Ken Altena, Partner, Billboard Loans. I have 35 years experience lending to out of home companies. My Billboard Loans business partner Dave Westburg and I were reviewing one of our old out of home lending white papers and decided to write an article on how the out of home […]
Billboard Lending
Out of Home banker Ken Altena says know what you’ve pledged
At Billboard Loans, we get a lot of inquiries for secured loans. Most out of home companies understand the general concepts of security and collateral but very few understand the details. Here’s a short lending quiz. Your lender has a security interest in all your assets.True or false. Your lender […]
The reps and warranties an out of home lender wants to see.
Following up on the recent articles in Billboard Insider, I thought it would be beneficial to talk about the representations and warranties that lenders require. Typically, if you borrow, these reps and warranties are non-negotiable. They start the first day you borrow and extend “at all times any indebtedness exists.” (Quotation […]
Understanding Commercial Loan Documents
Many first-time commercial borrowers are shocked by the number and complexity of loan documents to get a “simple” business loan. As a retired banker, I can assure you it is no picnic for lenders either. Almost everyclause in every document has been added due to something that has gone poorly […]
An out of home banker looks at 2024
Wishing everyone the happiest holidays and best New Year from Billboard Loans. It has been almost 6 months since retiring from my 40+ year banking career, and I have to say working with billboard people is more fun. I’ve become a billboard nerd like my partner, Dave Westburg. I read about […]
Billboard loans funds digital billboard projects in Florida
Billboard loans provided $460,000 in financing to a Florida out of home operator. The funding includes a $300,000 term loan to finance a two sided digital billboard and a $160,000 self insurance line of credit to finance the replacement of digital faces in case they are damaged. Digital billboard property […]
The Bank Loan Market is tightening.
By Ken Altena, Billboard Loans LLC. I track the Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Survey on Bank Lending Practices to determine if credit is tight or loose. Banks have been tightening their lending standards for small firms (revenue less than $50 million) for four consecutive quarters due to recession fears. […]
Billboard Loans does not make radio station loans.
From time to time we get asked what sectors we lend to. Billboard loans makes loans to: out of home advertising companies which operate a billboard bulletin or poster plant. digital billboard companies. transit advertising companies 8 sheet companies which operate small billboards. We avoid the following loans: Radio station […]
Now’s the time to ask for better loan terms
Now is a good time to refinance and extend your out of home company’s credit lines. Bank loan chargeoffs have been extremely low for the past 4 years. In response, banks are loosening credit terms and reducing loan spreads. Lower cost loans and easy credit terms will disappear when the […]
4 Tips When Seeking A Billboard Loan
Here are four tips when seeking out of home financing: look for debt before you need it, cultivate multiple lenders, know your lender and don’t borrow too much. One: Look For Debt When You Don’t Need It. Start talking to lenders before you need them. It will allow you to […]
