Golf Course Lending is Back…
Golf course loans are possible again IF you have had a solid last few years.
We recently assisted a client with a $3.4 million refinance of their golf course and the key to getting the loan approved was consistent cash flow for the last few years and solid guarantors.
So, yes…it is possible to refinance a golf course or to get funding to purchase a golf course, but the course’s financials must be solid for the last few years.
As anyone in the industry is aware, the Recession ruined a lot of courses and the ones that survived had a pretty rough few years (and some ugly tax returns to go with it), but there are those that are coming back and just might be finance-able.
The deal we recently completed was a pretty typical SBA loan, although we had the added challenge of helping to negotiate with the current loan servicer who represented the company that bought the loan from a lender that went under and let’s just say that the company that bought the loan did not necessarily have the best interests of the client at heart when they purchased it. (i.e. the terms the borrower’s thought they had weren’t necessarily the terms).
Long story short…we got it done and the client was able to get a good rate, fully amortized over 25 years and they are happy to be rid of the other “lender.”
The “Fine Print” About Golf Course Lending
There are some caveats to this story and any excitement should be tempered by the fact that there are still very few SBA lenders willing to even look at a transaction and with such a small number of active lenders doing a limited amount of loans (no lender wants to have too many golf courses in their portfolio in any economy), it will be tougher for you as a borrower to stand out, but if you have 2 years of tax returns showing a healthy profit and current financials showing solid cash flow and good trends…then you have a shot.
Please contact me if you would like more info about SBA golf course loans: jking (at) green commercial capital (dot) com or 1-800-414-5285