Equipment Financing
As we move into the 2nd quarter of the year, we’re noticing that financing is once again becoming easier to secure. For the last 6+ months, it’s been tough for some contractors to get loans to purchase equipment. Actually, to clarify, for the last 6 months or so, it’s been difficult for contractors with anything other than superb credit to get a loan.
Mike Arness, from Clearview Financial, tells us that we should notice a continuing loosening in lending.
It’s been frustrating for us and for our clients, as those that have the ability to expand and grow their businesses were being stifled by tighter credit.
Based on what we’re seeing in terms of call volume and what we’re hearing from customers, the market out there seems strong, and demand for grinders and scrapers is high. But, without credit available, our sales suffer, and our clients businesses suffer because they don’t have the equipment they need to grow.
For those with credit cards, there is an option (although it can be very expensive). I don’t know that we ever charged as much on credit cards for big purchases (over $5K), than we did last month. That’s expensive for us, and potentially for our clients.
But, as the credit eases, we can go back to doing lots of equipment financing through the good guys over at Clearview, and helping flooring contractors around the country with all their equipment needs.