How much do my personal finances affect my chances for a loan?

MattTurpin

I`m in the market for a new car. I saw a Toyota Yaris: small, fuel efficient, and only 13k MSRP. Ordinarily, I`d jump into the purchase head first. A friend of mine is the salesman there, and I can get a deal. However, these aren`t ordinary times. As you all know, I`m looking to get a loan for my upcoming cafe. The cafe will ideally be funded on a business startup loan. The car would require a personal loan. My question is, will having an outstanding 12-13k loan kill my chances for a 100k business loan? My credit is excellent - 726 last I checked. I don`t want to shoot myself in the foot over a new car. Any advice would be appreciated.

MattTurpin

It`s going well - I`m actually in a position where I`m comparing loan offers, and not begging for loan offers. It`s an empowering position. I have an investor of 15k, I have one unsecured loan offer of 75k, and I have a traditional loan from my own bank that wants me to have 25% equity, but has no upper cap. The location is my current challenge. I thought the cash would be the hard part. The cash is easy with a good idea, and apparently I have one. The location is so crucial to my success, being a university-centric social cafe, that I really can`t afford to settle for anything less than perfect. I`m taking my time, not jumping into anything, and I`m going to put my consultants` 35 years of expertise to the best use by following their suggestions to the T. 90% of small businesses fail, and I think it`s because 99% of the people I`ve talked to seem to want me to rush. If people are inclined to rush, I can imagine the failure rate. Slow and steady - it`s winning my race.

ivoryaj

Hi Matt I just saw your post. I thinks personal finances can have a big affect on weather you qualify for a loan. I have seen a couple websites that offer free applications for government grants that you don't have to pay back. Have you looked into this?