Business Loan FAQ: Answers for Grocery Stores and Law Offices in Griffin, GA

Yes, buying an existing store is a standard reason for a business acquisition loan. A funding partner looks at the store's earnings in the seller's records, the price and what it includes (stock, fixtures and goodwill; a building sold with the store is financed separately, outside Valestead), the buyer's down payment and experience, and the buyer's credit. The price has to be supported by what the store earns, or the payment will not fit.

The term loans page works through an invented store purchase with the payment, the interest and a coverage test.

The line itself is not an expense, and drawing on it is not income; it is money owed. Interest paid on a line used for the business is generally a deductible business expense, and so can be some fees for keeping the line open. What is deductible, and when, depends on how the money was used and on the store's tax situation, so the store's tax preparer is the one to decide.

It depends on the agreement. A business line can carry a maturity or renewal date, at which point the funder reviews the office again and renews, changes or ends the line; others have a fixed draw period of a set number of months followed by a repayment period; some stay open until the funder or the office closes them. The agreement names the date and the terms that apply when it arrives.

A line can also be reduced or frozen before that date if the agreement allows it, for example after a missed payment, so reading the default and review clauses matters as much as the date.

An Employer Identification Number is the federal tax ID for a business. A law office set up as a partnership, a professional corporation or an LLC with more than one member needs one for its tax filings anyway, and an office with employees needs one for payroll. A sole practitioner without employees can file under a Social Security number, but a funder can still ask for an EIN on a business application, and the IRS does not charge for one.

Not the Valestead form: it collects contact details and ranges and stops short of being a credit application. A funding partner that reviews the store's request may check credit during its own review. A soft inquiry leaves a personal score alone, while a hard inquiry can nudge it down a little for a while. Business credit files can record inquiries too.

An owner can ask the partner, before any check, which kind it runs and whether it checks the owner, the business or both. Several inquiries for the same kind of loan within a short window can be scored differently from scattered ones under some scoring models.

For a question this page leaves out, the Valestead contact page has the phone line, the request form and the Griffin, GA street address.

The four request steps and the six funding types cover more of the ground this page touches on.