Before you apply
The SBA rules that decide deals, read from the current text and dated. Each one ends with what to settle before you call a lender.
- How an SBA 504 loan is structured
Updated
The 504 program's three-part financing: a bank first mortgage, a CDC debenture, and the borrower's equity, with the fee schedule and where it beats 7(a).
- How an SBA 7(a) loan works
Updated
The 7(a) guaranty explained: what it changes for a lender, the rate ceiling, the $350,000 Small Loan line, and which maturity applies to what.
- How an SBA Express loan trades guaranty for speed
Updated
SBA Express caps at $500,000 and a 50 percent guaranty in exchange for a faster credit decision than the standard 7(a) process.
- SBA loan eligibility: size, credit, collateral, and who has to sign
Updated
What decides SBA loan eligibility: size standards by NAICS code, credit and collateral policy, the personal guaranty rule, and excluded business types.
- The SBA loan process, step by step, and what to have ready
Updated
How an SBA loan moves from application to funding: the document checklist, what underwriters examine, and where delegated lenders skip a step.
- Buying a business with an SBA loan: what decides the deal
Updated
Structuring an SBA-financed business acquisition: the valuation threshold, seller notes, the equity injection, and what kills deals before closing.
- SBA Form 159: who gets paid to help with your loan, and what has to be disclosed
Updated
Form 159 discloses what an agent, packager, or referral source is paid for helping obtain an SBA loan, itemized once total compensation passes $2,500.
- What an SBA loan costs beyond the rate
Updated
The upfront guaranty fee schedule, the annual service fee, the small-manufacturer waiver, and the prepayment penalty rule that applies to long-term 7(a) loans.
- How the SBA microloan program lends, and who it lends to
Updated
SBA microloans run to $50,000 through nonprofit intermediary lenders, not banks, for working capital and equipment, never real estate or existing debt.
- SBA financing for owner-occupied commercial real estate
Updated
The occupancy tests that decide 7(a) and 504 eligibility for a building purchase, how much can be leased out, and where 504 usually beats 7(a) on rate.
- What an SBA loan can pay for
Updated
Every eligible 7(a) use: acquisitions, property, working capital, equipment, refinancing, buyouts, franchises, exports, and costs borrowers forget to finance.
- SBA loan down payment rules
Updated
The 10 percent SBA down payment: what it is measured against, which sources count, and what to settle before you call a lender.