SBA Lenders Is Not Friendly With First Time Buyers/Entrepreneurs.

April 18, 2025

by a searcher in New York, NY, USA

SBA lenders don't acknowledge the track record of the team you built for your search thats well experienced to for your experience gap, they attack you for your non direct experience or management skills even if you have somewhat relevance, the low personal balance sheet, don't acknowledge the investor backing you for the equity piece, and wanted them to guarantee or require a 2nd guarantor. The SBA only seem only want to work with successful executives or rich people don't need more want they have, they dont want help people that are starting out from humble beginnings even with a great plan/team in place. The worst is that most of them is very slow in responding and some will ghost you or will deny your loan for the reasons stated. It don't matter if the deal is small(200k) or big(2m), its the same issues all the size with them. Don't go directly to lenders anymore. My recommendation for everyone here is to work a loan broker that is fit to find a lender for your situation and they are well experienced, because there alot on here thats not and you will be disappointed with the results you get. I hope this feedback helps everyone.

Reply by a lender
from Eastern Illinois University in 900 E Diehl Rd, Naperville, IL 60563, USA

I am sorry to hear you have had this experience. There are some very good SBA lenders out there and some bad ones. The key is to find the goods ones and tell your story the right way to the right lenders. The SBA is willing to do deals for people with less experience and weaker balance sheets, but not all Banks that offer SBA financing are willing to do that. Unfortunately not every deal is financeable and most lenders do look for some sort of minimal net worth from the owners / guarantors post closing. So it can be much harder to get deals done for buyers with smaller net worths. We are a Commercial Loan Brokerage shop and work to help our clients find the right solution. You can reach me here or directly at redacted

Reply by a lender
in Falmouth, MA, USA

Lenders care about one thing: getting their interest and principal payments. It’s our job, together with the buyer, to provide strong qualitative and quantitative data to prove this is true for every deal we work on. While we have repeat clients, most of our clients are first-time buyers. I completely agree that working with the right loan broker can be highly beneficial. That’s why we send out a questionnaire to kick off the conversation. This helps us understand our clients’ strengths, weaknesses, and properly position them for success—if we find they’re a good fit. Although buyers may put together a team, the buyer is always expected to take the driver’s seat and utilize their team’s expertise as needed. If this approach resonates with you, email me at redacted be happy to chat!

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