SBA Lender - Asset Size $2B

April 21, 2023

by a searcher from University at Buffalo, State University of New York - School of Management in Buffalo, NY, USA

We have been referred to a nearby lender for a potential SBA loan on a deal we are pursuing. The lender showed a warm reception / expressed interest in establishing a rapport with us. Our current deal is highly appealing - favorable margins, excellent DSCR, robust financials, and clean financial reports. The lender in question has an asset size of $2B and specializes mainly in the commercial real estate sector. We are uncertain whether to proceed with this lender or to explore options with larger SBA lenders (e.g. Live Oak or Huntington). We are eager to hear any input from others.

0 Likes

12 Replies

112 Views

Replies

Reply by a searcher
from Regis University in Denver, CO, USA

I'm not very experienced here as my first deal was self funded. However, I'm pursuing SBA for my 2nd deal, and had a great conversation with one lender. However, he wanted to schedule the next day for our first meeting, and he took a week to call back after I left him a VM for some follow up questions.

I dropped them. If you can't get get back to your clients/prospects, then get a secretary. I just had a call yesterday with a lender who picked up on the 2nd ring. That's the type of partner who gives me confidence they are on the ball and will process my application in a timely manner. I guess my feedback would be test them on their response times to really gage how much of a priority your are to them.

Reply by a lender
from University of Missouri in St. Louis, MO, USA

Hi George, the size of the bank isn't usually the defining piece. The bigger question is does the bank you are using do a lot of SBA loans. The bank you mentioned seems like a bank that does mostly conventional deals. SBA loans are a specialty and you should work with a bank(s) that does a lot of them. SBA rules don't always make sense (nor do they have to since the government is making the rules) and SBA loans look completely different to credit officers who are used to seeing on CRE deals. So the general rule is work with people who do a lot of them and know what they are doing.

+10 more replies.

Join the discussion