Business loans are being provided by the financial institutions to the business entrepreneur and the business persons to help them in build up new business or renovate their existing business. Apart from the business men, the self employed people like doctors, lawyers, architects are also eligible for these kind of loans, if they meet certain criteria.

Loan for business can be of secured or unsecured types. Under secured kind of loans, the borrowers have to keep anything of his property as security to the bank. Under this category, the main advantage borrower gets is an affordable interest rate and good repayment terms. On the other hand, for taking business loan under unsecured category, the borrower has to pay comparatively high interest rate than secured loans. Apart from that, the lenders don’t give a flexible repayment option to the borrower.

Apart from these two types, the loan for business are categorised into various type. These include trade loans, professional loan, accounts receivable loans, acquisition loans beginner’s loans, franchisee loans, realty loans, construction loans etc. Let’s discuss about these loans for getting a clear idea about business loans.

Beginners’ Loans: Persons wishing to start up their new business can go for these type of loans. Lenders provide these type of loans to start-up businesses.

Franchisee loans: These type of loans are being provided only for taking franchisees of well-established companies.

Trade loans – Banks provide trade loans only to the business men and the entrepreneur who wants to either build up their new business or renovate their existing business.

Accounts Receivable Loans: Under this category of loan, the business owners can take loan to obtain short-term working capital. Financial institutions in India usually sanctions this type of loan quickly and offers the borrower a low rate of interest

Cash Advance Against Merchant Account: One can avail this type loan against the monthly credit receipts. Under this category, generally a huge amount of money is being granted.

Realty Loans: These loans are provided to those people who wants to invest the money into real-estate sector.

Professional Loans: Self-employed professionals can take business loans under this category. Professionals such as lawyers, architects, doctors and chartered accountants can fulfil their desire to build up new business by having these loans.

Commercial Realty Loans: These loans are to be provided for acquiring commercial properties. The term of the loan may be fixed or variable

Acquisition Loans: Financial organisations in India do provide these loans for acquire other businesses.

Equipment Loans: People can go for these loans for purchasing business equipments

Business dependant loans: Lenders provides this type of loans in the name of the business house. The loan amount is based upon the borrower’s ability of repayment the loan amount.

Hard Loans: These kind of loans are being provided to fulfil various miscellaneous needs of business. There are just few financial institutions in India which extend these kind of loans, but those institutions do so, extend it leniently

Construction Loans: Lenders provide this type of loan for commercial construction purposes.

From this above discussion, one thing is very clear that getting loans for business is not at all a factor in India. There are lots of Banks out there which provides these type of loans at very reasonable rate of interest and comfortable repayment options. Some of the top choices nowadays are, State Bank of India, ICICI bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda etc.

When it comes to entering a major construction job for your backyard or you want a new look for your kitchen, many homeowners most often need professional help to get their projects going in the right direction. This is when choosing a contractor becomes an important part of realizing the home improvement needs you have set for yourself.

The type of project you wish to complete for your residence will help determine the kind of help you will need to enlist. For example, larger goals require the assistance of a general contractor, while less involved tasks call for the aid of subcontractors.

When homeowners are looking to add an extra room to their house or upgrade their landscape complete with pool, a general contractor should be contacted. The general contractor will head the entire project, acting as the primary coordinator. They are responsible for hiring the appropriate subcontractors to fulfill project goals. After delegating the proper tasks to relevant subcontractors, a general contractor will then manage their progress. Major renovations and building new homes will usually demand the expertise of a general contractor.

When hiring a general contractor, you will establish a contract with them, meaning they’ll be the only worker you are responsible for paying. The general contractor pays any subcontractors that they hire, as they will be under contract to them and not the homeowner.

For every aspect of home improvement, there is a subcontractor who is knowledgeable in one or more specific fields. Depending on the type of remodeling or home expansion projects you have in mind, you may call upon the following subcontractor options: electricians, plumbers, excavators, water proofers, foundation wall repairers, carpenters, floorers, or painters.

Tips on Choosing a Contractor

As you inch your way closer and closer to a construction job or remodeling adventure, choosing a contractor is an important part of completing a successful project. As you listen to the experiences of family and friends, or sift through the Yellow Pages, you probably need a little assistance in making this decision a beneficial choice. Below you will find a few areas of interest to consider when it comes time to select a contractor.

After deciding to enhance the look and feel of your house, you should gather a few listings of contractors before settling on one. Need help finding a contractor? While general, as well as sub-contractors advertise in the newspaper, telephone book, and the Internet, there are also professional organizations, such as the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), as well as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), who can locate worthy contractors.

Once you’ve narrowed down potential contractors, you should check out how he or she conducts their business. For starters, you may contact the local Better Business Bureau to see if any former clients have placed a complaint against them. Also, visiting a job site allows you to see the contractor work on current projects. During a visit, it is important to note the safety, cleanliness, neatness, and conduct of the worker(s). This is a telling sign as to how your home improvement project might be handled.

If you like what you see and have learned after conducting research, you should make an office visit or place a telephone call to potential contractors. When carrying out an interview, you should ask questions that pertain to the size of your project; financial limitations; timelines; dates; scheduling; liability insurance; workers’ compensation; licenses and certificates; and previous clients and job experience.

During the selection process, you should ask to see the licenses of potential contractors. You should also know that an occupational license is not acceptable enough to reward a construction project. To get an idea of the type of work they may offer, you should request and contact the references of past customers. When inquiring on payment terms, avoid contractors who ask to be paid in cash or demand large payments before any work is completed.

Once you choose a contractor, it is important to stay on top of their actions. For instance, it is essential to make sure your contractor obtains all of the appropriate permits for major jobs. If your home improvement project involves the addition of a room; creating a second story; or remodeling major areas, it is rather key to choose a contractor that is qualified enough for the job. This means checking credentials and scrutinizing their past work history. Also, before any work is started, a clear and fair contract should be drawn up and signed, which is one of the best ways to protect both the interests of homeowner and contractor.

Owner builder construction is growing in popularity at a tremendous pace around the country as more and more people look to save money by building their own home. If you are considering being an owner builder to build your next house, then you need to know these 8 benefits of modular construction before you begin.

1. Highly engineered.

Whether you want to be an owner builder or hire a licensed general contractor, modular construction will be a good option to ensure the home is well engineered. In the past, there was a stigma about modular construction, because the earliest versions of the homes were poorly built.

But, the modular industry has come a long way. An owner builder can rest assured that a modular home will be engineered properly. Nowadays, unlike twenty years ago, there is a big difference between modular homes and manufactured homes.

2. Generally lower cost per square foot.

If you want to be an owner builder, you will save money in most cases by building a modular home versus hiring a general contractor to build the house for you. In fact, modular construction is somewhat comparable in cost to owner builder construction on site. In general, you will pay a little more, though, for the convenience of having the modular home built for you in the factory. However, if you compare owner builder modular construction to hiring a GC to build your home on site, then you should almost always see savings by going the modular route.

3. Built in a factory environment, eliminating timber warp and resulting in improved fit.

Because a modular home is not built on site, the lumber is not left outdoors to endure the weather. Therefore, the materials are not subject to timber warp, and your framing will fit together more precisely. Once the modular home is erected on the foundation on site, it will be weather tight, and the owner builder can then take his time to do the few remaining items required to complete the home.

4. Efficient building process and material usage saves on costs and material waste.

Any owner builder who goes through the typical on site construction process will tell you that there is always a lot of waste. It can’t be avoided, as you have to estimate the amount of lumber and other materials needed to build your home. This waste translates directly to money out of your pocket. A modular home, however, is built in the factory to pre-known specs, so there is much less waste.

5. Speed of construction cuts down the time frame tremendously, yielding interest savings on your construction loan.

As an owner builder goes through construction, interest accrues against the money that he has borrowed. Every month that goes by means more money that the owner builder owes in interest. Modular construction will drastically reduce the time needed to build the home, and you will therefore have less interest payment costs.

6. Less to manage.

This seems simple and obvious, but it’s vitally important, especially with owner builder construction. If you have never built your own home before, you will quickly realize that managing the myriad of sub-contractors can become a real burden. But, if you build a modular home, you will have much less work to oversee. Depending on the specific modular package that you purchase, you may have only one or two things to do to finish the home.

7. Built to meet or exceed local standards.

Modular homes nowadays are going to be engineered specifically to meet your local building code requirements. It takes a lot of the design and management off the shoulders of the owner builder. This means no more sweating over county code inspections.

8. Makes owner builder construction possible for some people who otherwise would need to hire a GC.

Because the process is simple for the customer, modular construction lends it self perfectly to owner builder construction. You can very easily build your own home without having to hire a general contractor. This will mean large savings in time and money for the construction of your home. There are many examples where the owner builder would not have been able to manage the project without a GC unless they went with a modular home.

Owner builder construction loans are complicated compared to simple purchase loans or refinance mortgages. So, you need to make sure you look for financing that has the features you need to make your project as successful as possible.

Acting as an owner builder, you are going to manage the construction of your new home, which is no small job. Therefore, you will need to make sure your construction loan is set up to help you succeed. Always ask these five questions before settling on your financing.

1. Does the owner builder construction loan have any monthly consulting fees?

Some loan programs charge a monthly owner builder consulting fee under the premise that the program will provide off-site guidance while you construct your house. Though you definitely want a loan program that will be available to answer questions while you build the home, you don’t want to pay a monthly fee to somebody who will never step foot on your job site.

These monthly owner builder consulting fees are simply a way to extract extra money out of the customer during the construction phase of the project. There are enough expenses involved in building a house. You don’t need to spend extra money each month for an off-site consultation that you may or may not ever use.

Obviously, like any other loan program, owner builder construction loans will have fees associated with the program. But, these fees should be a part of the financing, just like other construction loans. You shouldn’t have to pay additional monthly consulting fees for the pleasure of being an owner builder.

2. Are there a limited number of construction draws for an owner builder?

During construction, an owner builder will typically take anywhere from eight to thirteen draws to get their home built. Unfortunately, there is no method of truly knowing the exact number you will need until you are done building the home. This is because owner builder construction involves paying sub-contractors as you complete individual construction items.

For example, an owner builder will want to pay the foundation sub-contractor once the foundation is completed. Likewise, you will pay the framing crew once the rough framing is done. As you can imagine, there are countless examples of different steps needed to build your house.

Therefore, you need to make sure that your owner builder construction loan does not limit the number of draws that you can take during construction. Some programs will only allow for five or six draws. That means that you have to get sub-contractors to wait until you have completed large portions of the construction project before you pay them. Or, as the owner builder, you will have to pay them out of your own pocket until the loan program reimburses you.

It is much easier on your wallet if you make sure your loan program provides unlimited draws to allow you to reimburse your sub-contractors as each individual construction step is completed. It will keep your sub-contractors happy and keep money in your pocket.

3. What is the loan’s down payment requirement for being an owner builder?

Some owner builder construction loans have excessive down payment requirements for you to build your own home. Often, you will have to make a down payment in excess of 20% to qualify for the program.

With these types of requirements, an owner builder is often left with very little cash in his own bank account. This can mean trouble during construction. No matter how well you plan your project and your budget, there are always going to be some cost overruns here and there.

Overall, an owner builder will save a ton of money, and these minor cost overruns are no big deal. However, if you have depleted your cash by making an excessive down payment, you will be hard pressed to cover the extra amount of funds required to get your home built. This could lead to over use of your credit cards and even hurt your credit scores.

4. How many closings does this owner builder loan require?

You definitely want to make sure your owner builder construction loan has only one closing. It is possible to find a program that has two closings – one for the construction phase, and one for the conversion to the permanent loan.

However, two closings will cost you extra money once your house is built. With two closings, you will need to pay for two sets of closing costs, including points, title work, closing agent fees, recording fees, etc.

But, if you can find an owner builder program that will wrap the two loan phases into one closing, then you can save yourself some time, money, and headaches. In fact, some programs will even finance your closing costs to minimize any money you have to pay out of your pocket.

5. Does the owner builder construction loan require me to have a site supervisor or hire sub-contractors from an approved list?

Unfortunately, there are owner builder loan programs available that will not allow you to hire any sub-contractor or material provider that you would like to hire. By forcing you to hire sub-contractors from a list of approved contractors, the program is limiting the amount of savings you can achieve.

An owner builder saves a lot of money by shopping for the right sub-contractors and material providers to build his house. Sometimes, you will get four or five quotes for a particular piece of the puzzle. For example, you may look at four or five plumbers before you choose the one you want.

If you are limited in the contractors that you can hire, you will not have the flexibility that you need to be as successful financially as you wanted. Similarly, if an owner builder must hire a site supervisor to help manage his project, there will often be a required payment involved. If you have to pay a site supervisor thousands of dollars, then that is equity that you are losing in your home.

By all means, if you need a site supervisor to help you with the construction of your home, then they are worth the money. But, if you can be a successful owner builder without a site supervisor, then wouldn’t it be nice to have a loan program that gives you the option?

Therefore, every owner builder needs to ask these five questions when looking for the right construction loan program. Without the right loan features, it will be very difficult for any owner builder to be successful.

A general contractor can be both a residential and commercial contractor and may also be a builder. In many cases, a general contractor covers all three services. If you have any building needs, whether for a residential project or a business project, a general contractor can help you by being in charge of project management.

Whatever you want to build, though, you have to make sure that the general contractor you hire has had extensive experience in that field. A residential contractor, for example, would not know the special requirements of commercial building while a commercial contractor would not know the special needs of building a family residence. There are different laws, ordinances and regulations covering each of these building projects. There are also certain practical problems with solutions that can only be learned through actual experience.

Usually, the homebuilders have a vision of what they want in their dream home and a budget to spend on it. They have no specific technical know how to determine the feasibility of various aspects of that home, though, or how the features they want could fit into their budget. Sometimes, husband and wife even have differing visions of how the house should be. Finding and hiring the right general contractor would then be the best first step in starting such a project. The general contractor can help the homebuilders put together the right team to start planning the house according to their vision and their budget. This includes the architect and the builder. If the general contractor happens to have an in-house architect and is a builder to boot, it would not only bring down costs but would also greatly facilitate smooth coordination.

Homebuilders often ask bids from several general contractors, among which they choose whom to hire. The common practice is to ask for bids from only two to three general contractors. Having too many bidders may turn off some contractors, prompting them to withdraw. Preparing for a bid is quite a heavy task and they would not want to invest time and effort if there is little chance of winning.

To prepare a bid, the general contractor takes the homebuilders’ budget and their preliminary requirements. With the help of a team consisting of the architect, builder and sub-trades such as electricians, plumbers and the like, which the general contractor will eventually hire for the project, the list of material requirements, service fees and other costs shall be drawn up. This also includes the cost of processing all the necessary permits for the project, equipment rentals and even clean up after construction. An allowance is built in for emergencies and for inflation. Finally, the contractor’s management fee is added on. This usually runs to around 15-20% of the total cost.

After the homebuilders have chosen a general contractor, the contract is prepared. Have this checked by your lawyer to ensure that everything is covered. The specific details of the project, including specific materials, must be included, as well as the deadline for the construction.

The general contractor assists homebuilders with financing requirements, submitting papers asked for by loan officers. The general contractor is also responsible for acquiring all permits for the project. The entire team is assembled and paid by the contractor. The project is then begun, starting with the foundation and followed by the framing, including walls, roof trusses, stairs, windows and doors. Roofing finalizes the basic structure. This is followed by the exterior finish, electrical system, plumbing, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, insulating, drywall and interior finish. Landscaping is done after everything else so as not to be damaged by ongoing work. The general contractor checks on everything during the building process and at the end to ensure that everything is in place and working according to specifications. The general contractor then turns over the project to you.

With the right general contractor, your building needs are met perfectly.