SBA Loan Problems: Barriers to the Small Business Loan Market
We provide people who are facing an SBA loan default with solutions. We analyze SBA loan problems and provide solutions such as an SBA offer in compromise.
Small businesses facing a loan default must take immediate action. A default could provide their lender with the legal right to seize all collateral used to secure the loan. This could include the building from which their company operates. Since these loans are backed by a personal guarantee and government funding, they require specific actions through an attorney. Local attorneys could help business owners acquire a SBA Offer in Compromise to settle their debt.
The first step when the owner receives a SBA demand letter is to seek legal counsel. An attorney could provide clarity about effective strategies to prevent a complete foreclosure of their property. A foreclosure could generate a higher loss for the business owner. This could also destroy their credit and make it impossible to acquire a different property later.
The next step is to complete the paperwork for the SBA offer in compromise. These documents provide a legal request for the offer in compromise. The attorney calculates the total value in which the borrower could pay to settle the SBA loan default. These documents are filed through the court once the compromise is accepted.
The attorney could also provide assistance through a Tax Offset Program. This helps the business owner acquire a settlement offer for any overdue tax payments associated with their company. They can submit these requests at the same time as the offer in compromise request.
The borrower should work with the attorney to acquire the most effective settlement. This could include closing the doors of their business and arranging the sale of the property. This could increase their odds of acquiring acceptance. It could also improve their ability to pay.
Lenders often accept these offers when the borrower can prove that they have the ability to pay the agreed upon value. This could prevent the likelihood of a SBA loan foreclosure and secure the borrower's credit.
Small businesses acquire government-backed loans to start new ventures. Unfortunately, select ventures may become unsuccessful. This could lead to a loan default and possible foreclosure. Business owners who need help should contact an attorney who could manage an offer of compromise for them today.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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