I would not walk but I would run to get away from one of the most ethical challenged companies I've ever worked with. I had my first loan, went great. I expanded and added more onto the first loan. Got a small SBA loan with the EIDL, OSF found and no problem whatsoever. Bought another agency, no problem whatsoever. Fast forward over 5 years of business they found out I had a small "pay day" type loan that would be paid off in 6 months and all of a sudden they flipped a switch. Even though I had a subordinate note with the SBA again that was ok, with this one they immediately threw my loan in default. Confiscating any funds that came in whether they should have been allowed to keep them or not. I believe they figured out how they could try and take my company from me, knowing how much my company is worth and they went after it. My total loans were only about 20% of the worth of the company. We need to try and keep these predatory lenders away from small business for sure. read more

DON'T EVER USE THIS COMPANY! VERY UNPROFESSIONAL! I don't own a business and they kept calling me, then someone name John, called me again and left a VM calling me a B***tch in a creepy way !!!!!!! Then I called the company and reported it but somehow he STILL HAS HIS JOB? read more

This is by far the worst lending company I have ever dealt with. They ask for the world from you and in the end give you nothing except a $500 bill they charge for an application fee. As if their interest rates are not enough to inflate their pockets. Horrible experience! Run far and fast from this company and try locally first. read more

If 0 stars were an option, that should be their rating. Save your $500 application fee and find a serious lender. I personally applied with this company when buying an agency, and unknowingly wasted a hard earned $500 in the process. Unfortunately, while attempting to sell my book of business, the buyer of my B.o.B. also was dooped into working with this "lender". Very poor communication, elementary underwriting and sloppy job overall of keeping the consumer up-to-date with the status of the loan application. This company should honestly be reported to the CFPB. I'd also like to make a recommendation to replace the word Funding in their name with the phrase $500 Fee Company, to properly describe their business practices. read more

Fees were decent (not bad, but not awesome either) and the terms and process to get funding underwritten and approved were acceptable all things considered. For an agency purchase, the process was fast and the efficiency was great with the web dashboard and communications. Much better than the SBA route and all the craziness that would have entailed. I will use them again for expansion later. Thanks Selby and Doug! read more

If I could do it all over again I wouldn't ever entertain even using Oak Street. They've been a nightmare to deal with and have made our entire loan process a cluster. They're rude, they've changed the loan amount 3 times, and they can't get their act together. If you have any other option at all I would go with that over using Oak Street. read more

I have taken out one loan with OSF and applied for two others. The first experience was ok, my loan performed as agreed and they were paid in full. The terms were steep but my agency was fairly new so I understood. The second application was for a fairly small amount (approx 25% of annual revenue) secured with a 60 year old preferred personal lines book of business with top national companies. After wasting 30-45 days jumping through various hoops they backed out as I had just purchased the agency 5 months prior. Service and return phone calls were spotty during this underwriting period. They advised they could do the loan after we had a 12 month track record and could demonstrate the business would stick during an ownership change. I was disappointed but I understood. 12 months later with carrier reports and corporate tax returns in hand we showed a 13% revenue growth. Our "loan officer" indicated there shouldn't be any issues, sent an offer letter and collected our $500 application fee. We uploaded all of their requested information then did not hear from her for 10 days. After three follow up calls and multiple emails I received a call that they would only do the loan if they could cross collateralize my other insurance agency(completely different ownership structure), get a personal guarantee and UCC filing on both businesses, myself and my wife. These terms were unacceptable to me. I requested my $500 fee returned as none of these requirements were mentioned in the terms letter. OSF declined to return my fee. They kept my $500. OSF is essentially a factoring company that collects commissions from the insurance carrier directly deposited into a joint account that they control, they take their monthly payment and redirect the excess commission back to the agent. There are stiff fees, a 10-20 day income lag and built in buffers associated with their loans. The high fees are somewhat acceptable to me as the money is usually only secured by a book of business. I feel there is adequate security in place and the extra requirements (filings on other agencies and individuals) should be disclosed up front at the very least. I would have never paid the $500 fee if those requirements were disclosed up front. They have every right to make loans on their terms but they should have returned my $500 fee after such a drastic change from their terms letter. That would have been the ethical thing to do. My advice to any agency owner is to take the time and jump through the hoops to get an SBA loan. OSF is supposed to "understand the insurance industry" but in my experience they are not any easier to deal with than the SBA and their terms are much less attractive. read more

AJ Below is an "On Time" and "Very Professional" Loan Officer, no excuses, says what he means and does what he says! I'm a well experienced Investment Banker and former Public Company CEO, so I know a Great Loan Officer when I work with on. and AJ is! The LOI was signed a few days before Christmas, and yet, the deal closed within 30 days, no excuses or delays for the Holidays. ($387,500). I recommend AJ without reservation for any Agency Financing Transaction. Stan Van Etten, CEO, The Howland Agency. read more

I took out a loan with Oak Street a few years ago. If you are considering a loan with them, DON'T! Security Deposit: Oak Street requires you to have a disgustingly high amount of security deposit in a "Cash Collateral Account" upon which YOU, the borrower, pay them interest and fees on as part of the loan. I'm pretty sure this is a violation of banking regulations, and I have a lawyer investigating it now. When you include the interest and fees paid, on top of the "APR" they like to boast about, the total repayment terms are slightly better than the notorious Hard Money Merchant Cash Advances you get marketed to. Commission Requirement: They have a requirement which is vaguely disclosed at the time of the loan that requires you to have 5X - 10X your payment transferred into their bank account. After they receive your commissions, Oak Street sends you a ACH payment net of your loan payment. While your name appears on the bank account, you have no control or access over it. For every $1,000 of monthly payment, they'll require you to have at least $5,000 of monthly commissions deposited. You must trust them to ACH the money back. The delay in this part of their service is terrible and will cripple your cash flow. And if the above are not met... You are in "default." It doesn't matter whether they are paid regularly and on time. You are in default. My guess is that their operation is run like a Merchant Cash Advance co and they need the receivables in their account to issue the money. In this case, I believe they are pledging the borrowers assets as their own (in their "Cash Collateral Account") in order to lend and generate additional cash flow. Again, another issue I have being investigated with the Banking Department. My advice: Go to a local bank. If you can't get approved there, seek out the mob, they'll give you better loan terms. read more

Oak Street has provided the best loan experience that I have ever had! From start to finish, the entire process was very smooth and thorough. Communication was very easy and simple thanks to the online document portal. Selby and Zak went above and beyond and had my loan processed quicker than other banks got back to me. I would highly recommend Oak Street as a partner. read more

I would use extreme caution if you are considering working with this lender. Fees are outrageous and they will do anything to destroy your business. They will wait till last minute and completely change what you agreed to and bury it in hundreds of pages of small print. Be very careful if dealing with them. read more

Terrible experience. They have a non-refundable application fee. I was told loan would pass through underwriting. Sure the loan got declined. This was after they upped my original loan amount. I spent hours accumulating documents not to mention the 500.00 I lost. read more

They have been unprofessional from day one. Starting with that black male banker that wasted my time a year ago... then came another one, and then a female with a male name who led me RIGHT BACK TO THE SAME BLACK MALE BANKER that wasted my time 2 years ago.. I don't think so. You spend time and effort faxing them information and then they stop talking to you. This is not a legitimate company and I have dealt with quite a few but this by far is one of the worse. If your a new agent, do not do business with them you are wasting your time. Starting from scratch is the BEST WAY and don't look back. When its time to sell, do not use a broker and do not use them. They don't help people starting out and they don't deserve to profit from YOUR HARD WORK. I won't say names because it would be unprofessional, but all I'm going to say is that if you need advice on what to do, I will be MORE THAN HAPPY to help you! You don't need to buy overpriced books for sale OR deal with conman bankers like this. read more