Who a private business loan suits, and who it does not

What the presenter says

Under the title card "Who this works best for", the presenter sums up HomeSec's clients in a line: business owners chasing a solution, not an interest rate. Three kinds of borrower follow, people turned away by traditional lenders, deals where speed actually matters, and situations where the opportunity exists right now, and then the five reasons people most often call. It is a short video, and a useful one to watch before deciding whether to ring at all.

Solution, not rate: what that means in practice

Every loan has two qualities that pull against each other: what it costs and how certainly it arrives when needed. A bank usually wins on the first and can lose on the second, because its answer may take weeks and may still be no. A lender secured on property gives up some of the price advantage in return for certainty of timing. Neither is better in general. The right one depends on what happens if the money is late. If the answer is "nothing much", take the cheaper money and wait. If the answer is a lost deposit, a penalty from the ATO or a contract gone to a competitor, the price comparison has changed.

The five reasons, and where each is covered

• Bridging finance. Money now against money that is coming, such as a sale or a settlement. The guide to business bridging loans covers it.
• An urgent cash flow gap. Wages, suppliers or a tax bill due before income arrives. One cafe's story shows what that looks like.
• Business expansion. Stock, staff or equipment needed before a bigger opportunity pays. See funding a bigger opportunity.
• Buying time before a bank refinance. Acting now and letting a slower bank loan repay it later, as in the illustrative example of Jan buying a business.
• Saving a deal. A purchase whose finance has fallen through days before settlement, like the country pub Paul describes.

Who it does not suit

The list of people a private business loan is wrong for is just as useful. Someone with no real estate to offer as security. A loan that would rank third on the title, after two mortgages already there. Money for personal or household purposes, which is consumer credit and not something HomeSec lends. And anyone a bank will fund on time, who should take the bank's money. The way to find out which side of that line a situation falls is a single phone call; the guide on whether you qualify for a business loan sets out the four tests first.