Leaders of the Small Business Administration spoke at the 2016 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo about how SBA’s 7(a) and 504 Loan Programs can benefit commercial clients.
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Dianna Seaborn, Chief of 7(a) Branch of the Office of Financial Assistance at SBA, knows that working directly with Realtors is the best marketing they can do for their program. “Realtors® are a tremendous partner when it comes to economic development. The federal government has limited resources to market the good of the work we do, so we know that the more we can help Realtors® become knowledgeable about SBA loan options for their commercial clients, the more real estate deals will be able to go through and new business can open in a community.
SBA loan limits are $5 million for the 7(a) loan program and up to $5.5 million for the 504 loan program. According to the 2016 NAR Commercial Lending Survey 94 percent of sales of Realtors® who practice commercial real estate were valued at or below $5 million. However, according to that same survey, only 6 percent of respondents described using SBA loan programs. So today’s session concentrated on how to better inform and market SBA loans to Realtors ®commercial clients.
Linda Reilly, Chief of the 504 Program Branch at SBA, spoke about how important it is for clients to understand that the process of applying for and receiving a loan have changed..Loan processing times have improved significantly over time. The 504 loan program process is now centralized processes and the 504 loan approval process has a turn time of three to five working days. The regular 504 loan program has a $5 million loan limit, SBA has increased loan limits up to $5.5 million per project in 2 areas. These include manufacturing and an energy efficiency. SBA is staging to launch a refinancing component of the 504 program in June 2016. Having clients take a fresh look at SBA loans can be a win-win for everyone.”
“ When you are ready to take a next step with your business take a look at our programs because they may have new alternatives or additional funding opportunities ,” said Reilly
