As everyone is aware, we are in the middle of a partial Federal Government shutdown since December 22, 2018. The offices of the Small Business Administration (SBA) are one of the government functions that has been temporarily closed until the government reaches a funding solution.
If you are a business owner with an application in process and was not approved by SBA prior to the shutdown, the application will be on hold until the budget negotiations are complete, and the government shutdown ends. Anything that comes in to the SBA during the shutdown will go into a queue until federal funding becomes available again.
For those entrepreneurs that are looking to fund a new business purchase with a SBA guaranteed
loan, what should they do? I suggest continuing looking for a business, negotiate the sale price, and put it under contract subject to approval using an SBA guaranteed loan. There are banks and lending organizations that are continuing to process SBA guaranteed loans, despite the shutdown. The lenders that are PLP (preferred Lender Program) lenders typically make all the credit decisions, process underw
riting, and perform closing functions in house. These lenders will process the loan, then once the shutdown is over will only need the SBA to assign a PLP number to it. The process may move a little slower than normal, but it is not coming to a complete stop.
Are you considering buying a business? Buying a business is a very involved process whether you are planning to utilize an SBA loan or plan on other funding methods to fund the purchase. If you are considering buying a business, I would suggest a meeting with a Business Broker. I welcome you to contact Central Florida Business Brokerage at [email protected] or call us at (407)261-9001.
