As we all know times have been tough and it's been a struggle to stay in business. Organizations of all kinds have had to get creative in their business processes to make sure they can survive another day. One industry that has had to get creative to stay in business is the lending community. This market has obviously hit them very hard. In order for many of these firms to stay in business they have had to change their business model a bit. Pre-market crash, any borrower could go to a financial firm to get a loan and that firm would do their best to find that customer a loan free of cost. The financial firm would recoup their cost on the back end by charging a few points on the loan. Well what was happening when the market hit the floor is that borrowers were going to financial firms inquiring about a business loan, the firm said "Sure I will do what I can for you" and the firm would bust their hump for hours, weeks and even months to find that customer a loan for their business. After a few weeks the firm would call the customer saying "I have a solution for you" and the borrowers would say, "No it's ok, I have found another solution" or, "No it's ok, I'm no longer interested". How aggravated would you be if you spent hours and weeks of hard work to help a customer to just have them blow you off in the end? These firms were losing precious hours and money everyday with borrowers that were stiff arming them in the end. The financial firms had to do something about this stay in business. This is where "Up Front Fees" come in. Firms will tell you they need a certain amount of money up front in order to work for you?

So what I guess I am trying to say is that "Up Front Fees" are not uncommon in this current market however organizations have taken advantage of the program and given the program a bad name. iBank has worked with lending institutions for years that charge up front fees and give business borrowers awesome loans. The caution warning I give you where fraud ans scam could happen is to not give a single penny to anyone unless there is a contract in place. The contract should allow for your money back if that firm can't find you your loan.

Bottom line...Businesses need to be paid for their services today. However, always make sure the terms of service are in writing and both parties are on the same page.

iBank Team