Aerial lift financing: boom lifts and scissor lifts

Boom lifts and scissor lifts are the machines most contractors rent longest before buying, because the rental companies own almost all of them. The math changes when a crew has one on every job: an electrical or mechanical contractor with a lift on a year-long project pays for it twice in rent. iFinancial Group finances aerial lifts new or used, on a one-page application. No tax returns and no audited financial statements to apply, no minimum and up to $1,000,000.

Who you're dealing with

iFinancial Group has funded equipment since 1997, roughly $600 million of it, in all 50 states. We're a direct lender, not a broker, so the file is underwritten in house and not shopped around. Our customers have ranged from independent manufacturers to global technology companies. We've barely advertised in almost three decades. The business came from repeat customers, referrals, and vendors sending us their customers.

What you're financing

Electric scissor lifts of 19 to 32 feet, the machines that work inside buildings, typically list new from about $20,000 to $45,000. Rough terrain scissor lifts of 33 to 50 feet run roughly $50,000 to $90,000. Articulating and telescopic boom lifts of 45 to 60 feet run $90,000 to $180,000, and 80 to 135 foot booms run $200,000 to $450,000.

Those are market ranges. The maker, the hours, the platform height and whether it's electric or diesel move them.

What goes on the same approval

Several lifts go on one approval; a mechanical contractor outfitting a crew often finances four or six scissor lifts as one package. A platform accessory package, a generator on an electric lift and the trailer that moves a small scissor lift belong to the equipment.

Freight and the initial annual inspection are soft costs and can ride on the same deal, on many deals up to 30% of the total.

Who buys them and how the payment gets covered

Electrical and mechanical contractors, painting and drywall contractors, glazing and curtain wall installers, sign companies, warehouse and facility operators, and tree services on the boom side. The common trigger is a long project: a contractor with a lift on site for a year compares the rental invoices to a payment and buys.

A lift that's owned also rents out to other trades on the same job when it's idle, which a lot of owners do.

New or used

Used electric scissor lifts four to eight years old typically trade from about $8,000 to $25,000, and used 45 to 60 foot booms from $40,000 to $100,000. Rental fleets own most of the aerial lifts in the country and sell them on a schedule, so the used market is deep, well documented and runs through dealers and auctions. All channels are financeable here.

On a used lift, the annual inspection record under ANSI A92 is the thing to have: a lift with a current inspection and the records is worth more and is an easier file. The platform, the boom wear pads, the batteries on an electric machine and the hours get the inspection. There's no title; the lender's claim is a UCC filing against the serial number.

What slows an aerial lift deal down

Mostly nothing. Rental fleet sales keep used lifts available year round, and a deal can fund inside a week once the terms are signed. A package of lifts above $1,000,000 is written under a master lease; below that it's the same one page.

How it works with iFinancial Group

It's the same one-page application whether the equipment is small or the deal runs to $1,000,000: no tax returns and no audited financial statements to apply, no minimum and up to $1,000,000. Decisions typically come back within 24 hours, and an approval holds up to 60 days. New and used equipment, terms up to 84 months, and soft costs up to 30% so freight, setup and training can go in the same deal. Payment structures beyond level payments are there when the equipment earns unevenly. We've been doing this since 1997, in all 50 states.

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