Does anyone finance water features?

[Toker]

What kinda fees they charge back to us I wonder? Nice idea at that - I've never thought of doing things that way but have had some ask over years. Might have even lost jobs not taking it (plastic).

I haven't seen to many of the offers lately showing up at home, least not compared to last year. Maybe I just toss them w/o a look. Knowing the CC's they still throwing credit around like the wind - bad economy or not. WTH - they lose 5-8% it's not a big deal. They just jack up things to the rest of us.

Thanks for the idea - might need to start checking around

[genesgreen]

I've had a lot of clients ask this same question and they haven't had any luck finding traditional loans. The closest you can get is a home equity line of credit if you own the house and want to tap the equity.

[Varsity L&G]

Our credit card machine charges 1.7 on a swipe and 3.6 on a manual key, card not present transaction.

[Venturewest]

Originally Posted by Varsity L&G

Our credit card machine charges 1.7 on a swipe and 3.6 on a manual key, card not present transaction.

Do you pay any other monthly or one time fees for your equimpment, etc?

[FNCPonds]

I bought my wireless CC machine for $650 plus $24 dollars a month for wirless services just like a cell phone. It has come in very handy and lots of people would rather pay by card.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by JimLewis

If you have a John Deere Landscapes branch in your area, they have the financing program you are looking for. You gotta join their rewards program to be involved. It's a pretty sweet program for the homeowners and something you could offer that most contractors don't.

The only down side is you don't see any $$ from them until 7 days after the project is completed and the homeowner signs off on everything. No down payment, nothing. You have to fund the entire project and then wait to get paid. Some people are okay with that kind of setup, I am not.

Hey Jim...

You use VISA for customers don't you? I figured that you probaby know the ins and outs of this kind of stuff.

I was curious, if someone was low risk enough for a financed water feature, wouldn't they be low risk enough to qualify for VISA, and just run the bill through that route?

[Varsity L&G]

Originally Posted by Venturewest

Do you pay any other monthly or one time fees for your equimpment, etc?

No the company we go through charges us up to $25 per month minus the 1.7%. If we reach $25 in fee's it cost us nothing but the 1.7% per transaction. So the Min per month would be $25.

No equipment rental or contract. We bought our first machine for $300 and bought the second one for $75 both used.

You have to go to the source to get the best rates. We use BankCard USA

[JimLewis]

Originally Posted by mdvaden

Hey Jim...

You use VISA for customers don't you? I figured that you probaby know the ins and outs of this kind of stuff.

I was curious, if someone was low risk enough for a financed water feature, wouldn't they be low risk enough to qualify for VISA, and just run the bill through that route?

Yah, I have a credit card processing account. I don't let people charge large jobs though. We only take credit cards for small stuff (e.g. under $1000). You lose too much through the fees and it always takes a few days till the money lands in your account. I just like checks. I get paid as soon as the job is done and money is in the bank that day, if I want.

To answer your question about them just using the Visa instead of a line of credit, I guess it depends on your credit limit on your card, what interest rate you are paying, and how much available credit you have left. And just because you a place like John Deere Finance or GE Capital will give you a $10K or $20K loan for a home improvement project, doesn't necessarily mean you can qualify for a Visa with the same limit.

Regardless, I hate it when people ask this kind of stuff. I pretty much just do work for people who already have money in the bank account. I lost a $25K job the other day because the guy didn't have the cash and wanted a company who could finance the job. He wanted a bid from us and had been impressed with work we had done for others but he already had a bid from a guy who used some sort of financing. I told him if he didn't have the dough, just go with that guy. I didn't even finish the bid. It's easier just to not deal with this stuff, IMO.

[kaferhaus]

I realize it's an old post.... we just have the customer get a home improvement or equity loan.

We don't touch anything without a 50% deposit though. Been taking credit cards for about 10yrs but really prefer not to take them for anything over a few hundred dollars unless it means losing the sale....

Frankly most of the people that can afford this work have no problems just writing out a check....