Today’s recreational buyers want flexibility: custom terms, simple financing, and flexible payment schedules. But for lenders providing this flexibility, additional risks arise, like higher costs and rapid depreciation rates.
To navigate these challenges, here are strategic practices to help your lending institution mitigate risks and establish sustainable dealer relationships in recreational markets.
Know Before You Loan: Implementing Comprehensive Credit Histories
Before approving financing, make sure you know who you’re dealing with. Thorough credit assessments are crucial in specialty vehicle financing to avoid funding high-risk loans. Ensure your dealer partners leverage software that compiles complete credit histories and confirms each buyer’s identity to prevent fraud.
Recreational loans typically have less oversight from local, state, and federal agencies, meaning dealers can struggle to accurately complete deal packages. One way to simplify the form gathering process is to provide set loan requirements and form batches to the dealers in your network. By delivering clear expectations, your dealers save time and money, but most importantly, you reduce callbacks and fund deals faster.
Not all specialty vehicles carry the same level of risk. By focusing on financing for vehicles with an established market, you can reduce exposure to high-risk assets. For example, prioritizing RVs, which are currently experiencing increased demand, can be more advantageous than other specialty vehicles.
Establishing clear lending criteria also helps manage risk effectively. This includes setting maximum loan amounts, specifying acceptable loan-to-value ratios, and defining minimum borrower credit scores. Regularly review and adjust these requirements as market conditions change to align your strategy with the appropriate level of risk your institution can assume.
Specialty vehicle loans may come with more challenges than your average loan, but with the right strategies in place, they can be advantageous for everyone involved. Running credit analyses, refining your loan criteria, and simplifying form completion at each step strengthens your ability to make smarter, safer lending decisions.