Best Practices to Close SBA 504 Loans Faster (Part 1)
Part 1 of 3 Part Blog Series
Avoid delays and interim loan extensions with these top tips to expedite closing.
Small business owners are some of the hardest working individuals in the country, working an average of at least 50 hours a week and often wearing multiple hats within the business. The faster and easier it is to close their loan, the sooner they can get back to running their business.
With inflation and higher interest rates affecting the economy, borrowers have additional reasons to close their loan as soon as possible. B:Side Capital is here to help you delight your customers by expediting the closing process. This blog series will provide tips to help you avoid common delays in the closing process.
Much of the focus goes into gaining SBA approval and finding methods to accelerate approval. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the loan process doesn’t stop once SBA approves the loan. There is often some time, especially with construction projects, before the SBA loan is actually closed.
However, there are ways to speed the closing process along. In this blog series, we will provide nine tips to get to closing faster starting with the first three tips below:
1. Introduction call
Your Closing Officer will send a list of the documents needed to close the loan and a secure portal to upload them. However, we also welcome the opportunity to set up a call with you and your borrower to discuss this list and any other questions you or your borrower may have. Just a few minutes talking through these items can often save many back and forth emails.
2. Settlement statement
Avoid borrower equity issues and difficult conversations. Send a draft settlement statement to your B:Side Capital Closing Officer as soon as possible. What the bank may consider eligible expenses is not always aligned with the SBA guidelines. Your Closing Officer will review the statement and verify that the borrower has met the equity requirement detailed in the Authorization for Debenture Guarantee. This will prevent a surprise announcement to the borrower after the real estate purchase that they need to contribute more funds.
3. Document delivery
Send documents as they are available. Once you receive the list of items needed from your Closing Officer, there is no need to wait until you have everything gathered. This saves time by allowing the Officer to work through draws and review documents in real time.
Ready for even more information on this topic? Click here for Part 2 and Part 3 of the series.
Questions?
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Pick up the phone and give us a call or shoot us an email anytime.