Lendingcapital.net

 We have observed a new phishing campaign that began the morning of May 16. The email comes from ” dse@dousign.com with the subject “Legal acknowledgement for <person> Document is Ready for Signature” and it contains a link to a malicious, macro-enabled Word document. We suggest you do not open this email, but rather delete it immediately.

As always,  you should never click on any links in emails that you are not 100% sure about.

Check out our newly designed website: http://www.lendingcapital.net

The IRS released the inflation adjustments for health savings accounts (HSAs) and their accompanying high deductible health plans (HDHPs) effective for calendar year 2018. All limits increased from 2017 amounts. Annual Contribution Limitation For calendar year 2018, the limitation on deductions for an individual with self-only coverage under a high deductible health plan is $3,450. For calendar year 2018, the limitation on deductions for an individual with family coverage under a high deductible health plan is $6,900. High Deductible Health Plan For calendar year 2018, a “high deductible health plan” is defined as a health plan with an annual deductible that is not less than $1,350 for self-only coverage or $2,700 for family coverage, and the annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) do not exceed $6,650 for self-only coverage or $13,300 for family coverage. Non-calendar year plans: In cases where the HDHP renewal date is after the beginning of the calendar year (i.e., a fiscal year HDHP), any required changes to the annual deductible or out-of-pocket maximum may be implemented as of the next renewal date. Catch-Up Contribution Individuals who are age 55 or older and covered by a qualified high deductible health plan may make additional catch-up contributions each year until they enroll in Medicare. The additional contribution, as outlined by the statute, is $1,000 for 2009 and thereafter.

We don’t always realize or appreciate the important work many veterans assume after they leave military service. Many start small businesses, creating jobs and opportunities for their families as well as for others. In fact, just shy of 10% of all small businesses are owned by veterans and vets are 45% more likely to be self-employed than non-veterans. I know, I am a veteran

As a veteran, (I am a veteran) you may be eligible for reduced fees (as little as zero!) for one of these loans.

Under the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015, up-front guaranty fees for SBA Express loans approved on or after October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016 are set to zero for qualified businesses owned by a veteran and/or the spouse of a veteran.

And under SBA Veterans Advantage, fees for many 7(a) loans (other than SBA Express) approved through September 30, 2016, are reduced by up to 50%. Specifically:

The up-front guaranty fee for 7(a) loans (other than SBA Express) of $150,001 up to and including $5,000,000 approved to qualified small businesses (see below) will be reduced by 50%, as follows:

• For loans with a maturity in excess of 12 months:
• For loans of $150,001 to $700,000: 1.5% of the guaranteed portion;
• For loans of $700,001 to $5,000,000: 1.75% of the guaranteed portion up to $1,000,000 PLUS 1.875% of the guaranteed portion over $1,000,000;
• For loans with a maturity of 12 months or less: 0.125% of the guaranteed portion.

These fee reductions are available to businesses that are at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more owners who are in the following groups:

• Veterans (other than dishonorably discharged);
• Service-Disabled Veterans;
• Active Duty Military service member participating in the military’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP);
• Reservists and National Guard members; or
• Current spouse of any Veteran, Active Duty service member, or any Reservist or National Guard member;
• or widowed spouse of a service member who died while in service or of a service connected disability.

What are the interest rates on these loans?

Interest rates may be fixed or variable, but they cannot exceed the rates allowed by the SBA. Because the SBA insures a significant portion of the loan, rates are often lower than those available elsewhere.

I am a vet and want to start a business. Where can I go for training and assistance?

A great place to start is with your Veteran’s Business Outreach Center. The mission of the VBOC is to “help create, develop, and retain veteran-owned small business enterprises.” VBOC’s provide training, counseling and mentoring and can help with creating a business plan, developing a feasibility study and more.

Your local Small Business Development Center is another terrific resource. And the SCORE Association, supported by the SBA, offers thousands of volunteers around the country who can help.

 I am a service disabled vet, and my credit isn’t perfect. Will that stop me from getting a loan?

Don’t automatically assume you can’t qualify. You will generally need a minimum FICO SBSS score of 140 to pass the initial screening for loans under $1 million, however, so it would be a good idea to check that score as soon as possible. Currently the only place to get this score is through Nav’s premium plus service.

What do I need to qualify for an SBA 7(a) loan?

There are some basic requirements that you—and any other owners with a 20% or greater ownership in the business—must meet to be eligible for an SBA loan.

• You must operate (or plan to operate) a for-profit small business in the U.S or its territories.
• You should have “skin the game.” By that, we mean lenders will want to see you have personally invested a reasonable amount in your business and tapped personal resources, if available.
• The government doesn’t want to fund a business that hasn’t paid it back. In other words, you can’t be delinquent on other debts owed to the federal government such as federal taxes or federally guaranteed student loans. You also cannot have previously caused the federal government to incur a loss on a debt.
• Your business can’t be in an industry that is not eligible for these types of loans, such as gambling or pyramid schemes. (Tip: Check that your SIC and/or NAICS codereported on your business credit reports is accurate. These codes categorize your business by industry.)
• You won’t be eligible if you are currently incarcerated, on parole, on probation or a defendant in a criminal proceeding.

Do you qualify for an SBA loan? Check both your personal and business credit scores www.nav.com for your personal and FICO SBSS business score.  SBA requires a minimum SBSS score of 140, most lenders set the score at 160.

 Prepare Your Paperwork 

Gathering and preparing the documentation many lenders will want to review when you apply for your loan.can be challenging. The SBA lists the loan document requirements on its website, but here is a summary:

• SBA Loan Application
• Personal Background and Financial Statement
• Business Financial Statements (Profit & Loss, 1-year projected financial statement)
• Ownership & Affiliations
• Business Certificate/License
• Loan Application History
• Income Tax Returns (3 years, personal and business)
• Resumes for each principal of the business
• Business Overview & History, including an explanation of how the loan will help the business
• Business Lease (if applicable)
• Purchase Information (if purchasing a business, additional information is required)

Getting a loan can be complicated, and most get turned down for lack of proper documentation or missing information not because you were not qualified. As a general rule, once you are turned down by one lender the chance of getting approved by another is very small.

At Lendingcapital we make all this easy, and have many approved preferred SBA lenders with our national reach.  We have the ability to submit to many lenders without effecting your credit or alerting that we are shopping the loan. Your chances of approval with us increased dramatically-so why not let us do the work for you and make sure your submittal package is correct the first time. Get approved today

www.lendingcapital.net

Small Business Scoring Service℠, (or FICO® SBSS℠ score) is one of the three main business credit scores. It’s the one credit score all business owners should know, but many have never heard of it because, until now, it’s been hard to get your hands on it. Banks aren’t required to disclose that they use the FICO® SBSS℠ score and very little information exists about it online. More lenders are using it because it helps them make faster, more accurate lending decisions. This means they can make decisions in hours, not days.

In fact, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) now uses the score to pre-screen it’s most popular 7(a) loans. If your score falls below their minimum threshold, you may not qualify for one of the most attractive—lowest interest rates—small business loans available. Starting at the beginning of 2014, all SBA 7(a) loan applications up to $350,000 are required to go through a business credit score pre-screen. To be clear, if you’re applying for an SBA loan, most likely it’s a 7(a).

Here’s how SBSS works:

• SBSS scores can be used for term loans and lines of credit for amounts up to $1 million. If you’re applying for $1 million or less, chances are your lender will use SBSS to help make its decision.
• Like personal credit scores, FICO SBSS rank-orders small businesses by their likelihood of making payments on time. The FICO score ranges from 0 to 300. The higher the score, the better.
• The minimum score to pass the SBA’s pre-screen process is currently 140. But most lenders set their minimum score at 160.
• The scoring is based upon personal and business credit history and other financial information. A strong history of business credit with timely payments to vendors and suppliers may help boost your SBSS score.
• If you have derogatory or no credit history, it can take months or even years of positive credit activity to move your SBSS score significantly higher. It’s vital to build your credit and ensure it’s healthy before you need it.
• Because businesses are not covered by FCRA protections, you can be denied business financing due to your SBSS score, and lenders are not required to notify you of the reason why.

How is the credit score calculated?

The short answer is the score is calculated by looking at personal and business credit history, as well as other business financial information, like: age of the business, number of employees, financial data, such as revenue and assets. It truly is a global view of a business’s overall financial health!

If you have no business credit history and limited time in business, the highest possible FICO SBSS score you can get is 140. But to do so, would require pristine personal credit.

Banks and lenders can set up the SBSS model in many different ways, putting more weight on certain information, and less on others.

For example, it can put more weight on your business credit profile or more on your personal. It’s also a very “smart” business credit scoring model because it will automatically go from one business credit bureau to another, in whatever order of priority the lender prefers, until it’s able to generate a score.

So, if the lender prefers checking the Experian Intelliscore (business credit) as the default, the SBSS pulls in the Experian data set. If that report doesn’t offer enough information, it will automatically check another business credit score, like the D&B PAYDEX score. It could also then move on to your Equifax business credit data. If there’s not enough business credit data available, it will just use the personal credit data to calculate the SBSS score, along with your business financials.

Who uses the FICO SBSS score?

SBSS scores can be used for term loans and lines of credit for amounts up to $1 million. The FICO SBSS score is used by over 7,500 lenders nationwide to help them make lending decisions. Large banks include: KeyBank, Huntington National Bank, PNC, RBC, USBank, Zions Bank, HSBC, Santander Bank.

The SBA uses it to pre-screen. Cutoff is 140. Banks will use it to pre-screen their loan applicants but they usually set their cutoff higher, typically around 160. If your score falls below that, they will look at your business as too much of a risk. Plus, banks don’t want to waste their time filling out lengthy SBA loan applications if they are confident you’ll get denied because of a low FICO SBSS score.

How can I improve my FICO SBSS score?

You can take steps now to start improving your FICO SBSS score, you need to take care of your personal credit and start building business credit. www.Nav.com  will help you take steps to improve both personal and business credit in one spot.

Lastly, you may just need time: Time to show solid business financial history that makes your business a less risky and  better odds at obtaining the loan you need. Remember, banks and lenders do not like surprises, lack or false information, incomplete applications, or missing documents like personal financial statements and so on.

Read our loan 101 on our website…

Be prepared, be informed, be ready…get funded

www.lendingcapital.net

I had a call today that did everything in the world to get me to say “YES”

They were persistent, then rude, then eventually hung up. Once you say the “yes” word, they record it and use for authorization to purchase items or sell it to the black market.

I can’t say enough about the danger of these scams, phone scams, email, phishing etc.

Or this: 

Researchers at the security firm Kaspersky on Tuesday described an unprecedented case of wholesale bank fraud, one that essentially hijacked a bank’s entire internet footprint. At 1 pm on October 22 of last year, the researchers say, hackers changed the Domain Name System registrations of all 36 of the bank’s online properties, commandeering the bank’s desktop and mobile website domains to take users to phishing sites. In practice, that meant the hackers could steal login credentials at sites hosted at the bank’s legitimate web addresses. Kaspersky researchers believe the hackers may have even simultaneously redirected all transactions at ATMs or point-of-sale systems to their own servers, collecting the credit card details of anyone who used their card that Saturday afternoon.

“Absolutely all of the bank’s online operations were under the attackers’ control for five to six hours,”…

Get informed, get protected. The price you pay may be more than you can afford, mentally as well.

www. Lendingcapital.net

Phone Scams Costing Victims, All Over One Word

Consumer Complaints: Online: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov Phone: (888) 225-5322 TTY: (888) 835-5322 Videophone: 1-844-432-2275 Media Contact: Will Wiquist, (202) 418-0509 will.wiquist@fcc.gov

CONSUMER ALERT: ‘CAN YOU HEAR ME’ SCAMS

Phone Fraudsters Recording Consumers’ Voice Responses WASHINGTON, March 27, 2017 – The Federal Communications Commission is alerting consumers to be on the lookout for scam callers seeking to get victims to say the word “yes” during a call and later use a recording of the response to authorize unwanted charges on the victim’s utility or credit card account. According to complaints the FCC has received and public news reports, the fraudulent callers impersonate representatives from organizations that provide a service and may be familiar to the person receiving the call, such as a mortgage lender or utility, to establish a legitimate reason for trying to reach the consumer. The scam begins when a consumer answers a call and the person at the end of the line asks, “Can you hear me?” The caller then records the consumer’s “Yes” response and thus obtains a voice signature. This signature can later be used by the scammers to pretend to be the consumer and authorize fraudulent charges via telephone. If you receive this type of call, immediately hang up. If you have already responded to this type of call, review all of your statements such as those from your bank, credit card lender, or telephone company for unauthorized charges. If you notice unauthorized charges on these and other types of statements, you have likely been a victim of “cramming”. Anyone who believes they have been targeted by this scam should immediately report the incident to the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker and to the FCC Consumer Help Center. Consumers should always be on alert for telephone scams. The following tips can help ward off unwanted calls and scams: · Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. Let them go to voicemail.

• If you answer and the caller (often a recording) asks you to hit a button to stop receiving calls, just hang up. Scammers often use these tricks to identify, and then target, live respondents.
• If you receive a scam call, write down the number and file a complaint with the FCC so we can help identify and take appropriate action to help consumers targeted by illegal callers.
• Ask your phone service provider if it offers a robocall blocking service. If not, encourage your provider to offer one. You can also visit the FCC’s website for information and resources on available robocall blocking tools to help reduce unwanted calls.
• Consider registering all of your telephone numbers in the National Do Not Call Registry. As the Agency that implements and enforces the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the FCC reviews all consumer complaints. The Agency will continue, when appropriate, to issue consumer alerts based on those complaints and other public information related to possible scams and frauds in hopes of informing and empowering consumers. ### Office of Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 TTY: (888) 835-5322 Twitter: @FCC www.fcc.gov/office-media-relations

Protect yourself…

http://www.lendingcapital.net