Understanding The Details Of Business Debt Settlement

For many business owners, going into debt is quite common. Unfortunately, so too is facing problems when it comes to paying off the debt. With nearly 30% of all small business owners admitting to using credit cards or personal loans to fund their startups, it is very common for them to later on face financial difficulties that make it almost impossible to pay off the debt as they had planned. If this group of business owners includes you, there is an alternative to simply making the minimum payments each month. By enrolling in debt settlement with an experienced debt settlement company, you can take the first step to solving your financial problems.

Rely on Negotiating
For a business debt settlement company, negotiation is the name of the game. Contrary to what many business owners assume, most of their creditors are in fact very willing to negotiate better terms in order to get debts resolved. However, they are usually much more receptive to the idea if you have negotiators from a debt settlement company speaking to them on your behalf. By doing so, your creditors know you are not only serious about paying off the debt, but also that they will have to reach a deal that is actually fair on all fronts.

Debt-Free Much Sooner
If you try to struggle along making minimum payments and hoping things will take a turn for the better, you likely will be dealing with your debt problems for at least a decade or more. In some cases, things may get so tough that you opt to declare bankruptcy and close your business. Fortunately, you don’t have to consider these options by choosing to enroll in debt settlement services. Since negotiators will work hard to secure settlements that are fair and for amounts much lower than your current debt levels, you may wake up one day and realize you are finally debt-free. For many entrepreneurs, this can occur within a span of two to four years.

Make Sure Your Debt Qualifies
While this may initially sound as if any type of debt you have can be eliminated, that is not quite true. For example, if you took out student loans to complete college, these cannot be negotiated by a debt settlement service. Neither can tax debts you owe, or money owed on an auto loan or your mortgage. However, if you have unsecured debt from personal loans and credit cards used for your business, this debt can often be successfully negotiated by a debt settlement service. To make sure your debt qualifies for assistance, always be very clear about the types and amount of debt you have, since a minimum of $7,500 of unsecured debt is often the basic requirement.

You Maintain Control
Though it probably sounds as if you have to relinquish control of your finances to debt settlement negotiators, it is crucial to remember you do in fact maintain control of how your situation plays out. For example, when negotiators reach a tentative deal with one of your creditors, they will contact you to tell you of this development and explain the terms of the deal. However, should you not be comfortable with the terms, you have the right to say no to that deal. If you do, negotiators will then go back to the creditor and attempt to reach a new agreement that would be satisfactory to you. Therefore, never agree to work with a debt settlement service that tries to force you into agreeing to whatever terms they negotiate.

Fees are Better than Minimum Payments
For negotiating with creditors on your behalf, a debt settlement service will charge you a fee for its work. The fee, which will be based on how much total debt you owe creditors, will usually average about 20%. However, this will still be far better than continuing to make minimum payments on credit cards and loans. After all, once you pay the fee and have agreements in place for deals that have you paying off your debt for far less than the original total, you will find yourself in a much stronger financial position as you move forward with your business.

Paying the Creditors
Once negotiations are completed and deals are agreed to by everyone, it’s time for you to actually pay the creditors. To do so, this will require you having a savings account that can be used to accumulate the money needed and to transfer that money to your creditors. Since the account will need to be an FDIC-insured account, make sure you set this up through your bank or another reputable lender you can trust. Also, when you are initially enrolling in debt settlement services, it must be verified by the settlement company that the debt is listed exclusively in your name, and that you are confirmed to be the sole proprietor of your business.

If there is one thing that will keep a business owner awake at night, it is worrying about how to pay off business debt. In these tough times of COVID-19 and other difficult financial circumstances, don’t try to handle your debt problems by yourself. Instead, contact a debt settlement company to discuss your business debt in greater detail. Once you do, you can begin to see there are actually viable solutions to your debt problems that don’t include filing for bankruptcy or giving up on your entrepreneurial dreams.