What's the average business lease terms if I wanted to finance gear?

[Andy Zou]

I can't search without just getting endless calculators asking me for personal info, so I guess I wanted to poll the sort of rates people got.

[IronFilm]

Personally I'd in general strongly recommend NOT getting deep into debt to get into the film industry! Recipe for distaste if not very very careful. 


But to answer your question, it depends a LOT on where you live, what your credit score is, how many assets you have, if it is a secured or unsecured loan, what your income is, how much you are borrowing, what you're borrowing it for, etc etc etc

[sanveer]

46 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Personally I'd in general strongly recommend NOT getting deep into debt to get into the film industry! Recipe for distaste if not very very careful. 


But to answer your question, it depends a LOT on where you live, what your credit score is, how many assets you have, if it is a secured or unsecured loan, what your income is, how much you are borrowing, what you're borrowing it for, etc etc etc

Sometimes you give very sagacious and beneficial advice. 

[BTM_Pix]

7 hours ago, Andy Zou said:

I can't search without just getting endless calculators asking me for personal info, so I guess I wanted to poll the sort of rates people got.

It depends on the country you are in but here is an example from the UK.

TeamWork have embedded a calculator for Photolease in their webpage which you can just fill in the amount you want and the term needed without having to tell them your life story.

https://www.teamworkphoto.com/photolease-finance-calculator

1 hour ago, IronFilm said:

Personally I'd in general strongly recommend NOT getting deep into debt to get into the film industry! Recipe for distaste if not very very careful. 
But to answer your question, it depends a LOT on where you live, what your credit score is, how many assets you have, if it is a secured or unsecured loan, what your income is, how much you are borrowing, what you're borrowing it for, etc etc etc

Leasing is rental of specific equipment rather than purchase though so its a pass/fail on the credit score rather than sliding scale interest rates based on circumstances.

 

 

[barefoot_dp]

I'd agree with IronFilm.

If your not already booked on enough shoots to pay for it upfront, then it's not a wise business decision. Save up for gear and rent as required in the meantime.

[IronFilm]

2 hours ago, sanveer said:

Sometimes you give very sagacious and beneficial advice. 

Only SOMETIMES? 😉
 

 

3 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Recipe for distaste if not very very careful. 

Whoops!
I mean "disaster" of course. 

Although it can be a recipe which leaves a distaste as well if it all goes pear shaped!

  

53 minutes ago, barefoot_dp said:

If your not already booked on enough shoots to pay for it upfront, then it's not a wise business decision. Save up for gear and rent as required in the meantime.

There are some rare exceptions when it might make sense, to borrow or lease. 

Perhaps when you've signed a contract for a steady flow of work coming in, and everything is already inked and signed in blood. Perhaps you'll feel it is worth the risk to prematurely jump ahead before the invoices are even paid? Still is a risk. 

Plus there could sometimes be tax benefits around leasing vs owning outright. But you shouldn't be asking a bunch of internet accountants (nearly as bad as internet lawyers!) for advice on this point. 

And if you're not making a full time income from this line of work, then don't do it. Get at least a basic level of money coming in the door first! Walk before you run.