On your side.

If you have ever applied for a loan, you have had to sit in front of someone you really don't know and discuss your private life. It can be uncomfortable sometimes, because the experience forces you to look closely at what you have been doing with your money for the last several years.

I run the business office at Hub City RV, which means that I am the guy you get to talk to when you want to finance a RV purchase. It has been quite an eye opener to be on the other side of the desk and see what it takes to actually "get a deal bought".

Before you even step on the lot at your local RV, Boat, Car, or motorsports dealer, they have invested a great deal of time and money in their business, to make sure you have the best chance of purchasing the product you have come to their lot to buy.

Most dealers have several options for financing based on the client making the purchase, the unit being purchased, the amount of money needed to finance the deal, and current market conditions. Each of the financial centres (banks) that the dealer has signed up, require a great deal of paper work be completed before they will allow the dealer to send in applications. The banks want to be sure that they are dealing with an established, reputable dealer because they are really entering into a partnership with their dealers and how each of them conducts business, will reflect on the other partner as well.

There is also a great deal of paperwork that must be done on each application and approval which is where the business manager comes in. It is the business managers job to do everything he/she can to get you an approval on your purchase. To do this they need to collect customer and purchase information and make sure that that information is submitted to the buyers in the proper format and in the best light possible.

To help the business manager get you into the unit you want to purchase, the biggest thing is to make sure you give him complete information for the questions that you are being asked. Don't hold back on any debts or assets that you may have because you don't like the way it sounds. With our current market conditions and the economic outlook that has put corporations and individuals in such desperate standings, the banks have become a little more picky about what they will and won't except in a loan application. If there is something in your credit past that you don't like to mention to strangers, you can be pretty sure that it will impact the banks consideration of you as a credit risk. However, if you are upfront with your business manager and explain that you once had a credit problem, whether its your mistake or some one else's, they can help present that to the lenders. If there is a good reason for the situation, and there always is, the banks are more willing to work around it if they have the story.

This is where a good business manager can make all the difference. If they are willing to take the time to talk to the lenders on your behalf and explain your situation sometimes that is what it will take to make a deal. I have had deals approved, that had been initially declined but I was able to convince the bank to have another look at the deal after carefully addressing the banks concerns and explaining why things are the way they are.

Usually, we can have a response from the bank within 5 mins to a couple of hours, however I have also spent a couple of weeks working to get a deal approved by the time I had satisfied the banks concerns and forwarded all the pertinent paperwork.

If you want to be a business manager, you have to like paperwork!

The other thing to keep in mind when dealing with a business manager or loan manager, is that it is also that persons job to make sure that you are presented with all the options to make an informed decision on your purchase. The services that a business manager offers to their clients, are of a benefit to their customers, whether it is extended service contracts, protection packages, credit insurance or whatever items the dealer has to offer. Not only do each of these items offer protection for the customer and their purchase, but it offers the bank and the dealer protection as well.

It is as upsetting for the dealer, as well as the customer, to have to explain that the manufacturers warranty expired 3 months ago and that the customer is responsible for paying for the repair out of their own pocket. Especially if that same customer declined to purchase an extended warranty at the time of purchase.

So keep in mind, whatever the purchase and whomever you are dealing with, the business manager is on your side and wants to see you successful in your request for financing.

Talk to you soon,
Rob Atkinson
Business Manager
Hub City RV Ltd