Updated . Educational only — not tax, legal, or lending advice. Confirm figures with your CPA, the state revenue department, and a lender before you close.
Line the Offers Up in the Same Units
Two offers are comparable when they finance the same airplane on the same day for the same net proceeds. If one rolls fees into principal and the other makes you write a check, the amounts financed are not the same. Put both into the calculator honestly.
- Amount financed after down payment.
- APR, and whether it is fixed.
- Term in months, not “about 15 years” versus 240 months. Those are different loans.
- Balloon percent or amount.
- Origination, doc, and broker fees. Ask who is paid. See broker versus lender.
Choose the offer with the lower total of interest plus fees that you can actually live with, subject to covenants you can keep. A slightly higher rate with no balloon can be cheaper than a pretty rate with a large balloon you cannot pay. Covenants are explained on the covenant page.
Questions buyers actually ask
The other lender is 0.25% lower. Is that enough to switch?
Compute the dollars. On a large turbine note, yes, it can be. On a $150,000 piston, a lost month and a second appraisal can eat it.
Should I send my file to five lenders at once?
Ask your broker how they sequence credit pulls. Uncoordinated applications are how files get messy, not how borrowers get rich.