Lots of companies want to fund your billboard or digital sign by providing lease financing. The benefits of leasing include 100% financing and sometimes a lack of a personal guarantee. Billboard financing leases often have three big drawbacks: (1) You don’t know how much the lease costs. I once had […]
Billboard Lending
Prepayment Penalties Can Kill You If You Use Billboard Lease Financing.
There are several finance companies which make billboard equipment leases. They are anxious to tell you that leasing will save your capital by allowing you to finance 100% of the cost of the sign. None of them talk about prepayment penalties. Lease prepayment penalties can kill you. It’s normal for […]
Why personal guarantees are so important to billboard lenders
A personal guarantee is a requirement for almost every loan I do. 20 of our 22 existing loans require personal guarantees. The only two borrowers who don’t guarantee are non-profit companies where no single person is in charge. I’ve also sometimes made loans without a personal guarantee when a borrower […]
Interest Rates Aren’t Everything In Billboard Loan Financing
I often I pick up the phone and have a conversation goes something like this. “Hi, I want a billboard loan. What’s your rate?” The borrowing rate is an important part but it isn’t the only thing that matters. I’ve had customers chase rate and then get in a liquidity […]
Asking for a Billboard Loan. Seven Sentences That Make You Sound Like a Pro.
I take several phone calls a week from people seeking billboard loans. Some callers are much more organized and professional than others. Here’s a seven sentence script which will make you sound like a pro during your initial conversation with a billboard lender. “(1) Hi, I’m (your name) from (your […]
Billboard financing and radio station financing powerpoints added to www.billboardloans.com website.
You can access a radio station financing powerpoint Dave Westburg presented to the NAB leadership Development Program in November 2013 by clicking this link You can access a Billboard financing powerpoint in which Dave Westburg discusses billboard industry issues and billboard financing trends by clicking this link.
Sources for Billboard Loans
There are three sources for billboard loans: niche finance companies, sign vendors and banks. I will discuss the pros and cons of each source. Niche finance companies such as Billboard Loans or Stark Capital specialize in one or two industries including billboards. Pros: (1) Niche lenders know the industry […]
Lending Standards Easing
The federal reserve surveys senior bank credit officers four times a year about whether their lending standards are tightening, stable or easing. Here’s a table summarizing the trend in bank lending standards for small businesses over the past 10 years. The table shows that after tightening during the three years […]
The impact of loan fees on a billboard loan’s cost.
What Businesses Benefit Most From Billboards Just read a blog post titled Billboards for Small Businesses: 7 Reasons To Think Twice. The post is skeptical about billboard advertising: billboards are expensive, they created unwanted calls from sales reps, they have a limited run and they can’t be personalized. The article […]
What outdoor advertising deals are hard to finance
I’ve made lots of out-of-home advertising loans over the past 15 years but there are several portions of the industry I avoid, including: Loans to floating billboards. Loans to finance vehicles with billboards on them. Loans to finance gigantic advertisements on fields outside airports which are capable of being viewed […]
