How can I eliminate my SBA Loan Debt?
Over the years I have found that people of all walks of life were deeply affected by the most recent financial crisis that took place in the United States. However, I have found that a large portion of those people were small business owners. Not only were these small business owners defaulting on their business credit cards but they were also defaulting on their secured loans through the Small Business Association (“SBA”).
SBA loans are loans that are lent through private institutions but that are backed by the Federal government through the SBA. Since these loans are back by the Federal government, SBA loans are
secured loans that list collateral in the loan agreement so that if you were to default, the lender had the right to recover what is owed through the sale of the collateral. However, if what is owed is more than what the collateral can be sold for – you are still liable for the deficiency. This collateral can be your primary residence, your business assets, your car, etc.
With that said, if you have $20,000 or more in SBA loan debt and your business is no longer operational,there is a solution. This solution is called an offer-in-compromise. In order to qualify for a principal balance reduction in your debt, the SBA is going to want to see all of your financials and wants to be convinced of the fact that the offer you are making for payment is the best possible offer you can make based on what your financials support.
Once a financial statement, all requested financial documents and an offer is sent to the lender, both the lender and the SBA must agree to either accept the offer or not. The SBA may provide a counter-offer or they may simply reject your offer. Due to the fact that the SBA and the lender must agree to the settlement, it usually takes some time to actually finalize negotiations.
Do not wait until years after your business closes to start think about negotiating your SBA loan. You want to negotiate when you have the least amount of assets and the most amount of debt. You need an experienced attorney to help you decide if an offer in compromise is a good solution for you.