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Do you have money put down? What is your expected LTV?

Our expected LTV is 65-70%. We do not have any money currently down, but will take high rate short or long term with pts paid.

Hard money is generally defined as being secured by real estate containing equity, with this real estate being immediately signed over to the "hard money" lender as security for a specified time of repayment of principal and interest. If you are leasing, as you mentioned, and aren't going to be getting a deed on the commercial property, you will need to utilize your own personal property to secure a hard money loan. If you are looking for cash injection via debt or equity financing, you will have to give up some stock for that. Most hard money lenders will want property that is already under the control of the principals involved and not a "maybe". You may be able to find a local "hard money" lender who knows your local market and can make a deal with the current owner and your operating group for a seamless transaction.

If there are three of you with decent credit history, personal financial statements and industry experience, you may be able to get a loan of your own for the property and/or the business. Banks are much more apt to give a loan with property involved. Maybe the current property owner is willing to carry all or a portion of the loan in exchange for higher interest payments until you can secure additional financing. What happened to the Ford dealer? If they simply shut down, you could approach the original owner about purchasing the business name and with it you get the financials. You may even be able to do this if their franchise was sold and the old name discarded. It's worth a shot and will open a lot of doors quickly even if you end up changing the name down the road. Regardless, you are probably looking at about a 20% cash injection to get anything moving unless you have an angel investor or family members willing to help out.