SBA COVID-19 PPP and EIDL Loans: SBA Ramps Up Audits and Investigations
SBA COVID-19 PPP and EIDL Loans: SBA Ramps Up Audits and Investigations
If you have questions about any SBA related issues, including the tax offset program, SBA loan foreclosure, or responding to an SBA demand letter, call us.
Book a Consultation CallThe attorneys in our office want to help you figure out your SBA problem. No matter how difficult your circumstances may seem, the right lawyer can assist you. We understand that you probably have questions regarding a wide range of issues, including how to respond to an SBA demand letter, what SBA loan foreclosure actually entails, and what a tax offset program is. One of our attorney specialists can tell you about all of these topics and more.
In recent SBA news, Golden Pacific Bank launched an automated nationwide program to make Small Business Administration microloans using their the Smartbizloan.com loan portal. The portal allows small businesses to apply for SBA loans as small as $5,000, which is an amount too small for most banks to consider.
The borrower fills out the online form and verifies to the lender that the bank may pull financial, tax and credit records on the company. The automated program compiles the data and grades the loan. A bank loan committee still oversees final approvals.
A loan that gets approved can be funded in days, she said. The bank is an SBA preferred lender, which means it can approve its own loans.
The loans can be as small as $5,000 and as high as $150,000 and bank officials identifying the sweet spot being under $25,000. If you are looking for a loan over $25,000 you will be required to pledge collateral. The term of the loan is 10 years, but as with all SBA loans, there is no penalty for early pre-payment.
In a pilot program since the end of last year, the SBA SmartBiz loan has funded $1 million so far through about 60 loans.
Borrowers have been across the country and in all kinds of business including loans to manufacturers of wild bird feed and yoga clothes to bookkeepers and other professionals.
The loan cannot be used to launch a business. The business seeking the loan has to have been in business with financial records for at least a year.
These mircoloans are the size of loan that many banks don’t want to make, as it takes as much time as it does to make a larger loan, and yet it offers very little income to the bank.
Many businesses that need small amounts of money end up using credit cards, but credit cards do not build up a credit profile and they are expensive.
If you have any questions about related to the Department of Treasury's tax offset program, SBA loan foreclosure, or how to respond to an SBA demand letter, please contact us at 888-756-9969 for 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 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 executed personal and corporate guarantees for an SBA 7(a) loan from a Preferred Lender Provider (PLP). The borrower corporation defaulted on the loan exposing all collateral pledged by the Clients. The SBA subsequently acquired the loan balance from the PLP, including the right to collect against all guarantors. The SBA sent the Official Pre-Referral Notice to the guarantors giving them sixty (60) days to either pay the outstanding balance in full, negotiate a Repayment (Offer in Compromise (OIC) or Structured Workout (SW)), challenge their alleged guarantor liability or file a Request for Hearing (Appeals Petition) with the SBA Office of Hearings & Appeals.
Because the Clients were not financially eligible for an OIC, they opted for Structured Workout negotiations directly with the SBA before the debt was transferred to the Bureau of Fiscal Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Treasury for enforced collection.
The Firm was hired to negotiate a global Workout Agreement directly with the SBA to resolve the personal and corporate guarantees. After submitting the Structured Workout proposal, the assigned SBA Loan Specialist approved the requested terms in under ten (10) days without any lengthy back and forth negotiations.
The favorable terms of the Workout included an extended maturity at an affordable principal amount, along with a significantly reduced interest rate saving the Clients approximately $181,000 in administrative fees, penalties and interest (contract interest rate and Current Value of Funds Rate (CVFR)) as authorized by 31 U.S.C. § 3717(e) had the SBA loan been transferred to BFS.
Our firm successfully negotiated an SBA offer in compromise (SBA OIC), settling a $974,535.93 SBA loan balance for just $18,000. The offerors, personal guarantors on an SBA 7(a) loan, originally obtained financing to purchase a commercial building in Lancaster, California.
The borrower filed for bankruptcy, and the third-party lender (TPL) foreclosed on the property. Despite the loan default, the SBA pursued the offerors for repayment. Given their limited income, lack of significant assets, and approaching retirement, we presented a strong case demonstrating their financial hardship.
Through strategic negotiations, we secured a favorable SBA settlement, reducing the nearly $1 million debt to a fraction of the amount owed. This outcome allowed the offerors to resolve their liability without prolonged financial strain.
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