Warning - This Lease Might Explode Any Minute

Mike Caringi, owner of a small New Jersey business that sells pumps, found himself facing a gut-wrenching dilemma last summer. Should he continue paying $ 1,500 each month for essential telecommunications services he no longer receives and for leased equipment he claims was never installed? Or, should he stop making payments and face a potential lawsuit from the firm that financed the equipment under a 'hell or high water' lease? Mr. Caringi's company is one of several thousand small companies around the country reeling from the bankruptcy of Norvergence, a reseller of telecommunications and Internet services. At the core of the quagmire facing Mr. Caringi and others is that Norvergence succeeded in getting customers to sign separate lease and service contracts that provided its services.

When Norvergence abruptly shut its doors, it left thousands of its customers scrambling to replace telephone and Internet services while they were obligated to shell out over $ 200 million in lease payments to Wells Fargo Financial, CIT and 30 other leasing companies over the next five years.

How can you protect your company from being victimized in a similar situation? Certainly, most transactions involving equipment leased in connection with a related service carry some degree of risk. You can reduce that risk by taking certain precautions. First, where possible, avoid leasing equipment when the equipment is proprietary to a service. The chances are that you will be stuck with the equipment if the service provider fails. Make sure that the leased equipment has an underlying value that justifies the lease. By doing a present value calculation of all payments owed under the lease agreement and comparing that value to the fair market value of the equipment, you can see whether the lease value is reasonable.

Check to see whether the equipment is used by similar service providers, in case you need to switch services. Finally, make sure you can resell the leased equipment in the after-market, if necessary. As a last resort, you may be able to cut your losses by having the ability to buy-out the equipment from the leasing company to be resold to someone else.

Perhaps, one of the best protections against getting stuck with service-related leased equipment is to thoroughly evaluate the service provider before proceeding. Make sure the service provider is financially sound and has a long track record of providing excellent service. If possible, ask for and review financial information on the service provider. Do an Internet news search to make sure there are no troubling stories about the service provider. Be partial to services that offer equipment under contracts that tie service and use of the equipment together, such that your obligation to pay is conditioned on the service being provided.

Lastly, since these transactions always carry some risk, make sure that an abrupt interruption in the service will not have a material negative impact on your company or cause financial hardship.

George Parker is a Director and Executive Vice President of Leasing Technologies International, Inc. ("LTI"), responsible for LTI's marketing and financing efforts. A co-founder of LTI, Mr. Parker has been involved in secured lending and equipment financing for over twenty years. Mr. Parker is an industry leader, frequent panelist and author of several articles pertaining to equipment financing.

Headquartered in Wilton, CT, LTI is a leasing firm specializing nationally in direct equipment financing and vendor leasing programs for emerging growth and later-stage, venture capital backed companies. More information about LTI is available at http://www.ltileasing.com.

---

Increase Your Business Growth and Cash Flow Through Equipment Leasing

"If it can be manufactured, it can be leased." For the past decade or so, this statement has become more and more true to fact. From computer software to commercial aircraft, equipment leases... Read More

Ten Ways to Save a Bundle on Your Next Lease

According to the Equipment Leasing Association ("ELA"), U.S. businesses lease every thing from laptop computers to commercial airplanes, racking up more than $ 200 billion in equipment leased each year. Although four out... Read More

Warning - This Lease Might Explode Any Minute

Mike Caringi, owner of a small New Jersey business that sells pumps, found himself facing a gut-wrenching dilemma last summer. Should he continue paying $ 1,500 each month for essential telecommunications services he... Read More

Landlord Tips And Tricks

Every real estate investor dealing in rental homes has done his own clean-up and fix-up, at least in the early years. Landlords also become very skilled at managing tenants after being burned a... Read More

Smart Car Leasing for Beginners

Car leasing is extremely popular because it provides an attractive method of driving an automobile that you might not otherwise afford. It allows you to make lower monthly payments than with traditional car... Read More

How To Choose An Equipment Leasing Company

Leasing has become a preferred form of equipment financing, accounting for more than 30% of business equipment acquisitions. Each year, thousands of U.S. companies face the challenge of finding attractive financing to acquire... Read More

The Lease And Purchase Option

If you have an investment property, should you rent it or sell it? The answer to that question is that you should do both. If you have lots of time on your hands... Read More

What Happens When the Anchor Tenant Moves and You Are On a Ten-year Lease?

Recently there was an article in the Houston Business Journal of the anchor store in many shopping centers through out Houston pulling out. Kmart, took out some stores, so did three other big... Read More

Venture Leasing: Startup Financing On the Rise

According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, investment by institutional venture capitalists in startups grew from less than $3.0 billion at the beginning of the 1990's to over $106 billion in 2000. Although venture capital volume... Read More

Ten Equipment Leasing Tips - Save a Bundle on Your Next Lease

According to the Equipment Leasing Association ("ELA"), U.S. businesses lease every thing from laptop computers to commercial airplanes, racking up more than $ 200 billion in equipment leased each year. Although four out... Read More

So You Want to be a Landlord?

The residual income from owning rental properties may bring more money into your life than the fast flip in the long term. If nothing else, the stress is reduced because a well-chosen investment... Read More

What to Consider Before Leasing a Car

Some people choose to lease a car rather than buying one outright. Here are some useful tips on what to consider before leasing a car:The most important thing to remember is that you... Read More

Getting Your Venture Lease Approved

Each year venture capitalists fund more than 2,500 start-up companies in the U.S. Many of these companies try to conserve their equity capital by approaching venture-leasing firms to secure equipment financing. By obtaining... Read More

Lease or Buy? That is Always the Question with Car Financing

Leasing is a perfectly viable and legitimate way to finance a new car. Although leasing offers attractive benefits, it is somewhat more complex than buying with a loan. This means there can be... Read More

Explore An Effective Revolutionary Approach To Traditional Business Financing

For business owners who need working capital now there is a revolutionary, tax-deductible cash flow solution that frees up capital and gives them the money they need to grow. This diversified cash flow... Read More

Basic Things You Should Know About A Lease Purchase Contract

What exactly is a contract?By definition, a contract is an agreement between two or more parties to do, or to refrain from doing, a particular thing in exchange for something valuable. The parties... Read More

Ten Ways Start-ups Use Venture Leases And Loans To Generate Millions

The rise of venture leasing and lending has created an opportunity for sophisticated entrepreneurs to gain a competitive advantage. Savvy entrepreneurs are using venture leases and loans to generate millions of dollars for... Read More

Lease Contracts - The Meaning of Joint and Several

When you see the phrase "joint and several" in a legal document or contract it means that that the parties on one side of the agreement are responsible individually and collectively for the... Read More

Using Equipment Leasing as a Competitive Weapon

Most great generals know how to design winning battle plans. They also know how to use their resources to gain advantages over the enemy. For these military leaders, getting enough tanks, aircraft, ships... Read More

Equipment Leasing Blunders That Can Cost Your Firm a Mint

Rod McHenry, the financial vice president of a document imaging company, thought he had great cause for celebrating. He had signed an unbelievable $370,000 lease proposal covering computer servers, workstations, software and other... Read More

Insiders Guide to Snaring the Best Lease Deal

Every year, thousands of business owners and financial managers are faced with the task of obtaining attractive financing for equipment their firms want to acquire. Snaring the best leasing arrangement requires only a... Read More

Terms to Know Before Leasing A Vehicle - Leasing Jargon Simplified

So, you've decided that you want to lease that next vehicle. Can't really blame you. With today's incentives, rebates, and favourable lease rates why wouldn't you. Not only do you get to drive... Read More

The Leverage of the Lease

In today's rapidly changing business environment it makes sense to consider all the options before paying for your business equipment ? whether it's a photocopier, computer system, computer hardware or software, telephone system,... Read More

With a Lease, The Devil Is In The Details

In the last article we looked at a few of the things you should consider before leasing that first office or storefront for your business. To recap, you should not only consider the... Read More

Interim Rent: Equipment Leasing?s Trap Door

Many lessees enter into lease transactions that they believe are competitive based on faulty rate assumptions. Most lease rate calculations don't take interim rent into consideration. Interim rent is the trap door that... Read More

Venture Leasing - A Smarter Way To Build Enterprise Value

In 2003, venture capitalists and investors dispensed over $18 billion to promising young U.S. companies, according to VentureOne and Ernst & Young Quarterly Venture Capital Report. Less documented and reported is venture leasing's... Read More

Pricing Your Apartments

How do you fix a price point for an apartment? Take a guess? Figure it based on your carrying costs? Check comps and do a market analysis? Charge whatever the market will bear?... Read More

Dodging Leasings Grim Reaper: Navigating a Payment Default

In her third Harry Potter novel, ?The Prisoner of Azkaban?, J.K. Rowling introduces a silent mysterious clan of spiny, cloaked creatures capable of siphoning off happiness and all good thoughts from anyone in... Read More

How Venture Leasing Added Millions To A Startups Equity Value

Craig Berman beamed noticeably after completing his board presentation. Berman, CEO of a startup that develops nanotechnology applications for the defense industry, had just closed a $ 20 million equity round. Berman finalized... Read More