We provide borrowers with solutions to an SBA loan default and advise clients regarding solutions to SBA loan problems.
Book a Consultation CallDealing with the idea that you might be facing an SBA loan default can be terrifying. The SBA attorneys in our office are skilled at helping clients through all of the facets of their situations. We can create an SBA offer in compromise that can end your SBA loan problems. You should never face an SBA loan problem alone. It is important to retain the services of an attorney who can help you through this difficult time in your life. We urge you to read about the services that we have available and to contact us if you need assistance.
The Small Business Administration's newest boss Maria Contreras-Sweet recently provided her vision for economic growth, indicating that the smallest businesses will be the mainstay of a new lending initiative.
Contreras-Sweet unveiled a new program the SBA hopes will get more smaller loans to entrepreneurs, primarily via its 7(a) program. Banks originate the loans and benefit from a federal guarantee against default of up to $5 million.
The SBA has been criticized for making too many larger loans and being less accessible to the smaller borrowers and also minorities and immigrants.
According to recent data, four out of five requests for loans from African and Hispanic Americans are for amounts of $150,000 or less, Contreras-Sweet said. With those statistics in mind, the SBA is introducing a new credit scoring system that will let banks make faster decisions on smaller financing requests, and with less paperwork involved. Moreover, the SBA hopes to increase the number of banks that lend through its guaranteed loan program.
"The time has come to reach out to all of our lending partners on small loans and bring new lenders into the SBA fold," Contreras-Sweet stated in a prepared statement.
New Model for Credit Scoring
The new credit scoring system that the SBA will use derives creditworthiness via personal and business credit.
"The SBA’s total credit score will make it easier and less time-intensive for banks to do business with the SBA," Contreras-Sweet said. "This model is cost-reducing and credit-based. It ensures that risk characteristics--not socio-economic factors--determine who is deemed creditworthy."
"By making the process quicker, cheaper, and more intutiive, these reforms will help existing lenders do more small-dollar lending," Contreras-Sweet said. The new scoring system will be available in July. SBA One will start early in 2015.
If you have a SBA loan that is in default, please contact us today for a consultation at 1-888-756-9969.
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 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.
Clients obtained an SBA 7(a) loan for $324,000 to buy a small business and its facility. The business and real estate had an appraisal value of $318,000 at the time of purchase. The business ultimately failed but the participating lender abandoned the business equipment and real estate collateral even though it had valid security liens. As a result, the lender recouped nearly nothing from the pledged collateral, leaving the business owners liable for the deficiency balance. The SBA paid the lender the 7(a) guaranty money and was assigned ownership of the debt, including the right to collect. However, the clients never received the SBA Official 60-Day Notice and were denied the opportunity to negotiate an Offer in Compromise (OIC) or a Workout directly with the SBA before being transferred to Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service, which added an additional $80,000 in collection fees. Treasury garnished and offset the clients' wages, federal salary and social security benefits. When the clients tried to negotiate with Treasury by themselves, they were offered an unaffordable repayment plan which would have caused severe financial hardship. Clients subsequently hired the Firm to litigate an Appeals Petition before the SBA Office & Hearings Appeals (OHA) challenging the legal enforceability and amount of the debt. The Firm successfully negotiated a term OIC that was approved by the SBA Office of General Counsel, saving the clients approximately $205,000.
Client personally guaranteed an SBA 7(a) loan for $100,000 from the lender. The SBA loan went into early default in 2006 less than 12 months from disbursement. The SBA paid the 7(a) guaranty monies to the lender and subsequently acquired the deficiency balance of about $96,000, including the right to collect against the guarantor. However, the SBA sent the Official 60-Day Due Process Notice to the Client's defunct business address instead of his personal residence, which he never received. As a result, the debt was transferred to Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service where substantial collection fees were assessed, including accrued interest per the promissory note. Treasury eventually referred the debt to a Private Collection Agency (PCA) - Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc. Pioneer sent a demand letter claiming a debt balance of almost $310,000 - a shocking 223% increase from the original loan amount assigned to the SBA. Client's social security disability benefits were seized through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Client hired the Firm to represent him as the debt continued to snowball despite seizure of his social security benefits and federal tax refunds as the involuntary payments were first applied to Treasury's collection fees, then to accrued interest with minimal allocation to the SBA principal balance.
We initially submitted a Cross-Servicing Dispute (CSD) challenging the referral of the debt to Treasury based on the defective notice sent to the defunct business address. Despite overwhelming evidence proving a violation of the Client's Due Process rights, the SBA still rejected the CSD. As a result, an Appeals Petition was filed with the SBA Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) Court challenging the SBA decision and its certification the debt was legally enforceable in the amount claimed. After several months of litigation before the SBA OHA Court, our Firm Attorney successfully negotiated an Offer in Compromise (OIC) Term Workout with the SBA Supervising Trial Attorney for $82,000 spread over a term of 74 months at a significantly reduced interest rate saving the Client an estimated $241,000 in Treasury collection fees, accrued interest (contract interest rate and Current Value of Funds Rate (CVFR)), and the PCA contingency fee.
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