Contact Our SBA Attorneys for Nationwide Representation of SBA and Treasury Debt Problems
Book a Consultation CallIf you recently received the 60-Day Official Notice from the SBA offering you the opportunity to petition for an administrative review of the debt, make an SBA Offer in Compromise or enter into a Repayment agreement for an SBA loan default, you may not know which way to turn. Not only has your SBA debt come back to haunt you but if you fail to respond to the 60-Day Official Notice within the stated time frame, your case will be cross-referred to the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Service, where the Government will add statutory collection fees up to 32% of the original SBA principal and interest balance.
An SBA Offer in Compromise is an out-of-court settlement option for a personal guarantor whose small business is about to shut down and there is no reasonable turnaround plan that can be executed to resurrect it from its current financial quandary. Furthermore, this remedial option is best utilized when it is apparent that the small business’s pledged collateral is insufficient to pay off the outstanding SBA loan balance and the personal assets of the owners are at stake due to the unconditional guarantees that were signed.
An SBA Offer in Compromise (OIC) is not possible without the cooperation of the responsible Borrowers and Guarantors. One of the basic elements of an SBA OIC is that the small business has ceased operations and all business assets have been liquidated. The small business owner’s assistance and help in maximizing the recovery on the business assets can help minimize the amount of deficiency balance on the SBA loan.
The amount offered for settlement must bear a reasonable relationship to the estimated value of the projected amount of recovery available through enforced collection. An SBA OIC is not available when the obligor has the financial ability to pay the deficiency in full within a reasonable time frame. An SBA OIC cannot be accepted if there is any evidence or knowledge of fraud, substantial misrepresentation, or financial dishonesty on the part of the offeror.
Each individual SBA OIC will be based on a case by case review of the Borrower’s or Guarantor’s individual financial situation and certain “litigative risks.” Factors to be considered are:
• An assessment of the debtor’s ability to pay and potential earnings capacity
• Health and life expectancy
• Local economic conditions
• Equity in pledged or reachable assets
• Settlement arrangements with other creditors
• Applicable exemptions available to debtor under State and Federal law
• The cost, time and risk of collection litigation
If you received the SBA’s 60-Day Official Notice providing you with an opportunity to submit an SBA OIC, don’t do it alone. Hire a qualified SBA Attorney to help your through this difficult and complex process.
Contact us today for a Case Evaluation.
An SBA Offer in Compromise (OIC) is not possible without the cooperation of the responsible Borrowers and Guarantors. One of the basic elements of an SBA OIC is that the small business has ceased operations and all business assets have been liquidated. The small business owner’s assistance and help in maximizing the recovery on the business assets can help minimize the amount of deficiency balance on the SBA loan.
The amount offered for settlement must bear a reasonable relationship to the estimated value of the projected amount of recovery available through enforced collection. An SBA OIC is not available when the obligor has the financial ability to pay the deficiency in full within a reasonable time frame. An SBA OIC cannot be accepted if there is any evidence or knowledge of fraud, substantial misrepresentation, or financial dishonesty on the part of the offeror.
Each individual SBA OIC will be based on a case by case review of the Borrower’s or Guarantor’s individual financial situation and certain “litigative risks.” Factors to be considered are:
• An assessment of the debtor’s ability to pay and potential earnings capacity
• Health and life expectancy
• Local economic conditions
• Equity in pledged or reachable assets
• Settlement arrangements with other creditors
• Applicable exemptions available to debtor under State and Federal law
• The cost, time and risk of collection litigation
If you received the SBA’s 60-Day Official Notice providing you with an opportunity to submit an SBA OIC, don’t do it alone. Hire a qualified SBA Attorney to help your through this difficult and complex process.
Contact us today for a Case Evaluation.
Clients' 7(a) loan was referred to Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service for enforced collection in 2015. They not only personally guaranteed the loan, but also pledged their primary residence as additional collateral. One of the clients filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy thinking that it would discharge the SBA 7(a) lien encumbering their home. They later discovered that they were mistakenly advised. The Firm was subsequently hired to review their case and defend against a series of collection actions. Eventually, we were able to negotiate a structured workout for $180,000 directly with the SBA, saving them approximately $250,000 (by reducing the default interest rate and removing Treasury's substantial collection fees) and from possible foreclosure.
Client’s small business obtained an SBA 7(a) loan for $750,000. She and her husband signed personal guarantees exposing all of their non-exempt income and assets. With just 18 months left on the maturity date and payment on the remaining balance, the Great Recession of 2008 hit, which ultimately caused the business to fail and default on the loan terms. The 7(a) lender accelerated and sent a demand for full payment of the remaining loan balance. The SBA lender’s note allowed for a default interest rate of about 7% per year. In response to the lender's aggressive collection action, Client's husband filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in an attempt to protect against their personal assets. However, his bankruptcy discharge did not relieve the Client's personal guarantee liability for the SBA debt. The SBA lender opted to pursue the SBA 7(a) Guaranty and subsequently assigned the loan and the right to enforce collection against the Client to the SBA. The Client then received the SBA Official 60-Day Notice. After conducting a Case Evaluation with her, she then hired the Firm to respond and negotiate on her behalf with just 34 days left before the impending referral to Treasury. The Client wanted to dispute the SBA’s alleged debt balance as stated in the 60-Day Notice by claiming the 7(a) lender failed to liquidate business collateral in a commercially reasonable manner - which if done properly - proceeds would have paid back the entire debt balance. However, due to time constraints, waivers contained in the SBA loan instruments, including the fact the Client was not able to inspect the SBA's records for investigation purposes before the remaining deadline, Client agreed to submit a Structured Workout for the alleged balance in response to the Official 60-Day Notice as she was not eligible for an Offer in Compromise (OIC) because of equity in non-exempt income and assets. After back and forth negotiations, the SBA Loan Specialist approved the Workout proposal, reducing the Client's purported liability by nearly $142,142.27 in accrued interest, and statutory collection fees. Without the Firm's intervention and subsequent approval of the Workout proposal, the Client's debt amount (with accrued interest, Treasury's statutory collection fee and Treasury's interest based on the Current Value of Funds Rate (CVFR) would have been nearly $291,030.
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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