Why should I lease?
It is a quick, convenient means of obtaining 100 percent financing that may have certain tax advantages.

What are your interest rates?
The leasing industry uses rate factors as opposed to APR rates. Our factors vary based on cost, and term of lease. Anytime, call our organization or email for a more accurate rate factor and monthly payment.

Can I close out my lease early and are there any pre-payment penalties?
You may close out your lease early without any pre-payment penalties. However, in most cases, it may not be beneficial to do so.

Can I include various types of equipment on one lease?
Yes. It is usually beneficial to do this so you can make one monthly payment and use your cash and lines of credit for other business related expenses.

What is the minimum lease transaction size?
For most industries, we can lease as low as $1,000.

Do you offer leasing to start up businesses?
Yes, we have several start-up business programs. However, certain industries may be excluded from these programs.

How long does it take to receive credit approval?
It normally takes 24 hours or less, depending on how quickly references respond back to us. In some situations, it can be as soon as an hour.

When do my lease payments begin?
Lease payments start approximately 20-30 days after acceptance of equipment delivery. If a partial or prefund arrangement was made, they would start approximately 20-30 days after the equipment vendor receives payment.

Can I try the equipment for 3 months to see if I want it?
We do have a program that is "90 days same as cash". This program would have to be pre-arranged and agreed to by your equipment vendor.

Why do you need my social security number? This lease is for my business.
If your business is a closely held corporation, it is often necessary to review the owner(s) credit which often is indicative of the business pay history.

Why do you need my business checking account number?
Many banks will not give us a reference unless we have an account number that would match the name of the business.

I do not have very good credit. Would there be any chance that I could make the other owner of the business, who is the vice president, president?
You may do this. However, we may require an explanation on why the change of titles took place.

Can I send multiple or fractional payments?
Yes, you may send in multiple or fractional payments. However, they will be applied towards your next payment.

What are the advanced payments for?
The advanced payments are to lock in your fixed payments and reserve the funds for your lease.

Why are my lease payments taxed when this was an out-of-state purchase?
Each state has its own rules for tax on equipment leases. In your state, the rule would be that any equipment lease on a taxable piece of equipment is taxed no matter where it was purchased.

How would my lease be structured if I had multiple vendors and the delivery schedule occurs over a two-month period?
Our advice would be to either arrange a master lease, which would allow for takedowns and vendors to be paid as soon as equipment is delivered, or prefund your lease and our company will send out payment to your vendors as you accept equipment. In either case, you would be required to start making payments on the lease. It may be an interim rent payment or entire payment depending on how the lease was structured.

How do you determine how much of a lease I could qualify for?
We would gather your credit information, including credit reports and bank references, and align it with the source that would accept you for the highest dollar amount without having you to supply financial statements. Obviously, certain credit criteria and time-in-business requirements would apply. Depending on credit criteria, it could be as high as $75,000 to $100,000. Click to view a Credit Application.

I delivered the equipment and the lessee is not releasing payment. What do?
After a discussion with the lessee and vendor and a conference call between all parties, a compromise is usually made and payment is released. In case an agreement is not reached, we may advise the that it may be beneficial for all parties to have the customer return the equipment.

My equipment has been delivered, but I would like to add two more pieces. These pieces will not be available for two more weeks. What do I do?
We can increase your credit amount and adjust your lease document so that we can pay the vendor that has delivered the equipment. This would mean you may have to start paying on your lease. Or depending on the dollar amount of the two additional pieces, we could write a separate lease.

How do you determine the residual value at the end of my lease?
If your lease is a fair market value lease, we would obtain an evaluation from three comparable equipment vendors as to what they believe the equipment is worth at the end of the lease and take the average price from the three evaluations. If your lease is a 10 percent put or $1.00 buyout, you would be charged the 10 percent or the $1.00 buyout.

Should I submit personal, confidential information through e-mail?
First Niagara will never request a customer's personal, confidential information (bank card number, account number,social security number, personal identification number or password) through e-mail. If you should ever receive an e-mail requesting your personal, confidential information that appears to be from First Niagara Bank, do not respond to the e-mail and contact the Bank immediately at 1-800-421-0004.