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Borrow against what you own, not what your score says

The asset does the qualifying — useful when the numbers on paper do not.

  • Underwritten on the asset, not the score
  • Startups and past credit trouble considered
  • Days rather than weeks to a decision
Apply for CollateralTalk it through
Amount
$100K – $5M per asset
Down payment
20% – 40%
Decision
Often within 48 hours
Pricing
Set by the lender on your file

Typical market ranges, not an offer of credit. Actual terms depend on lender underwriting and your business qualifications.

What it is

How this one works.

A collateral loan is underwritten on the thing you are pledging rather than on your credit profile or your trailing revenue. A lender looks at what the asset is worth, how easily it could be sold, and how much of your own money is going in alongside theirs. That changes who can borrow: a business with real equipment, trucks or property can often raise money this way when a bank has already said no, and it can happen in days rather than weeks because there is far less to verify.

Best used for

  • A credit profile that will not clear a bank or an SBA desk
  • Heavy equipment, commercial trucks, or an owned commercial property
  • Raising cash against equipment you already own outright
  • Buyers who are not US citizens, where most programmes stop entirely

The process

What working with us looks like.

  1. Describe the asset

    Year, make, model, condition and price, with the invoice or quote if there is one. This is the whole of the first conversation — far more of the decision rests here than on your paperwork.

  2. Establish the down payment

    Expect to put in twenty to forty percent. It does not all have to be cash: a trade-in or another asset you own free and clear can stand in for part of it.

  3. We place it

    Asset-based lenders each have their own rules about age, class and condition, and those rules decline more deals than credit does. We match the asset to a lender whose criteria it actually meets before anyone pays for an inspection.

  4. Close

    Insurance with the lender named, a signed and notarised contract, an inspection on some assets, and the seller is paid.

Qualifying

What you generally need.

These are typical thresholds across our lender network, not hard rules. Files that fall short in one area often still place if another is strong — which is exactly the judgment call worth a phone conversation.

Check my eligibility
The asset
$100,000+ in value
Down payment
20% – 40%, cash, trade or other collateral
Credit score
No published minimum
Documents
Quote or invoice, specs and photos, application

Straight answers

The upside, and the part to think hard about.

Advantages

  • A low credit score is not automatically the end of the conversation
  • Start-ups qualify — there is no trading history requirement to clear
  • A discharged bankruptcy does not rule you out
  • Usually no prepayment penalty, so refinancing into cheaper money later is open to you
  • Structures a bank will not write: interest-only, sale-leaseback, cross-collateral, and other collateral in place of a cash deposit

Things to consider

  • This is the most expensive way to finance an asset. If you can clear a bank or an SBA programme, you should — and we will tell you so
  • The down payment is real money and it is not negotiable down to nothing
  • The asset secures the loan, so a default means losing it
  • Age, class and condition rules are strict and specific — a qualifying truck with the wrong engine is still declined
  • Below roughly $100,000 of asset value, this market mostly does not operate

Questions

Collateral Loans questions.

What can I borrow against?
Commercial trucks, construction and heavy equipment, commercial property, and in some cases vessels, aircraft and other high-value assets. The common thread is that it has a resale market somebody can put a number on.
How bad can my credit be?
There is no published floor on these programmes, and we have placed files that no credit-based lender would look at. Credit still shapes the structure and the pricing — it is just not the gate it is everywhere else.
Can I raise cash against equipment I already own?
Yes. A sale-leaseback sells the asset to the lender and leases it back to you, so you keep using it while the equity comes out as cash. It is one of the few ways to turn owned equipment into working capital.
Do I have to be a US citizen?
No. Citizenship is not a requirement on these programmes, which sets them apart from SBA lending, where it is absolute.
How fast is it really?
A decision can come back the same day when the asset is straightforward and the three items are in hand. Closing takes longer because of inspection and insurance. We will give you a realistic date rather than the brochure one.
Is this the same as equipment financing?
They overlap. Equipment financing is usually credit-led, cheaper, and happiest with new equipment and a reasonable score. Collateral lending starts from the asset and will go where the other will not. If your file fits equipment financing, that is the better product and we will say so.

Other options worth comparing

Term Loans

A lump sum with a fixed schedule — the straightforward way to fund something big.

Compare

Lines of Credit

A standing limit you draw from only when you need it — and only pay for what you use.

Compare

Merchant Cash Advance

Capital against future card sales, often funded within a day — the fastest option available.

Compare

Read more on this

Still working out which product fits? Start with The Idaho small business funding guide.

8 min read

Collateral loans: borrowing against the asset instead of your credit

What asset-based lending actually is, who it is genuinely for, and what you give up in exchange for a lender who does not start with your score.

7 min read

What a lender is actually looking at when the asset is the loan

Advance rates, resale markets, age and class rules, and why your down payment tells the lender more than your bank statements do.

7 min read

Sale-leaseback: turning equipment you already own into working capital

One of the few ways to pull cash out of paid-off iron without selling it — how it works, what it costs you, and when it is the wrong idea.

6 min read

Why your truck was declined when your credit was fine

Age by class, mileage ceilings and excluded engines decline more commercial truck deals than credit scores do — and none of it is visible from the listing.

6 min read

The down payment is the real qualification

Why asset-based lenders want twenty to forty percent, what counts toward it besides cash, and how to assemble one when the bank balance will not stretch.

8 min read

Asset-based, equipment financing or an SBA loan: which door to try first

Three ways to finance the same machine, with completely different costs and qualifications. A straight comparison, including when we would send you elsewhere.

Ready to look at Collateral?

Two minutes to apply, a soft credit pull, and a real answer about whether this is the right instrument for you.

Start my applicationCall (208) 361-2291