Can you compromise on economic injury disaster loans? Click here to find out what you need to know about EIDL loans and your options.
Book a Consultation CallBig corporations make the news, but small businesses are the backbone of this country. Consider that 99.9% of businesses in the U.S. are small businesses and 45% of the country’s economic activity has connections to those businesses. Despite these high percentages, 45% of small businesses fail within their first five years, and only 25% last beyond 15 years.
The reason most businesses fail is cash flow and problems with financial management. Having working capital and the ability to cover day-to-day expenses can come to a halt during or after any type of disaster.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) are often made to private nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and agricultural cooperatives conducting business in declared disaster areas. Many businesses submitted Covid 19 economic injury disaster loan applications due to the economic impact of the pandemic.
Now your business EIDL loan is due and you do not have the funds to meet your obligation. What happens now? Can you submit an offer in compromise on an EIDL loan?
We are going to answer these and other questions so you know how to reduce your risk of default.
The SBA economic injury disaster loan is federal assistance. The funds provide the financial assistance necessary for a business to repair and rebuild following a declared disaster. For Covid related EIDL loans, the business does not have to have physical damage to qualify, they must have an economic injury.
Loans amounts go up to a maximum of $2 million. To qualify for a loan the business must be in either a county where there is a declaration of disaster r in a contiguous county.
If you repeatedly miss payments and are not able to negotiate a restructuring of your loan, the loan will be considered in default. This has a significant impact on your business.
You do have options when you are in default. By offering to make any type of payment against the loan is an act of goodwill. It may help alleviate further action against you.
You need to prepare for potential legal action. Once you know you are in default, consult with an SBA attorney with a reputation for success in this area of law.
Your attorney will work to prevent a lawsuit from being filed. One of the steps they will take is to assist you in filing an offer in compromise for your personal liability.
Covid related EIDL loans under $200,000 did not require a personal guarantee. As such, only the business assets are at risk. However, if you did sign a personal guarantee because the amount was over $200,000, an offer in compromise is worth exploring. When the pandemic hit in 2020, one out of six businesses ended up with an SBA loan default of more than $30,000. The first step to reaching a resolution is understanding an offer in compromise.
An offer in compromise must be submitted using SBA Form 1150. For the SBA to process the request it must include specific information:
If the OIC includes the release of collateral on the loan, you will need to provide a valuation of the collateral. You will also need to provide a current title report/ownership encumbrance report of the security and a current payoff statement from the lien holder.
If the SBA approves your OIC the classification of your loan will be changed to compromise/closed. The SBA will not make any further attempts to collect against that loan and will remove your name and social security number from the Treasury offset program. This means you will no longer be subject to tax refund offset, administrative wage garnishment, etc.
Be aware that because you did not repay your loan in full, you may be denied the ability to borrow from any federal agency in the future.
There are times when the SBA denies an offer in compromise. They sometimes only agree on certain points and will submit a counteroffer to you. When this happens, discuss the offer with your attorney and give the settlement offer serious consideration.
If your SBA loan is referred to the Treasury Department, you may be assessed an additional collection surcharge. Your SBA loan attorney will be able to advise you regarding the risks of countering the SBA counteroffer.
The federal government must bring any default lawsuit against you within six years following the date the right of action accrues. A right of action is the ability to initiate a lawsuit to enforce a right or correct a wrong. In this case, it would be to address the business defaulting on their loan payment obligation.
Even though they are unable to file a lawsuit after that date, the SBA may still collect using offset. There is no statute of limitations for offset collections.
This means they can collect against the loan using an administrative wage garnishment or tax refund offset. They may also collect against your Social Security, military pension, or government benefits.
An administrative wage garnishment is a process that allows a federal agency to withhold up to 15% of your wages to repay a federal loan. Authorization allows them to take this action without obtaining a court order pursuant to 32 U.S.C. §3720D and 31 CFR§ 285.11.
The SBA extension for EIDL loans defers the first payment due date. The extension and first payment due depend on the loan date.
Interest on the loans continues to accrue during the deferment. You may want to make voluntary payments if feasible.
Every business that receives economic injury disaster loans anticipates their business to improve. When this doesn’t happen, the risk of losing collateral, wage garnishments, and tax offsets can leave you feeling helpless.
That is when you need the experience of the Protect Law Group. Our SBA attorneys specialize in SBA Offer of Compromise cases. We provide nationwide representation for cases involving $30,000 or more in debt before the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Service and the SBA.
Contact our office today by chat, use our online contact form, or by calling (833) 428-0937 to schedule a case evaluation.
Millions of Dollars in SBA Debts Resolved via Offer in Compromise and Negotiated Repayment Agreements without our Clients filing for Bankruptcy or Facing Home Foreclosure
Millions of Dollars in Treasury Debts Defended Against via AWG Hearings, Treasury Offset Program Resolution, Cross-servicing Disputes, Private Collection Agency Representation, Compromise Offers and Negotiated Repayment Agreements
Our Attorneys are Authorized by the Agency Practice Act to Represent Federal Debtors Nationwide before the SBA, The SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals, the Treasury Department, and the Bureau of Fiscal Service.
Client personally guaranteed SBA 7(a) loan balance of $58,000. The client received a notice of Intent to initiate Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG) Proceedings. We represented the client at the hearing and successfully defeated the AWG Order based on several legal and equitable grounds.
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.
Client personally guaranteed SBA 7(a) loan for $150,000. COVID-19 caused the business to fail, and the loan went into default with a balance of $133,000. Client initially hired a non-attorney consultant to negotiate an OIC. The SBA summarily rejected the ineligible OIC and the debt was referred to Treasury’sBureau of Fiscal Service for enforced collection in the debt amount of $195,000. We were hired to intervene and initiated discovery for SBA and Fiscal Service records. We were able to recall the case from Fiscal Service back to the SBA. We then negotiated a structured workout with favorable terms that saves the client approximately $198,000 over the agreed-upon workout term by waiving contractual and statutory administrative fees, collection costs, penalties, and interest.
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