
Commercial Real Estate - Equipment - Expansion - Refinance
Does My Business Qualify?
Eligible businesses must:
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Be a for-profit company
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Located in the United States
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Be an operating company
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Demonstrate need for credit
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Meet an economic development objective
 
Ineligible businesses include:
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Not-for-profit businesses
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Developers
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Financial institutions
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Restricted patronage
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Gambling facilities
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Apartment buildings
 
What Expenses Qualify?
Eligible Expenses:
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Purchase of land and existing building
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New building construction
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Leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures
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Eligible debt refinancing
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Purchase of machinery and equipment
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Soft costs (architectural and engineering, appraisal, environmental investigations, points, fees, interim interest)
 
Ineligible Expenses:
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Accounts receivable
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Working capital
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Franchise fees
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Equipment or furnishings with less than a 10 year useful life; unless essential to and a minor part of the project which shall not affect the weighted average maturity
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Third party tenant buildout
 
SBA 504 Debt Refinance Without Expansion
Key Points:
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Project can not involve any expansion to the business
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Business must be in operation for at least 24 months
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Existing FTE jobs can be counted as jobs retained by the financing project
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No cash-out: 90% LTV
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Cash-out: 90% LTV
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No cap on cash-out for Eligible Business Expenses (EBEs) 
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EBEs include accrued expenses payable over the next 18 months (salaries, utilities, rent), inventory, etc
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EBEs do not include capital expenditures, personal expenses, business acquisition, partner buy-out, etc.
 
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Property being refinanced at least 51% owner-occupied or is long-term equipment
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Appraisal dated within 12 months required at time of application
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Loan must be disbursed within 9 months of loan approval
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Must still meet other SBA eligibility guidelines
 
Qualified Debt:
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Incurred and be secured by an Eligible Fixed Asset for not less than 6 months prior to date of application
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100% incurred for the benefit of small business seeking the financing
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75% or more of the loan proceeds of the original loan were used for 504 eligible purposes
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May consist of a combination of two or more loans
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Can be a government guaranteed loan (7a, 504, USDA) if:
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New installment amounts attributable to debt being refinanced must be less than the existing installment amount(s)
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For existing 504 loans, third party loan and 504 must be refinanced or the third party loan must be paid off
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The CDC must notify existing CDC or 7a lender in writing, within 10 business days of application, advising them the existing loan is being refinanced
 
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SBA 504 Debt Refinance With Expansion
Key Points:
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Debt refinance is allowed for up to 100% of the expansion costs of the project (no requirement on the age of the debt)
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No cash-out option
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Borrower has been current on payments for at least 12 months prior to date of application
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Refinance must provide a Substantial Benefit to the small business:
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New installment amounts attributable to the debt being refinanced must be less than the existing installment amount(s)
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Prepayment penalties, financing fees, and other financing costs must be added to the amount being refinanced in calculating the percentage reduction
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Loans with balloon payments automatically meet the Substantial Benefit test
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Loans with seasonal payments meet the test if there was an improvement in the installment when calculated by averaging all payments of the most recent 12 month period
 
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Qualified Debt:
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100% incurred for the benefit of small business seeking the financing
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75% or more of the loan proceeds of the original loan were used for 504 eligible purposes
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Can be a government guaranteed loan (7a, 504, USDA) if:
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For existing 504 loans, third party loan and 504 must be refinanced or the third party loan must be paid off
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For existing 7a loans the lender must certify that it is unable to modify the terms of the existing loan
 
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Must still meet all other SBA eligibility guidelines
 


