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Financing Tips for Today’s Used Jet Market (Part 1)

Financing Tips for Today’s Used Jet Market (Part 1)

In today’s overheated market, older and harder-to-finance business jets are being offered at unusually robust prices — and are still being snapped up quickly. AvBuyer Aviation Journalist, Chris Kjelgaard asks what buyers can do to obtain financing and move quickly on a potential deal in the market.

It is clear in the early months of 2022 that the Covid-19 pandemic is continuing to fuel intense market demand for used business jets, whatever their age and category. Many people now purchasing used business jets are first-time buyers who lack experience of dealing with the many complications inherent in investing in, and owning, such sophisticated assets.

One major complication (perhaps the most important one for many buyers) is ensuring that adequate and suitable financing is in place and available at short notice in order to close the aircraft purchase, in a market environment in which sellers are calling the shots. 

Many sellers are insisting buyers close deals quickly, and some sales are being unwound when the transaction encounters even short delays. Some sellers are even advertising sales as being “as-is aircraft condition, which could mean ‘first come, first served, and high bid wins’,” says Christopher Lee, Vice President – Aircraft Division in 1st Source Bank’s Specialty Finance Group.

Some sellers advertising such sales are insisting that buyers do not conduct pre-purchase inspections of the aircraft on offer, he says — a requirement that experienced buyers would consider an absolute deal-breaker. 

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This article was originally published in AvBuyer on March 7, 2022.