November 2017 - Board Member Wins National Award, Current Rates, and Other News!

November 2017

November 2017 Interest Rates

20 Year Standard Rate - 4.57%

20 Year Refinance Rate - 4.61%

10 Year Standard Rate - 4.47%

10 Year Refinance Rate - 4.52%

EDF Board Member Wins National Award!

Congratulations to Mitchell Blue who recently received The Coleman Reports Mission-Based Small Business Lender of the Year Award! This award is for outstanding and innovative SBA lending professionals and nominations were received from SBA Industry Leaders all over the country. Mitchell, Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending and SBA Product Manager at Traverse City State Bank, was one of only a few selected for the award.

Mitchell has many years of experience working with the SBA. He is an active EDF Board and Loan Committee member and utilizes all of the SBA loan programs to deliver his customers with the best loan options, given their financing needs. Since 2009 alone, Mitchell has had over 40 SBA 504 Loans approved and he has multiple others in the pipeline. The EDF team is honored to partner with Mitchell and to be part of his mission.

Congratulations Mitchell on this acomplishment!

If you are in the Grand Rapids area, please join us on December 13th, 2017 at SpeakEZ Lounge anytime between 4:30 PM and 7:00 PM for our Holiday Open House! To register, please email Kyle at Kyle@growmichigan.com. Hope we see you there!

Lender Leader Board

EDF would like to thank all of the lenders that have had loans authorized with us so far this fiscal year. At the end of our fiscal year (9/30/18), the lending institution with the most loan approvals will receive our Lender of the Year Award. Additionally, all lenders that work with EDF will have the opportunity to compete in next year's Lenders Cup Golf Tournament!

Traverse City State Bank

2 Loans

Chase Bank

1 Loan

Comerica Bank

1 Loan

Grand River Bank

1 Loan

Union Bank

1 Loan

FY 2018 Total

Totals as of 10/31/2017

6 Loans

Featured 504 Funding

Planet Fitness

Bradd Pierce, EDF Loan Officer, had the opportunity to work with Thomas Etcher of Huntington National Bank to finance a new Planet Fitness Franchise at 2807 Lake Michigan Dr. NW, Grand Rapids, MI. The franchise is co-owned by Julian Monterosso and Patrick Schafer.

Julian and Patrick became Planet Fitness franchisees in 2012 after extensive research and a desire to leave their current employers and develop their own business. Prior to the current SBA 504 Project, Julian and Patrick owned three Planet Fitness locations. They opened their first Planet Fitness location in July 2012 in the Holland Town Center, Holland, MI. The second location was opened October 2013 on Henry St, Muskegon, MI and in 2014 they opened their Plainfield Ave NE location in Grand Rapids.

In September 2016, Julian and Patrick purchased the old Shawmut Hills Motorsports location on Lake Michigan Drive. Huntington Bank utilized the SBA 504 program to facilitate the purchase, renovation of the building and purchase/installation of all the equipment needed for their new Planet Fitness location. The SBA 504 program offered the perfect low down payment and long- term fixed rate financing option combined into one total financing package.

Planet Fitness health clubs operate across the United States of America as a value health club chain. They offer low cost memberships and benefits to attract members. Planet Fitness does not employ sales or childcare staff like many other fitness centers do. Instead, they focus on the things that people really want in a health club - clean, stylish, hassle-free facilities that are filled with tons of brand-name cardiovascular and strength equipment. The franchise also prides itself on being a no-judgement zone available to everyone.

Julian said, "Our experience with the EDF and our bank Huntington was very positive. The 504 program allowed us to get the funding necessary to purchase our building, make improvements and install our equipment - providing a lending solution that is difficult to obtain through conventional channels. We were able to get creative by re-developing real estate in order to place our business in a great location on Lake Michigan Drive."

To learn more about the benefits of the SBA 504 Loan Program, or how EDF can assist you, please visit our website at www.growmichigan.com, or call one of our Loan Officers Gary Witkowski or Bradd Pierce.

Call EDF for your 7(a) Packaging Needs

EDF can assist your bank or credit union with 7(a) Loan eligibility and questions. We can also prepare loan applications and submit them directly to the SBA for approval. If you do not have an in-house SBA specialist, please consider using EDF. For more information, please call Amy Dubridge at (616) 323-1279 or you may send an email to Amy@growmichigan.com.

Schedule a Lunch and Learn

EDF would love the opportunity to bring lunch to your organization, get to know your entire team, and do a brief presentation on the benefits of the 504 Loan Program. We are currently scheduling into January and February. If you would like to set up a time, please call Kyle Wilson at (616) 323-1272 or you may send an email to Kyle@growmichigan.com.