Phone, form and office address for Orchardwood Lending in Athens, TN, plus three sets of questions worth asking about any business loan offer and what to have ready for a first call.
Before applying: questions an Athens, TN building material dealer can put to any lender
Before a dealer gives anyone a bank login or a tax return, it can put a few plain questions to the lender or funding partner. The answers show whether the product suits a business that buys stock in bulk and sells on account:
- Is the payment fixed, or does it move with a rate index?
- Is it collected monthly, weekly or daily from the account?
- What collateral is taken, and is a personal guarantee required?
- Which costs come at closing, and which are added over the life of the debt?
- Can the balance be paid early, and is there a charge for that?
Written answers to these, collected before an application, make it plain how the next offer stacks up against this one.
While a partner reviews the request: process questions for a McMinn County, TN supply dealer
Once a request is moving, the questions turn to the process and what it asks of the owner:
- Which records does the partner need, and for how many months back?
- Will the partner check business credit, personal credit or both, and at which stage?
- Who has to sign: every owner, or only the majority owner?
- Does the amount cover the whole quote for a forklift or a rack system, or is a down payment expected?
- Who receives the money: the seller, or the store's own account?
- What does the partner need to see to keep the review going if a document is late?
A partner that takes up the request can answer these directly. Orchardwood Lending can say which questions to raise and what each answer means for the store.
Reading a written offer: cost questions for a McMinn County, TN building supply store
An offer on paper deserves its own round of questions, because two offers with the same amount can cost very different sums:
- What is the total repaid, in dollars, if every payment is made on schedule?
- Does the agreement price the funding with annual interest or an advance factor?
- What happens after a missed or late payment, and is there a grace period?
- Does early payoff reduce the total cost, or is the full cost owed regardless?
- Does the offer renew, and on what terms?
A merchant cash advance is collected from future card sales rather than repaid on a loan schedule, so its questions differ. The cash advance page lays out how that collection works.
Call before you apply: questions for Athens, TN building material dealers
A short call to (423) 436-9111 commits the business to nothing. It helps to have three facts at hand: what the money pays for, roughly how much, and how long the business has been open. The rest can wait until a funding partner asks.
A plant replacing a worn spindle can call with the machine quote in hand. So can one of the 39 gasoline stations that McMinn County, TN counted in 2023 (CBP, NAICS 4471) when it prices a store cooler, POS hardware or a freestanding sign.
Ready to start in writing? The request form and application checklist list what a funding partner can ask for later.
By Orchardwood Lending ยท Updated
