Are there any grants or loans available in Illinois for a lower income family to purchase a business?

Sep 11, 2007 by James L | Posted in Small Business

My husband and I live in a very small town in Illinois. There is a business for sale here in our town that actually consists of two buildings. One building is a empty business front with some apartments above. The other building was is an icecream parlor/fast food restaurant with all equipment. These two are being sold as a package deal and will not be seperated.

My husband is the only one who works in out family of 6. I go to school, take care of the kids and house and help out at their school. We are interested in purchasing these buildings, but with limited income comes limited funds. My husband has experience running a restaurant and in very busieness savy. We also own rental property in Kentucky so we have experience as land lords.

Our question is this...is there anyway for a lower income family to get a loan or grant to purchase these properties? I am almost certain that we will not be able to get a grant because it is not a non profit business venture. THANKS!

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Contact a local bank and ask them about the SBA 504 Program. You will need at least a 10% equity injection (down payment) If you have equity in your personal residence or in the property in Kentucky, you may be able to offer that as additional collateral.

Is there any type of grants or loans specifically given to people wishing to open a nightclub in Illinois?

Nov 25, 2006 by Trey | Posted in Small Business

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You stand a greater chance of getting a government-guaranteed loan through the Small Business Administration http://www.sba.gov/financing than a government grant. Read the SBA Financing page to learn about criteria needed for borrowing

It is hard to find grants to start a business -- especially a nightclub. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK - lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.

Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.

Even if you buy books on "how to get grants" or list that supposedly has information on grants -- all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same - hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html

"The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments."

Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business -- THERE'S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show

Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs

I suggest you read the following books to get ideas of how to finance your business:

Financing Your Small Business http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1572484500/powerhomebizguid
Small Business Financing: How and Where To Get It http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0808007386/powerhomebizguid
Financing the Small Business: A Complete Guide to Obtaining Bank Loans and All Other Types of Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580626815/powerhomebizguid
The SBA Loan Book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158062202X/powerhomebizguid
Angel Capital : How to Raise Early-Stage Private Equity Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471690635/powerhomebizguid
Financing Your Small Business (Barron's Business Library Series) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764124897/powerhomebizguid

For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online http://gtionline.fdncenter.org . It's a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for "students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don't have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.

what lenders do manually underwritten fha loans in Illinois and not rob you on the rate and yld? Thnx!!?

Dec 05, 2007 by Chinagirl | Posted in Renting & Real Estate

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I'm assuming you're a broker. Try Indymac or MortgageIT. Beware: MortgageIT has a minimum credit score of 560, as where Indymac doesn't.

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