word of caution!  The money is expensive, but if you as an owner - borrower desperately needs the dough, this program can be a lifesaver.

Got a potential deal?  Please send me an email at
dan@trevanaproperties.com with your contact information and a brief description of the deal.  In the subject line, please type, "Dan's Special Unsecured Business Loan." 
Thanks!

 

Dan Garcia

Trevana Properties is a placement company working with a variety of hedge funds, REIT's, commercial banks, specialty boutique lenders, private investors and other funding sources not widely known to the general public.