When you need to post bail after an arrest, the harsh reality is that you probably won’t be positioned to make the full payment today, especially as the fees in California are regularly set to $10,000 or higher. Bail bonds are often the best solution for a speedy release from jail. When working for yourself, though, it’s imperative that you consider the unique challenges of securing bail bonds for the self-employed workforce.
One of the most commonly asked questions revolves around qualifying for payment plans as a self-employed person. If you are one of the 16 million plus Americans who form the self-employed workforce, the good news is that it is possible to secure a bail bond. Here’s all you need to know.
Bail Bonds for the Self-Employed: Just another form of financing
Posting bail will enable you to prepare your legal defense and instantly lifts a weight of stress from your shoulders. However, the prospect of securing a bail bond and setting up a payment plan as a self-employed person may feel like an uphill battle. While self-employment may pose some minor challenges, you should try to think of it in the same way that you would view any financing agreement.
Over 2 million Americans post bail each year, and tens of thousands are self-employed people like you. The majority will do it via bail bonds, just in the same way that most self-employed workers who purchase a home will take out a mortgage. The process may be a little longer but things will be OK as long as you can prove your ability to satisfy the terms of the payment plan.
When you gain a bail bond, the fundamentals of the process are the same as they would be for employed workers. The bail bond agency pays the appropriate fee to the jail so that you can return home and resume life between now and the trial date. Meanwhile, you will be required to pay a portion (usually 10%) of the fee today before completing regular payments to cover the remaining figure.
How to get Bail Bonds for the Self-Employed
There is no escaping the fact that self-employed people are often seen as a greater financial risk in the eyes of a potential lender, and a bail bond agency is no different. While some might exclude self-employed workers, experts like Balboa Bail Bonds provide an outlet for you to secure a bond.
There are several possible routes that you could take. Firstly, you may be asked to provide a 1099 document, W2 file, or bank statements to prove that your self-employment activities deliver a stable income that enables you to make the proposed bail bonds payment plan.
Income levels are a key factor, but your credit score is likely to have an influence too. If you have a bad credit history, it may exclude you from being offered a large payment plan, which means you’ll need to pay the full bail premium. In the State of California, this is typically set to 10%. Conversely, though, an excellent credit score can secure a lower rate on the payment plan.
Alternatively, you could try the following bail bonds for the self-employed options to increase your hopes of success.
Get a co-signer
A co-signer for a bail bond works in a very similar way to how they work for mortgages, car repayment plans, and personal loans. The co-signer, who is usually a relative or very close friend, will agree to become jointly responsible for the payment plan. Therefore, it will only work if they can trust you to make the payments. If you were to fall behind, it could cause a major problem for your friendship.
One of the best features of using a co-signer, though, is that their excellent credit score or employment history could potentially help you qualify for a lower rate. It could be the difference between 10% and 7%.
Use collateral
While you might not have the funds to post your full bail right now, it is far more likely that you have assets that could cover this cost. You can use a vehicle as a temporary form of collateral when posting your bail, which is useful when you are arrested outside of banking hours. It isn’t a permanent form of collateral for standard bail, but it could be used as collateral when working with a bail bond agency.
A lien on real estate or other high-value assets could also be utilized. They are simply there as a safety net for the agency to ensure that they won’t lose out. As long as you keep to the payment plan as intended, the assets used as collateral will remain untouched.
Make a bigger down payment
Just because you cannot gain bail bonds for the self-employed to the level that you want, it doesn’t have to exclude you from any bail bond arrangement. The bail bondsman agency may be able to make bail on your behalf as long as you provide a larger down payment. While the average figure is 10%, this could be set to any figure. Even at 50%, it halves the amount of money you need to find to get out of jail.
In many cases, though, even a larger down payment is likely to be 20% or 25%. It means that you ask to borrow less money towards your bail. As with loans, this is a great way to increase your hopes of acceptance.
Secure your freedom today!
Whether you’ve been arrested for a DUI or a DV, your self-employment status should not limit your hopes of securing bail via a bail bond and payment plan. Here at Balboa Bail Bonds, our team of experts can help you today. Crucially, they can deliver quick results to help you get out of jail ASAP.
We offer free price quotes, bail information, fast financing approvals, and are always happy to discuss your bail bond options in full detail. Contact us 24/7 at 619-432-6345 to learn more.
Tags: bail bonds, Self-Employed