Is a foreign loan OK for starting a small business?

Question

My husband and I are trying to get a small business loan for either a LLC or INC. we want to start up. We have received an offer from Menkel Financial Group for the amount of 20,000. The problem with this is that the group is out of Jamaica (UK) which makes me a bit uneasy. I've tried to run it through the Greater Better Business Bureau (Menkel Financial Group 89 King St. West Jamaica WI 877-292-3584) but they only deal with the United States. They also want a 1500.00 disability insurance payment before the 20,000 is deposited which sounds funky to me as well. I guess what I want to know is if it is a regular practice these days to get a loan over sea's perhaps because of today's rates? Is an insurance policy such as this one a regular practice with lenders. Is there some other way I can look this company up that I haven't tried yet? I have a low credit score and no collateral but I do not want to make a choice just because my choices are limited.

Thank you all for your answers. I will follow all the great advise given. I have since sent the following email :
ATT: Menkel Financial Group:
Ms. Menkel,

Thank you so much for your Business Loan Proposal . Unfortunately at this time we will have to decline because the qualifications for the 20,000 loan are too risky for new business owners like ourselves. Please do not contact me by phone ,mail or email anymore. We appreciate your time.

Answer 1

Don't send them any money.

Tell them to deduct it from the $20K they are willing to lend you.

Answer 2

Neoliberalism gets a bad rep because of its track record accross the globe. It has delivered low levels of growth compare to the periods of more restrained capitalism and it has percipitated a string of financial crises from America to Britain, to latin america, to asia, to russia and back to america again and than all over the world The bailouts saved free markets though. Because if at least the banks weren't bailed no-one would be able to loan to those small bussiness. The credit which the market vitally needs would run out. This is not a case of survival of the fittest. There was no fitter force to replace the collapsing banking system: to deliver better services. Except perhaps if they were allowed to collapse a state loaning agency to make up for the huge hole in the market. While GM is not as important but again it wasnt being replaced and holding it together helps keep aggregate demand higher and thus stimulating the economy. Its silly and alarmist call the bailouts 'facism'. I'd even go so far to say its politically irresponsible to muddy a debate with the word unless you can actually show thats what will happen. I think if the banks failed and world economy collapsed then there would be a renaissance of far right political parties.That would be the quickest root to facism. The CRA happened a long time before the housing boom and the flurry of subprime mortgages in the 2000s. CRA loans are also less likely to bad debts according to government studies. It was clearly ignited by the collapse of a previous bubble in the technology sector and the collapse of the russian economy. This laid the ground for it. Along with the slashing of Interest rates by Greenspan to stop a recession at this time. Unregulated lending agencies set up outside the regulatory net and did the dirty work for banks. The idea the capitalism never faults lead to idiotically risky investments. So what if one subprime mortgage goes belly up they though they could simply sell it on in the booming economy. Little did they know it would all happen at once. And there is a point to the anger felt against the bankers that were so irresponsible with peoples money and now that the party is over the taxpayer is cleaning up the mess. Knowing that these people are getting away with it and not being punished. Why not be angry at the lack of regulation to whip these agencies into shape and stop them lending out faulty laons. Interest rates or none. Regulation or none. Bankers and investor have proven unable to asses risk. Finally while the middle class may produce a lot of wealth that doesnt mean that it recieves the income from this. Real wages in America have been declining. Profit ratios rising and reckless casino investment alongside this.It probably recieve a portion of it. But the more liberal the country. The more likely there is to be division in society. The countries that are known as anglosaxon have the higher rates of inequality and the lower rates of social mobility(movement between classes). So its hard to see how this doesnt constitute a more class divided society. ------------------------------------ This wasn't the opinion of a couple of politicians it was a study done by the fed. It was dont by none other than a conservative economist: a graduate of the Chicago School. If anything he would be biased in the other direction. Other than this if it was found that politicians were meddling in studies to get better results they would indeed lose credibility as it would be a political scandal. Also while governments like to lie to the public it would be suicide for them to commission false and biased studies and base policies on this. Because they could so easily go wrong being based on false information. Also ideologically we might say that welfare excluded people and puts them in poverty. But the higher levels of inequality and low levels of social mobility in countries lacking generous welfare shows that cutting welfare actually causes more poverty. and intergenerational poverty traps.(Although Im open to the idea that welfare needs to be tweak and purged of moral hazard.)

Answer 3

You are about to fall for a scam.

This is an "Advance Fee Scam". You pay the fee, they disappear. They may even try to scam you again to see if you are gullible enough.

With a low credit score and no collateral you options are going to be severely limited (probably non-existent).

Either way, never pay a fee upfront to a lender. If they ask for one, they are scammers.

Answer 4

If you have to send money out before you receive the check of $20K. this would be the last time that you see your money.

Be carefull and DON'T!