Equity is a very important factor, as is debt servicing ability. these two, combined with credit score form the 'holy trinity' for mortgages and loans as far as lenders are concerned. Credit Score establishes your past history with debt and making repayments. Good CS will help but isn't enough by itself as it's a historic measure and doesn't guarantee that your current situation reflects your previous one. Previous debt anagement behavious is a good indicator of future performance, but isn't a guarantee. Equity establishes whether or not the lender can reclaim their principle in the worst case event of a loan default. In the current climate this is more important that ever. Equity by itself is aslo not enough as it's really only a factor in the worst case sitution, which the lender is always wanting to avoid anyway. it's a safety net they'd rather not ahve to use. Debt Servicing or Debt/Income ratio is the third slice of the pie and shows the lender whether you have the financial resources to service the loan. It's a key factor, but again it's not enough by itself as it only shows that you CAN pay the loan, not that you WILL. Your CS is a better indication of whther or not you will pay on time and in full, and if both of these measures are good then you have a decent shot. If all 3 are good then you're good to go and mortgage and refinance lenders will be lining up to offer you a loan, but sometimes if one of them isn't too hot, but the other 2 are you can still good get approved. A lot depends on the scale of the mortgage loan you're looking for. Lenders in different geographic areas also have different priorities as some states have suffered greater drops in housing value. For example, Las vegas Nevada is not as badly affected as some other areas so lenders there can be more flexible.

SBA loans still have to be underwritten by both the bank and the SBA. That means you still have to meet all of their requirement - like credit, collateral, debt-to-income, etc. Might be other ways - non-bank lenders who offer personal and business loans but not have the same propensity of not lending as the banks do. How much do you need?

As a start up in this oil and gas production industry you will have a very tough time getting a loan in this environment. The SBA has tightened up on all loans where environmental issues play a role; the liability for the lender has increased and the interest in this area has slowed down for now. I would look into a local bank to see if they have interest.

I had a very hard time getting a loan through SBA last year, so I used my own money.  The banks were just as bad.  I even had a 745 credit score and that didn't even matter.  The excuse they used was 'debt ratio'.

Its all about equity.  If you can show positive equity after the loan is placed you can obtain a loan guarantee which will decrease the lending institutions risk thus allowing a bank to make more money and offer you a loan.

SBA loans still have to be underwritten by both the bank and the SBA. That means you still have to meet all of their requirement - like credit, collateral, debt-to-income, etc. Might be other ways - non-bank lenders who offer personal and business loans but not have the same propensity of not lending as the banks do. How much do you need?

As a start up in this oil and gas production industry you will have a very tough time getting a loan in this environment. The SBA has tightened up on all loans where environmental issues play a role; the liability for the lender has increased and the interest in this area has slowed down for now. I would look into a local bank to see if they have interest.

I had a very hard time getting a loan through SBA last year, so I used my own money.  The banks were just as bad.  I even had a 745 credit score and that didn't even matter.  The excuse they used was 'debt ratio'.

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Its all about equity.  If you can show positive equity after the loan is placed you can obtain a loan guarantee which will decrease the lending institutions risk thus allowing a bank to make more money and offer you a loan.