Preparing for Your Lender

For many, purchasing a farm is a lifelong dream.  Longtime Maryland Horse Council sponsor MidAtlantic Farm Credit (http://www.mafc.com/) helps many Maryland residents make this dream into a reality.  Here is a brief guide to how to prepare for your lender.  Check back next week to learn more!

The borrower-lender relationship is a two-way road, and both parties have mutual goals. Both want to ensure the long-term viability of their businesses and have high expectations for one another. When preparing to work with a lender, you should rate the lender based on some of the following characteristics:

1. Skills & Qualities

• Stake in your industry?
• Understands your business and the risks?
• Characteristics of current borrowers

2. Capacity

• Ability to meet current and future borrowing needs?
• What are the lender’s limitations?
• Will they grow with you?

3. Products & Services

• Cookie-cutter vs. customized approach?
• Competitive rates?
• Flexible terms and conditions?

4. People & Lending Philosophy

• Transaction vs. long-term relationship
• Ability to help evaluate options and alternatives
• Timeliness and convenience

5. Long-term Presence in Agriculture

• Support during prosperous and challenging times
• Commitment to industry and its people
• Financial health of the institution

Check back in the next MHC blog post to learn about the ways that your lender rates you when making decisions about working with you and your operation. For more information about Farm Credit, check out farmcreditequine.com, call us at 888.339.3334 or email us at connect@mafc.com. You still have time to watch some great steeplechase racing. Check out the Maryland Governor’s Cup steeplechase series sponsored by Farm Credit.