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Balboa Capital

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6.3

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: September 11th, 2023

Founded in 1988, Balboa Capital is one of the longest-standing independent online finance lenders. The company is named after its first office on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, CA. 

The company initially made its reputation by providing equipment leasing and equipment financing services, but today, it offers a number of additional financing options to small business owners, franchise owners, and equipment vendors. In November 2020, Balboa Capital completed a $201 million securitization, which increased its lending capacity, so approval rates should be higher than ever. 

Product highlights include the following: 

  • Small business loans which provide fast cash without collateral
  • Commercial financing which includes middle market programs of up to $100 million
  • Vendor financing which increases sales and profits
  • Franchise financing which provides financing for FF&E, PIPs, and re-imaging
  • Equipment leasing which offers same-day funding of up to $250,000
  • Business cash advance which is a flexible option to manage working capital needs 

Keep reading our Balboa Capital review or jump straight to reviews from past and present customers. 

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The Good

  • Industry Experience
  • Fast Approval
  • Loan Options
  • Business Resources
  • Balboa Capital Reviews

Industry Experience

BBalboa Capital has been around for a long time-much longer than many of its competitors. This level of experience, success, and stability is an important quality in a lender. 

Fast Approval

Lending with Balboa Capital is faster and easier than lending with a bank. 

Balboa Capital has a simple online application process and utilizes automated decision technology to review and process your application. Credit decisions are instant and there is minimal paperwork involved. Balboa Capital is a direct lender, which means the company can provide customers within one business day in some cases, with no middleman markup or broker fee. 

By contrast, banks can take weeks or even months to disburse loans after they have been approved.

Another difference between Balboa Capital loans and bank loans is eligibility. Balboa’s eligibility requirements are easier to meet than a bank’s criteria. All credit is considered above a “decent” FICO score, provided the business has been operating for at least a year and has $300,000 in annual revenue. 

Loan Options

Balboa Capital is a technology-driven lender with nationwide coverage of the following loan types: 

  • Equipment financing
  • Small business loans
  • Business line of credit
  • Commercial financing
  • Franchise financing
  • Vendor financing

Loans range from $5,000 to $250,000 and term lengths vary between 3 to 18 months. You can repay your loan daily or weekly through an ACH transfer from your bank account. This repayment schedule allows you to make frequent and smaller payments instead of larger monthly payments. 

Balboa Capital offers unsecured loans, which are a good option for small business owners who do not want to put up personal or business collateral when receiving funding. Plus, the application process for unsecured loans requires far less paperwork than for secured loans. 

You can use funds for nearly any business need, including the following expenses: 

  • Pay suppliers
  • Business expansion
  • Payroll
  • Marketing
  • Inventory
  • Business taxes 

Business Resources

The company offers several business resources on its website including a small business loan calculator, equipment lease calculator, section 179 calculator, small business blog, small business whitepapers, and small business infographics.  

Balboa Capital Reviews

Balboa Capital reviews are mostly positive, highlighting competitive rates and loan amounts, affordable monthly payments, excellent customer service, and a quick application and funding process. Positive reviews can give businesses interested in Balboa Capital peace of mind knowing previous borrowers found the company to be a quality lending option. 

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The Bad

  • Unclear Credit Requirements 
  • No Startup Funding

Unclear Credit Requirements 

There's no clear indication of what a potential customer's credit score must be in order to borrow from Balboa Capital. The corporate website says all credit is considered, yet in a list of requirements it lists “decent” credit as essential. This ambiguity has the potential to raise hopes for prospective borrowers with fair or poor credit, even if approval is unlikely. 

No Startup Funding

Although Balboa Capital is a direct lender, it does not provide funding or other financial solutions to startup companies. 

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The Bottom Line

Balboa Capital offers a number of attractive features for your working capital needs, including extensive industry experience, quick approval and funding times, and unsecured loans. The company also offers a variety of financing options including small business loans, equipment leasing, commercial financing, vendor financing, franchise financing, and business cash advances.

Notably, Balboa Capital is a direct lender which allows customers to obtain quick funding, even same-day funding with equipment financing. Plus, the company claims to not have any hidden fees or upfront costs. Keep in mind that your interest rate and loan terms are dependent upon approval decisions. 

Unfortunately, the company’s credit requirements are ambiguous, so if you're a business owner with subpar credit, you’ll want to conduct your own research on credit-inclusive alternative lender options before choosing this company. 

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Star Rating

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3.6

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61 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

48%

4 grade

16%

3 grade

7%

2 grade

5%

1 grade

25%

Sentiment Criteria

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cathy carron LA

Bottom Feeders. Used them to finance a cosmetic machine. All was well until pandemic hit and I couldn't make full payment as my office in NYC was closed for 5 months. Offered to pay them 50% (which I did) and they sued me. Refused to negotiate in spite of the fact that I had never missed a payment and the circumstances were extenuating, to say the least. Did they care that the physicians in NYC were "all hands on deck" with closed offices and no income and volunteering at the hospitals NOPE. I continued to pay them 50% until January of 2023. And would have done it until it was paid off. But all these people care about is money and I now have a HUGE judgement against me. I hope they have to go through what we medical professionals went through in NYC in 2020. They might be a bit more understanding. Cathy Carron MD

6 months ago Edited September 12, 2023

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Blake Howard

My experience just wasn't any good at all. At first I had agreed to a payment of $4400 a month but the very first charge that came through was of $6700. It's fine that they want to charge for everything they do, but they need to tell you that upfront. That was what made me upset. Right now I'm trying to get back $3280 from a different loan that didn't go through. I ended up paying for that in cash, so now I'm fighting to get that. I haven't heard anything from them yet, I'm very disappointed

6 years ago

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KevinHackbart

Had an expectation upon signing contract that included a specific dollar amount of payment. After signing the contract, I proceeded to get charged exorbitant fees for insurance and property tax that were above and beyond what the agreed amount was. I will never use this company again and I will steer everyone I know in business away from this company.

6 years ago

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JasonNakagawa

THIS IS THE WORST COMPANY EVER!!! THEY LIE TO YOU ON THE RATES SND CHARGE YOU FOR INTERIM RENTS!!! THE BBB HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND I WOULD NOT BELIEVE THE “HIRED” 5-STAR REVIEWS !!! I WOULD WISH TO PLACE “0” STARS, BUT THE SYSTEM WOULD NOT ALLOW IT!!!

6 years ago

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GaryHarter

their response time was very slow! took almost a year for my loan to get funded i was mislead on condition of my loan. David W. was rude and and very pushy wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy

6 years ago

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Julie L

BEWARE!!! 1. Balboa charged me 400% higher interest than originally promised 2. Balboa demands a deposit which they promise will be returned at the end. TOTAL LIE YOU WILL NEVER SEE THAT MONEY APPLIED! 3. Balboa charged $500 a month in addition to my regular payment citing additional insurance. 4. Balboa charged $500 a month in addition to my regular payment citing it was for Sales Tax - WHICH THEY NEVER PAID. 5. None of their management will return phone calls to any concerns. 6. Look at Balboa's legal history. Hundreds of lawsuits including a prominent Retail Chain. YOU WOULD BE CRAZY TO WORK WITH THIS COMPANY. WE TRIED TO GET OUT IN THE BEGINNING AND COULD NOT. WE WOULD LIKE TO SAVE YOU!

1 year ago

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Josh Woody Warrensburg, MO

DO NOT GET TIED IN....... Being a business owner we were lured in with a company called Unified Global Solutions(Do not get tied in with them either). We were told what we were signing was to prevent taxes to make our phone and Internet plan cheaper. It was a scam.What we signed was a 5 year contract for over 8000.00 and had a single piece of small equipment installed. Immediately I got in contact with Balboa and explained we were misled and everything we were told was a lie. We asked repeatedly for help getting out from the beginning. and told them to review the website of the people they were backing because their employees and customers said the same as us. UGS is a scam. It fell on deaf ears. Now we have had to switch back to our previous company because our fax machine didn't work from day 1. Our Internet glitched all day long and our phones didn't ring in half the time. Customers were always calling complaining because they couldn't get through. We're done using them both. DO NOT DO NOT USE BALBOA...

2 years ago

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Subway Franchisee Moorpark, CA

STAY AWAY!! I found Balboa Capital after soliciting calls over the years I had a remodeling job coming up, so I contacted them. The sales staff was great. They stayed in touch throughout the whole process. Then the payments begin. All was good till my additionally insured certificate lapsed, GRANTED I HAD INSURANCE AND THEY WERE LISTED AS ADDITIONALLY INSURED. I am a SUBWAY Franchisee, you don't not have insurance. Balboa sent an email letting me know this but after searching I found it went to JUNK Folder. They NEVER CALLED, NEVER sent a letter Just charged me a ridiculously high amount. EVEN after I proved they were insured the whole time they would not credit back the charges. I feel their service AFTER they get you to sign is VERY POOR and would not recommend doing business with them. I requested a supervisor to give me a call and to date, 3-4 weeks ago I have not received a call just standard emails that take 7-14 days to get replies to. I am a Subway Franchisee and would not do business with this company ever again.

2 years ago

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Robert Holdeman Avera, GA

Do not use this company. They will not work with you at all in removing the non-insurance fee. We have had our own insurance from the beginning and given them proof of it repeatedly. There was a slight address discrepency that I have done my best to resolve. At last telephone conversation I had with them I was told to simply send them the correct address and they would change it on the contract so the two match. Now this morning they sent me an email requiring me to completely start over with submitting the insurance proofs. It is stupid because I have sent them recently. Nothing has changed with them. The equipment has never moved. The insurance policies reflect the proper address. They have to change the address on the contract and they refuse. I believe they are stringing me along to continue to receive the unearned fee of about $165 per month. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. I WOULD GIVE THEM A MINUS RATING IF AVAILABLE. Bob Holdeman Covenant Millwork Inc.

4 years ago

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Jose Maldonado Berclair, TX

I got it since, upfront, their statement sounded reasonable in price. They have poor communication though. They didn't respond to my emails or answer the phone when I called.

6 years ago

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Buckhead Functional Medicine Marietta, GA

I have been with Balboa via an equipment lease for 4 years and thank God the torture is almost over! Their record keeping is deplorable and they repeatedly request payment even when they have autodrafted your account. This generates a late fee that you do not get back once you point out their error. This practice occurs repeatedly during the year. DO NOT USE THIS LENDER YOU WILL LIVE TO REGRET IT!

2 years ago

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Andy Mullendore Pickerington, OH

Their lending is what I would consider predatory. Our loan agreement is as explained by the person loaning us the money was poor at best and a flat out lie. You will pay all of the interest on you loan even if you win the lottery and can pay it off the next business day. They intentionally do not put numbers on the loan agreement like total as it is disguised so as to hide what you are actually paying. Do not Use these Jokers.

3 years ago

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Dan User

BEWARE - I was a few days late (4 days) on my payment so they sent out someone to threaten litigation on me and then charged me an additional 95.00 for that person to come to my office. Additionally 2 days later they took money out of one of my accounts without my permission. I'm disputing with bank - Beware of this bad company - they are breaking the law with their collection practices.

4 years ago

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Bob Berlin, CT

SCAM ARTISTS / SCUUMBAAGS ! KEEP CHARGING ME $316.31 EXTRA PER MONTH, FOR NOT HAVING INSURANCE WHEN I HAVE INSURANCE AND EMAILED IT TO THEM SEVERAL TIMES !!! WARNING DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. I HOPE THE OWNER GOES TO JAIL JUST LIKE SCOTT T (PAYDAY LOAN SCAM) DID AND GETS EVERYTHING TAKEN AWAY FROM HIM AS HE SHOULD !

3 years ago

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jean Feeley Philadelphia, PA

i CAN'T GET PROPER DOCUMENTS I CAN'T GET A RESPONSE NO ONE ANSWERS THE PHONE NO ONE RETURNS EMAIL. TERRIBLE

4 years ago