The SBA's Arizona District Office lists its main office at 4041 N. Central Avenue in Phoenix and a Tucson location that serves Pima, Cochise, and Santa Cruz counties. That is the agency's footprint, published by SBA, not a Capital Market Funds branch network. We do not sit in the district office and we are not an SBA lender. A 7(a) loan is made by a lender that SBA has authorized, with SBA's guarantee behind that lender's loan. Our work is to say whether 7(a) fits the Arizona building and to arrange the conversation with such a lender.
On real estate, SBA's own 7(a) materials require owner occupancy: at least 51 percent of an existing building, and at least 60 percent for new construction, with the borrower expected to occupy more of a new building over time. The maximum 7(a) loan amount SBA publishes is $5 million. Those are program rules as SBA states them. They are not a rate, not a guarantee we can bind, and not a promise that a lender will use the maximum. If the business will not occupy the building, this is the wrong program. Investor-leased property belongs on a conventional mortgage, not on 7(a).
Sponsors compare 7(a) with 504 because both can touch a building the owner uses. The 504 structure, a bank first lien plus a CDC debenture, is already on Arizona SBA 504. The occupancy page without the SBA label is Arizona owner-occupied. A conventional bank hold is Arizona bank. The side-by-side note is 7(a) versus 504.
What 7(a) can include that a mortgage often does not
SBA describes 7(a) as a loan that can finance real estate together with working capital, equipment, or the purchase of a business. That flexibility is why a practice acquisition with a building is often a 7(a) file rather than a 504 file. The lender still underwrites the business, not only the bricks. Send tax returns and a debt schedule with the rent roll. If you occupy 51 percent and lease the rest, say who the other tenants are.
We will not estimate an SBA fee or a note rate on this page. The lender's term sheet is the only place those numbers exist, and only after the lender issues one.
New construction occupancy is stricter
A new building has the higher occupancy test. Do not plan a ground-up clinic, occupy one floor, and assume 7(a) will treat it like a half-leased investment property. If the project is speculative and the business will not occupy it, stop and look at conventional construction instead. Construction arranged outside SBA is the Arizona construction page, and it is a different capital stack.
No transactions card on this site is labeled SBA 7(a).
Programs an Arizona owner-user should separate
| Source | When it fits |
|---|---|
| SBA 504 | A CDC debenture plus a bank first lien, for owner-users who do not need working capital in the same loan. |
| Owner-occupied | The occupancy conversation without assuming an SBA program. |
| Bank | A conventional portfolio mortgage when SBA eligibility is the wrong tool. |
| 7(a) versus 504 | A structure comparison. Not a rate sheet. |