by speedadmin | Nov 16, 2022 | Blog
Multifamily home investing has grown dramatically in recent years. In fact, according to Statista, multifamily properties comprised about 42 percent of the U.S. real estate market, and the value of multifamily home investing reached over 487 billion dollars in 2021.
What is Multifamily Home Investing?
A multifamily home is defined as a single building structure that is divided to provide separate living spaces for more than one family or set of occupants. These include duplexes and triplexes, condos, townhomes, semi-detached homes, and small apartment buildings which have up to four individual units. Structures with more than four units are generally considered to be commercial properties.
Why Multifamily Home Investing is Attractive
Multifamily home investing is attractive because it can be a great way for beginning real estate investors to get started buying properties that can generate significant income without the more significant financial and operating challenges of commercial real estate investing.
Multifamily home investing offers the potential to establish recurring revenues and generate net operating income. Plus, over time, these properties generally increase their value, producing a significant profit when it becomes time to sell them. This is a great way to diversify one’s investment portfolio. And, for some, it represents a way to reduce living expenses because an investor can occupy one residence while renting out the others.
A Beginners Guide to Buying Multifamily Home Properties
Follow these steps to find success with multifamily home investing:
- Develop a budget. Consider renovation costs, ongoing maintenance costs, closing costs, and carrying costs.
- Examine the types of multifamily properties and decide what you want to undertake.
- Find an experienced real estate agent.
- Research potential neighborhoods and review potential properties.
- Choose your first multifamily home property.
- Choose a lender and get a pre-approval letter.
- Estimate your potential profits and losses.
- Make an offer.
- Get financing and close on the property.
Seek Expert Financing Assistance
Contact Speed Funding for a wide range of expert financing solutions to meet your investment business needs and achieve your goals.
by speedadmin | Nov 11, 2022 | Blog
If you have a business or blog, you have heard of search engine optimization. SEO is essential if you want to be found online and rank highly in search results. However, it does take time, so keep this in mind when creating and implementing a strategy. Advertising is great for getting short-term traffic. However, try search engine optimization to get long-term traffic for less money. Here are some more reasons you need this to help your business or blog thrive.
Organic Traffic
While advertising is excellent, you want organic traffic to your website. It is free, and you will be a better setup for the long term. People trust results that rank higher on search result pages and rarely look at the second page. Because of this, quality SEO is necessary. It may take some time to create a strategy, but you should ensure you plan out what keywords and phrases are relevant to your business. Organic traffic is best because it is cost-effective and valuable for years.
Local SEO Is Important
If you have a physical business, you want new customers coming in consistently. Local SEO can do this for you. Optimize for particular neighborhoods, towns, and regions to get the most out of it. Also, optimize your Google My Business listing and your social media profiles. Reviews are also essential when people look at businesses, so make sure yours are visible. Make time to respond to all reviews, positive and negative. It shows potential customers that you are active and willing to interact with your customers.
SEO Helps Your Business Build Trust
Using search engine optimization helps your business build trust with consumers. Eventually, your website can be seen as a source of authority in your niche if you use SEO correctly and effectively. It does not happen overnight, but if you take the time to build up your links and reviews, search engines will start to rank your page higher. As with any brand, you need to offer quality products, services, and advice for customers to view you positively, so do not cut corners with these.
Search engine optimization is essential for any business. While you will not see results overnight, you need to put some time into using this strategy. It is possible to gain more customers over time and become an authority figure in your niche. Keep in mind that your information and products need to be high quality so customers know they can trust your advice.
by speedadmin | Nov 9, 2022 | Blog
Timely payments for products delivered and services rendered are essential for the prosperity of any company. However, every business sometimes has to deal with customers who are slow in paying their bills. Here are some strategies that will assist you in collecting unpaid invoices easier and quicker.
Offer Terms Only to Qualified Clients
You can radically improve the collection of unpaid invoices by finding out whether potential customers have a history of prompt payments. To accomplish this, check commercial credit reports, which can be obtained from companies such as Experian, Ansonia, and Dun & Bradstreet. Only offer 30 to 60-day payment terms to clients with good credit histories, and insist that others make their payments on delivery or upfront. Even when you offer terms, have an attorney delineate them in detail in a contract.
Be Diligent with Paperwork
After your goods are delivered or services completed, have your client sign an acceptance letter. This should assist you with any disputes and make the collection of unpaid invoices easier. Send your invoice out promptly along with a copy of the acceptance letter.
Follow Up When Necessary
Despite your best efforts in vetting your clients and being diligent with documentation, some customers will be late in handling their unpaid invoices. After clients have missed payment deadlines, email or call them to ensure there are no difficulties, and then set a new date for payment. If this is also missed, repeat the process. When actual disputes arise, deal with them professionally and courteously.
Get Help from Outside
In a minority of cases, clients may persist in nonpayment. Under these circumstances, it is best to resolve these situations by obtaining assistance from a collections agency or an attorney. This will leave you free to carry on running your company.
Boost Cash Flow with Financing
These strategies should help you cut down on your unpaid invoices. However, offering terms draws in clients, so sometimes you cannot avoid delayed payments of invoices. If this occurs, consider filling the gaps in your cash flow with financing such as an asset-based loan or invoice factoring.
For more advice on collecting unpaid invoices, contact Speed Funding and ask about our factoring services.
by speedadmin | Nov 2, 2022 | Blog
A real estate investment is believed by many to be an excellent way to accumulate wealth. For example, listen to the wisdom of Andrew Carnegie, the American industrialist and philanthropist, who said that 90% of millionaires became wealthy by investing in real estate. Perhaps you can become one of them too.
Types of Real Estate Investment
There are many ways to begin a real estate investment. They can be broken down into two distinct classes, direct ownership, in which you own the properties, and indirect ownership, such as investing in real estate investment trusts (REITS).
With the arena of direct investing, there are a host of possibilities:
- A New Personal Residence. Buying a home for your family, especially when the market is not overly hot, can produce great capital gains as time goes on.
- Fixing and Flipping a Property. If you have the expertise, renovating homes that are in need of repair and flipping them for a profit can be a lucrative business, especially in areas where people are moving in.
- Rental Real Estate. Rental properties, whether single residential homes, multi-dwelling real estate, or business properties, are excellent for generating monthly cash flow.
- Buying Raw Land. Buying undeveloped land on the fringes of developing areas can be a quite profitable real estate investment if you have a long timeframe.
Do Your Homework Before You Invest
As always, it pays to be knowledgable and tuned in when involved with a real estate investment. Here are some ideas to keep in mind:
- Know the neighborhood you are considering like the back of your hand.
- Don’t overspend in a hot market.
- Start small and scale in with additional properties as you start achieving profitability.
Partner with Speed of Light Funding
Speed of Light Funding is committed to providing fast and dependable funding for a variety of real estate financing solutions. If you are looking to buy commercial real estate or are in the fix-and-flip business, we can provide you with a number of high-quality funding options. Give us a call today.
by speedadmin | Oct 26, 2022 | Blog
You have to make a lot of decisions when you start a business. It can be overwhelming trying to figure out all your strategies and processes at first. These are a few small business tips to help you grow and succeed.
Focus on Supporting Your Customers
Your ultimate goal should be to provide the best service your customers can find. Your product should be the best quality you can provide, but often, the service your clients receive will determine whether and how often they come back for additional purchases. Some key strategies include returning calls or inquiries within 24 hours, customizing your service based on the client’s desires or needs, and doing everything you can to solve your customers’ problems.
Define Your Credit Policy
If you have decided to offer your customers credit, you will need to develop an invoicing policy. You need to determine your credit period and terms. These invoices are recorded in your accounts receivable, which is listed as an asset on your balance sheet, but if they are not paid on time or ever, they can quickly impact your financial health.
Therefore, you need to put specific things on your invoices. For example, your documents should have a few dates: when the invoice was created, when the product was ordered, and when the invoice is due. Include a clear description of the product and the price per unit. The final cost and quantities should also be included. State the financial terms, including early payment incentives or late payment fees.
Focus on Your Core Business
As you start your business, you and your staff may have great new ideas for additional product lines, but when your business is new, you should stay focused on your niche. Avoid moving into new markets until you have secured your position in your current industry sector and niche. You can also focus your online and offline marketing on this area.
Pursue Effective Time Management
If you have a new or small business, you have probably taken on the roles of several individuals. You may manage and hire employees, do the company accounting, and serve customers. You also have to plan the current and future business strategies, including production, marketing, and finance. You may even manage logistics and IT. The list of your duties may be even larger.
The best way to manage these roles is to adopt time management strategies and prioritize your tasks. You may even adopt technological help for some of your tasks, including your scheduling and task preparation.
Most small business tips focus on creating balance and efficiency. Consider these strategies as you pursue business success.
At Speed of Light Funding, we have a great reputation for helping our customers get the business loans they need as quickly as possible. We offer flexible loans that adapt to your company’s circumstances and are easy to qualify for. We’re friendly and knowledgeable, showing you the best commercial finance options for reaching your goals. With the right loan, your business can grow in amazing ways.
by speedadmin | Oct 19, 2022 | Blog
As the owner of a business, you need working capital. During the early days, cash flow may be minimal. One path toward getting what you need is through a merchant cash advance. Payment for this style of funding comes from future credit card transactions, so having more activity in this department means qualifying for more. Here’s a guide toward securing one of these loans and reaping the rewards.
Researching Possible Providers
There are many companies able to supply loans vying for your attention. Differences abound. It behooves you to compare the possibilities before moving forward. Find out how much each one charges, checking that you’re comfortable with the potential burden. Note that lenders have minimum requirements for acceptance. Find out what they are before completing an application; there’s no need to waste effort if being declined is a foregone conclusion.
Working With Processors
The merchant cash advance outfit you choose to work with needs to know you can satisfy the debt. Verify that the company you’re fostering a relationship with finds your credit card company sufficient. Choosing a merchant cash provider from a preexisting list of acceptable alternatives is one way of assuring an agreeable situation. Another is putting your cash provider first and switching credit card partners accordingly.
Submitting Cash Advance Applications
An advantage to these loans is that applications are much simpler than ones for traditional bank loans. Assuming your documentation is accurate and comprehensive, the process should be a breeze. Providers will want a comprehensive overview of your venture’s fiscal picture. Let them know what business structure you’ve chosen, and include a glimpse into the financial history of your enterprise. Tell them how much you make per year, the frequency of credit card transactions, and how much you expect to gross in the future. While a negative credit score could prevent you from securing an agreement, most merchant cash dealers consider the overall picture before reaching a decision.
Reviewing the Contract Details
Congratulations! You’ve been offered a deal from a merchant cash supplier. Before making the contract official, comb over what’s on the table. Review the rate you’ll be paying and whether any penalties associated with defaulting apply. Read every bit of fine print. If anything is unclear, seek an explanation before signing.
A merchant cash advance is one way of keeping your business growing. Especially for ventures that are just starting, understanding the process of securing one is bound to prove useful.
Speed of Light Funding understands that flexibility is essential to operational growth, which is why we offer a wide variety of business loans. We specialize in quick funding — in some cases, you can get cash within 24 hours. Once the money is in your possession, you can spend it in various ways.
by speedadmin | Oct 14, 2022 | Blog
If you have thought about starting a business or have started one already, you probably want to know how to market it. There are dozens of ways to tell people about your small business. However, some are more effective than others. It depends on your niche and what you are selling. You can use tactics like digital marketing and advertising and social media marketing. These are excellent options that are effective and not costly. Traditional marketing can be expensive, and you lose some of the personalization aspects if your audience is too general. Here are some ways to market your business successfully and grow your customer base.
Digital Marketing
Marketing your small business online includes using ads and SEO techniques. You can create ads easily using various tools. You can create image ads using free or paid tools. Digital ads are great for businesses because you can make them quickly and customize them for different audiences. You can also A/B test ads to see which ones are more popular with your customer base.
SEO techniques are essential because that is how you get long-term traffic. You need a blog or other website to help with SEO, and you need to ensure you are using the correct keywords for your topic. The goal is to rank highly on search engines so people will see your posts or website. Most people do not go past the first page of search results, so the higher you rank, the better.
Social Media
Marketing on social media is an excellent way to connect and interact with your audience. Social media is valuable for small businesses because they can gain an audience and a following for free. To use social media for business, try posting informative or entertaining content. Try not to post anything too out of the ordinary for your brand. When people follow you and routinely look at your posts, they expect certain content. You can always try posting something new, but determine if your audience would appreciate it. Create brand guidelines so that everyone is on the same page about social media posts.
Having a small business can be life-changing and positive. However, let people know you have a business. To do this, you need to market your products and services. Create a website or a blog to help others understand what you do. Start a social media account to interact with your audience and potential customers.
Business owners know that you get what you pay for. When it comes to digital advertising, this principle is essential for success. Don’t risk something as important as your company’s online reputation. Entrust your digital marketing to experts. At Speed of Light Funding, we’ve been providing state-of-the-art marketing services to business owners for a long time.
by speedadmin | Oct 12, 2022 | Blog
When you start a small business, you may feel overwhelmed by the accounting and finance responsibilities and processes. If you aren’t adept in these areas, you could make some serious mistakes that have the potential to damage your business. These are ways to avoid common mistakes.
Separate Your Business and Personal Finances
Separate your business from your personal finances. In the beginning, you may be paying many of your business expenses with your personal funds. However, your company needs to build its own financial stability and record. This separation also insulates you from your business liabilities.
Build Business Credit
You should start building your business’s credit right away. Low or no credit can affect your company’s ability to gain financing. You may be denied even small loans because your firm’s credit isn’t built.
It can be challenging for you to build business credit, but spend some time finding out how the credit impacts the company and how to build it. From securing business credit cards to finding alternative lenders who will provide up-front financing. However, pay close attention to your business credit utilization ratio and keep it below 30%. This prevents you from having to use your personal credit, loans, or funds for company expenses.
Read Financial Contracts
When you are approved for a loan or other financing, you may have hidden fees or other terms on the contract that you need to know. This includes calculating the true APR so you know your borrowing cost per year. Some new small business owners overlook these features. Maybe they are more focused on paying their expenses or they are excited to build their credit, but these terms can have a dramatic impact on your company’s finances, including increasing your debt and payment amounts.
Follow-Up with Lenders
When you are denied a loan, your first task should be asking why. If you don’t know why you were denied, you cannot take steps to fix the issue so that you can secure a loan in the future. Your prospective lenders may also have other ideas, such as alternative financing options, that you may not have considered and would not know about if you didn’t ask for feedback.
Learn Lender Criteria
When you don’t know the criteria, your lender has established for loan approval, you may not be focused on the right areas of your company and its financial situation. You could apply for a loan after loan and never be approved because you don’t understand the criteria for approval and haven’t spent time building your company so that you meet it.
Do the research and work to protect your small business finances.
Speed of Light Funding understands that flexibility is essential to operational growth, which is why we offer a wide variety of business loans. We specialize in quick funding — in some cases, you can get cash within 24 hours. Once the money is in your possession, you can spend it in various ways:
by speedadmin | Oct 5, 2022 | Blog
Cash flow is the measure of the revenue coming into your business versus the funds going out. This ratio is important for your company’s financial health because if you don’t have enough liquid capital, you can’t pay your suppliers, buy inventory, or cover other operating expenses. This balancing act is challenging for many companies, but especially for startups and small businesses.
How Can You Improve Your Company’s Cash Flow?
To enjoy better cash flow, you have three main options. One is to increase the amount of revenue you generate. The second is to encourage your customers to pay you more quickly. Third, you can reduce your expenses or get more time to pay your bills.
The first option is important, but it’s not easy to control. You can’t always determine how sales are going to go during the month, and many small businesses have to deal with seasonal ups and downs as well.
Getting customers to pay you more quickly is a great solution for many businesses because it helps you get liquid capital sooner after you make a sale. Unfortunately, this isn’t feasible in some industries where terms of three to six months for payment are standard.
Lowering your outgoing cash flow is a good goal, but it takes a long time to implement, especially where things such as inventory purchases are concerned. You have to build up sufficient capital to be able to purchase inventory in bulk for greater discounts. Of course, with purchase order financing, you have a shortcut available.
How Can Purchase Order Financing Help With Your Cash Flow?
PO financing focuses on the third option for cash flow, reducing your outgoing expenses. The idea is that when you don’t have to spend as much on inventory or raw materials purchases, you have a lot more working capital available for other operating costs. With the money you save, it’s easier to handle payroll, equipment leases, taxes, rent payments, and other costs.
This type of financing essentially lets you get funds that are set aside directly for your suppliers to complete client orders. You don’t need to buy inventory in bulk. You get what you need right away, make the sale, ship the products, and get paid.
This process is perfect for startups and companies looking to expand their services or market. It lets you start small and work your way up to greater sales. Your cash flow stays intact and your revenue keeps improving, too.
At Speed of Light Funding, we have a great reputation for helping our customers get the business loans they need as quickly as possible. We offer flexible loans that adapt to your company’s circumstances and are easy to qualify for. We’re friendly and knowledgeable, showing you the best commercial finance options for reaching your goals. With the right loan, your business can grow in amazing ways.
by speedadmin | Sep 28, 2022 | Blog
Getting a loan for your small business can fuel growth and development. Here are some important things that you should do to successfully pursue an SBA lending opportunity.
Strengthen Your Credit
From day one of a business’s operations, it is imperative that owners act strategically about building their business credit. Building a good score is an excellent way for businesses with modest operating budgets to establish credibility that can help them access a loan or a line of credit.
A business credit score can have a pivotal effect on a business’s ability to obtain an SBA loan. If a lender has concerns about credit issues, it may decline to offer a loan, or the funding terms that it offers may be burdensome. In fact, lenders may be categorically unable to extend an offer to a company with a credit score that is below a threshold requirement.
Find the Right Lender
Your local SBA Association and other reputable resources online can point you in the direction of lenders that can offer businesses an SBA loan. Bear in mind, however, that not every lender stands on equal footing. Research different options, and try to work with a financial services provider that has experience lending to businesses in your sector of the business world. Lenders that have industry insights are better equipped to understand a growing company’s financial strengths and weaknesses than a lender who views all growing companies through the same lens.
Demonstrate Stellar Organization
All of your business’s financial and corporate recordkeeping must be in perfect order. You must have complete documentation reflecting all of your financial activities. Your financial statements should demonstrate a strong ability to meet ongoing overhead expenses in addition to new obligations associated with an SBA loan.
Being able to show a lender that you have meticulous accounting practice and solid bases for forward-looking projections. Both of these traits of successful applicants exhibit competence and inspire confidence.
Budget Practically
They want to see that your operating budgets are practical and thorough. Your presentation of your planned use of proceeds must not appear too speculative or reliant on contingencies that are beyond your control.
Savvy business owners do not look to the SBA lending process for a lifeline to sustain their operations amid challenges. Instead, they are seeking funds to lay the foundation for a future that they will forge with careful planning and hard work. The process is competitive, so businesses need to present a strong application in order to get a loan.
At Speed of Light Funding, we have a great reputation for helping our customers get the business loans they need as quickly as possible. We offer flexible loans that adapt to your company’s circumstances and are easy to qualify for. We’re friendly and knowledgeable, showing you the best commercial finance options for reaching your goals. With the right loan, your business can grow in amazing ways.
