Here’s a rundown on the kinds of fees your can expect to pay when you borrow money to finance a billboard. Loan Fee – This is typically 1-2% of the loan amount. It is paid at closing to compensate a lender for the time spent to underwrite a loan. Banks […]

The rate you pay on your billboard loan will vary depending on the funding source. If you get a bank loan you can expect to pay prime plus 2% with a floor on your rate at 5.25%. Bank financing is very difficult to get because banks are not comfortable with […]

I have seen billboard loan amortization rates as short a 5 years and as long as 20 years. 5-7 year amortization is not unusual with bank or lease financing. It is have for many small billboard companies to completely pay off their debt in 5 years. 10-20 years amortization is […]

I take a personal guarantee from the controlling shareholder/manager of any borrower. A personal guarantee has two functions. First, a personal guarantee tells a lender that you are so confident in your business’s prospects that you will be personally liable for the business loan if there are difficulties and there […]

I wish I had a dollar for every request I get for 100% debt financing for a billboard. Lenders don’t make 100% loans against anything. They want to know there’s cushion in the collateral in case something goes wrong. Next time you decide you need to do 100% financing for […]

3 times annualized revenues is a reasonable debt limit for most small billboard companies. Here’s why. I tell borrowers to limit debt to at a level where their plant will be worth more than debt even if revenues drop and multiples contract during a recession. Industry revenues declined 20% during […]

Here’s a short list of information your billboard lender will want to review during a due diligence visit.: Bank statements – I like to verify financial statement revenues and expenses against bank statements. Copies of sign permits and operating leases. Copies of customer ad contracts. Evidence that state and property […]

Here’s a list of information which your lender will find helpful in reviewing your initial billboard loan request. I’ve listed things in order of importance to the lender. 1. Monthly company balance sheet and income statement for the last two years. I find monthly statements helpful because many billboard companies […]

Here’s how the billboard lending process works. I tell clients to expect the process to take approximately one month for the introductory phone call to funding. It can take as short as two weeks when the borrower is extremely organized and the credit is clean and as long as several […]