ForumsLegal and Insurance

You wrote, "I applied for an SBA patriot express loan . . . but was turned down without any explanation."

Banks made over a billion dollars in SBA-guaranteed loans to veterans last year (average loan was $101,000). When all the forms for that program are completed and the package is submitted to a lender, about the only reasons they seem to turn it down are when the applicant isn't eligible for the program or isn't creditworthy. If neither of those are the case here (and it doesn't sound like it), I think I'd want an explanation -- I'd encourage you to look into that, or perhaps take the package to a different lender.

The idea that banks are giving a veteran and a streamlined loan product with an enhanced guaranteed the "cold shoulder" doesn't seem quite right. I'd like to believe that a federal program specifically designed to assist service-disabled and active duty transition veterans would be a more probable source for $100K than would strangers on the web. Either way (guaranteed loan or funding from strangers) I hope something comes through for you quickly. Best wishes.

I'd like to add a thought on the comment that banks "don't care if you served your country or not" and "don't like SBA loans of any type."

I'm a veteran of the Viet Nam era, and while I felt that there was a lot of that "attitude" around back in my day, things seem different now. Banks are skating on thinner ice with the general public, whereas veterans (especially veterans who've made life-changing sacrifices to defend our nation) are generally appreciated in most parts of the country. That would seem to provide some potential "leverage."

Like anyone else looking to start-up or expand an enterprise, an American armed services veteran has to able to present a solid business plan and be creditworthy (i.e., as noted above, be willing and able to repay the loan). If those elements are present, however, and a bank is still turning up its nose at making a guaranteed loan to a qualified veteran under a program that's specifically designed to require less effort on their part (not more) and provide them with greater security in their portfolio -- then that's a real story, and I'd be inclined to tell it to my elected representatives, the Military Times, local newspapers and television stations . . . that is, provided my business plan and credit were absolutely rock solid. Under those conditions, funding would soon come, I believe.

On the other hand, if my business plan and credit were not absolutely rock solid, then that's what I'd work on first. Just as a new recruit (fresh off the street) isn't ready to go into combat, a borrower with business planning issues or credit problems isn't ready to go into a bank and request a loan yet. As recruits, we had to complete basic training and give up everything else in life for a period of time, in order to be prepared for the real mission that followed. That same type of "boot camp" existence may be necessary to solidify a business plan or repair one's credit -- we can't shortcut that part and go into the bank (or try to use "leverage") until we are fully "mission ready."

Note: This is not meant to reflect a conclusion about anyone's business or financial situation who may be reading/participating in this thread.

I have some ideas that may be beneficial to you. My email address is contained in my profile. Please email me so we can exchange thoughts.

P.S. I to am a veteran