Your Best Path to SBA Debt Relief: OIC vs. Negotiated Workout

When facing the default of an SBA loan, business owners often feel a profound sense of pressure and uncertainty. Understanding your options is the first step toward reclaiming financial stability and securing lasting business debt relief. For many, the path forward involves either an SBA Offer in Compromise (OIC) or a structured loan workout. As experienced SBA loan attorney professionals, we help you carefully evaluate your situation to choose the strategy that offers the best outcome for your specific SBA debt challenge.

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When facing the default of an SBA loan, business owners often feel a profound sense of pressure and uncertainty. Understanding your options is the first step toward reclaiming financial stability and securing lasting business debt relief. For many, the path forward involves either an SBA Offer in Compromise (OIC) or a structured loan workout. As experienced SBA loan attorney professionals, we help you carefully evaluate your situation to choose the strategy that offers the best outcome for your specific SBA debt challenge.

What is an SBA Offer in Compromise (OIC)?

An OIC is a formal settlement proposal where we ask the SBA to accept a reduced, lump-sum payment to satisfy the full debt. We typically use this option when the business has closed and the personal guarantor lacks the financial ability to repay the full amount. Our firm thoroughly prepares the complex financial package required to demonstrate a genuine inability to pay and maximize the potential debt reduction.

The Power of a Structured SBA Loan Workout

A negotiated loan workout is designed to make the existing SBA debt manageable for an ongoing business. This involves modifying the loan's terms, such as extending the maturity date, lowering the interest rate, or temporarily deferring payments. We often pursue this option for viable businesses that simply need breathing room due to temporary hardship. This preserves the business while providing crucial business debt relief.

The Attorney’s Role in Protecting Personal Guarantees

Nearly all SBA loans require a personal guarantee, making the debt a personal financial risk after a default. Our primary role as your SBA loan attorney is to minimize this personal liability, whether through an OIC or a workout. We provide comprehensive protection by defending against aggressive collection actions, including Treasury offsets, ensuring your family’s assets are safeguarded while resolving your SBA debt.

Choosing the Right Strategy for Your Financial Future

Selecting between an OIC and a workout is a case-by-case decision requiring deep knowledge of SBA regulations. An OIC may offer the highest percentage of business debt relief but requires a stringent financial disclosure and business closure. A workout focuses on business continuity. Our expertise lies in analyzing your unique circumstances to determine the most effective and aggressive legal path forward.

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If you are struggling with overwhelming SBA debt and need expert guidance, the time to act is now. At Protect Law Group, we have a proven track record of securing favorable outcomes for business owners nationwide. We specialize in navigating the complexities of the SBA and Treasury collection processes to achieve the debt resolution you deserve. Contact us today for a consultation to explore how our SBA loan attorney team can bring you peace of mind and genuine financial freedom.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Your Best Path to SBA Debt Relief: OIC vs. Negotiated Workout

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$220,000 SBA 7A LOAN -DOT WAIVER OF ADMINISTRATIVE FEES & COSTS

Clients personally guaranteed an SBA 7(a) loan that was referred to the Department of Treasury for collection. Treasury claimed our clients owed over $220,000 once it added its statutory collection fees and interest. We were able to negotiate a significant reduction of the total claimed amount from $220,000 to $119,000, saving the clients over $100,000 by arguing for a waiver of the statutory 28%-30% administrative fees and costs.

$680,000 SBA COVID-EIDL LOAN - SBA OHA LITIGATION

Small business sole proprietor obtained an SBA COVID-EIDL loan for $500,000. Client defaulted causing SBA to charge-off the loan, accelerate the balance and refer the debt to Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service for aggressive collection. Treasury added $180,000 in collection fees totaling $680,000+. Client tried to negotiate with Treasury but was only offered a 3-year or 10-year repayment plan. Client hired the Firm to represent before the SBA, Treasury and a Private Collection Agency. After securing government records through discovery and reviewing them, we filed an Appeals Petition with the SBA Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) court challenging the SBA's referral of the debt to Treasury citing a host of purported violations. The Firm was able to negotiate a reinstatement and recall of the loan back to the SBA, participation in the Hardship Accommodation Plan, termination of Treasury's enforced collection and removal of the statutory collection fees.

$50,000 SBA 7A LOAN - RESPONSE TO SBA OFFICIAL 60-DAY NOTICE

Client received the SBA's Official 60-Day Notice for a loan that was obtained by her small business in 2001. The SBA loan went into default in 2004 but after hearing nothing from the SBA lender or the SBA for 20 years, out of the blue, she received the SBA's collection due process notice which provided her with only one of four options: (1) repay the entire accelerated balance immediately; (2) negotiate a repayment arrangement; (3) challenge the legal enforceability of the debt with evidence; or (4) request an OHA hearing before a U.S. Administrative Law Judge.

Client hired the Firm to represent her with only 13 days left before the expiration deadline to respond to the SBA's Official 60-Day Notice. The Firm attorneys immediately researched the SBA's Official loan database to obtain information regarding the 7(a) loan. Thereafter, the Firm attorneys conducted legal research and asserted certain affirmative defenses challenging the legal enforceability of the debt. A written response was timely filed to the 60-Day Notice with the SBA subsequently agreeing with the client's affirmative defenses and legal arguments. As a result, the SBA rendered a decision immediately terminating collection of the debt against the client's alleged personal guarantee liability saving her $50,000.