As a general rule the most common place to get forestry equipment financing is your local dealership. Due to the recent recession however, most dealerships are losing their finance sources left and right. With the extinction of so many large investment banks, lines of credits have been drastically scaled back. You may now have to use alternative finance methods to get your forestry equipment loan.

I still believe the first place to find a finance source will be your dealership or supplier. If you are buying from a brand name dealer like Deere or CAT, then they should have no problem providing finance at good rates. If you are at a local dealership, you may get lucky and they will have in-house financing. If not, most dealerships have a list of finance companies for you to call or fill out an application. I believe it is best to call them first to make sure they are still offering finance for logging equipment.

Another great place to find finance sources is online. The internet has come along way in the last decade and you can now find information on anything from spec sheets to places to reviews of equipment. There are a few good companies that you can find simply by doing a Google search. The online sources are usually small to mid-sized finance houses with access to their own lines of credit. These companies have pretty good sources and can refer you elsewhere if they can’t get the deal financed themselves. The best thing about finance houses is that they can be a lot more flexible than the local dealerships and banks. If anything else you can compare their rates to your local bank.

Your local bank or credit union may help you get an equipment loan. This can be tough though as your credit union has no interest in repossessing a delimber if you can’t make the payments on it. It is why banks and credit unions shy away from giving loans. You may get lucky though and if you are in good standing with the bank, this would be the way to go. They are going to require a lot more paperwork than the other sources but it may pay off in a cheaper interest rate.

In conclusion, you have far more options now than you did 25 years ago for financing and leasing. Try to get at least 10% of the equipment price together before approaching any of the sources I mentioned. Most will require 20% if your credit is only fair. It also really helps to be a home owner of have some substantial assets to back your loan. This may seem like a tedious process but it is in your best interest to make sure you understand the loan as it is going to be one of your largest investments in life. The finance company has a vested interest in you as they want you to succeed in business so you can pay back your loan. Hopefully, this guide will help you find the right source for financing.