Frequently asked questions
Answers before you apply.
Not after.
Financing has its own vocabulary, and a lot of it is built to sound better than it is. Here is what the terms actually mean, what qualifies you, and what happens to your application once it leaves your hands.
Before you send anything
Applying
What submitting an application actually does, and does not do, to your credit and your options.
Does applying hurt my credit?
No. Submitting the application does not run a hard credit pull. Some programs prequalify with a soft pull that does not affect your score. A hard pull happens only later, with your consent, once you are moving forward on a specific offer.
What do I need to qualify?
It depends on the program. A merchant cash advance has no minimum credit score and looks at your deposits instead. An SBA 7(a) Express file wants two years in business, a credit score of 680 or higher, and a profitable business in an eligible industry. Equipment financing wants one year in business. Hard money looks mainly at the property and the exit. Submit one application and you will be told which programs actually fit your file.
How fast can I get funded?
A merchant cash advance can fund in 24 hours or less. A business line of credit can approve in 24 hours with same day funding. Small business loans can bring an offer within 24 hours. An SBA 7(a) Express file runs about a month. Hard money is built for a fast close, but the property and the deal still have to be underwritten, so fast is not instant. Speed and cost tend to move together.
What documents will I need?
It starts simple: the requested amount, the type of business, and what the money is for. Once that is reviewed, you may be asked for bank statements, tax returns, or a purchase contract and rehab scope on a real estate file, depending on which program actually fits. Nobody should ask for a stack of paperwork before telling you whether you qualify.
What happens after I submit an application?
The file goes to the programs it actually fits, not to every lender at once. You get a straight answer about where it lands, including the programs that pass on it. If something works, you see the terms before you owe anyone anything. If nothing works, you are told that directly instead of being kept waiting.
I was declined somewhere else. Is it worth applying here?
Usually yes, and it helps to say who declined you and why. A decline is one lender's box, not a verdict on the business. Programs weigh credit, deposits, time in business, and collateral differently, so a file that does not fit one desk can still fit another.
Do you work outside Illinois?
Yes. Busy Bee Services is based in Aurora, Illinois, and programs are available in all 50 states. Hard money is funded nationwide. What is actually offered to you still depends on your state, your property, and the lender.
Know the terms
Business loans
The words that show up on a term sheet, explained before you are staring at one.
Do you lend the money, or are you a broker?
Busy Bee Services is a broker, not a lender. We do not fund loans directly and we do not set the terms. We place one application with the lenders whose programs actually fit the file, whether that is a merchant cash advance or an SBA 7(a) loan. The lender who funds the deal sets its own rate, and you see those terms before you agree to anything.
What is a factor rate?
A factor rate is how a merchant cash advance prices its cost, and it works differently than an interest rate. The rate is multiplied against the amount advanced to set the total you repay, fixed at the start no matter how quickly you pay it off. There is no schedule shrinking what you owe as the balance goes down. A merchant cash advance is generally the most expensive money on this site, right for a real opportunity or emergency, wrong for covering a shortfall every month.
What is stacking?
Stacking is taking a second cash advance while the first one is still being repaid, then sometimes a third. Each advance takes its own cut of daily or weekly revenue, so stacked payments can outpace what the business actually brings in. It is one of the fastest ways a healthy business ends up upside down. If you already have an advance outstanding and are considering another, say so on the application. It is a fact a program needs before it can give you an honest answer.
What is a personal guarantee?
A personal guarantee means you agree to repay the loan personally if the business cannot. It attaches your own assets and credit to a business debt, and most small business and SBA financing carries one. Read what you are guaranteeing before you sign it, not after.
Can I get funding with bad credit?
In some programs, yes. A merchant cash advance has no minimum credit score and is underwritten mainly on deposits. Small business loans do not require collateral. Startup and personal loans and SBA financing want a 680 credit score or above, so those particular doors stay closed with weak credit. Bad credit narrows the list of programs. It does not close all of them.
Against the property
Real estate
Real estate financing gets underwritten against the asset and the deal, and it has its own shorthand.
What is ARV?
ARV stands for after repair value: what a property will be worth once the renovation is finished, not what it is worth today. Fix and flip financing is sized against that future value, so the lender is underwriting the project's finish line, not just the purchase price.
What is DSCR?
DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio. It compares a property's rental income to its debt payment. A DSCR loan is underwritten on what the property earns, not on your personal income or tax returns, which is why it comes up so often on rental and investment property.
What if I have no US credit history?
Foreign national files are underwritten differently because there is no US credit score to lean on. The property, the down payment, and the structure of the deal carry more of the weight instead. It is a narrower path than a standard file, but it is not a closed one.
Who gets paid
Costs and fees
A broker's compensation is built into a program's rate when the deal closes. It is paid by the lender, not billed to you separately for filling out an application. That is the whole reason prequalifying costs nothing.
Is there an application fee?
No. There is no charge to apply and no charge to find out where your deal lands. Third party costs like a property appraisal are real, and they are paid to the appraiser, not to a broker. If anyone asks you for money before you have seen a term sheet, ask exactly what it buys and get it in writing.
Figures referenced on this page are third party lender program ranges. They are subject to change, subject to underwriting and approval, and are not an offer or commitment to lend.
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