Between October 2023 and June 2026, 46 lenders approved 106 SBA 7(a) loans to nonresidential property managers, worth $40,919,500. The median loan was $250,000, well above the national $150,300, at a median rate of 10.5% against 10.25% nationally. Acquisitions were only 6.6% of loans, against 10.4% nationally, but large, at a median of $1,170,100. Because a management company owns little besides its contracts, lenders underwrite fee income net of reimbursed costs, how easily owners can cancel, and how much of the book depends on a single owner.
| Measure | Nonresidential Property Managers | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 106 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $250,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $100,000 – $365,975 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 9.4% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.5% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.5% – 11.25% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 7 (6.6%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $1,170,100 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 46 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 3 | 16,714 |
Approvals FY2024 – FY2026 to date (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026), cancelled loans excluded. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records, as of June 30, 2026.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved
- 106 from 46 lenders (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026)
- Median loan
- $250,000 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.5% (national 10.25%)
- Acquisitions
- 7 loans (6.6%), median $1,170,100
- Start-ups
- 12.3% of loans
- SBA Express share
- 33% of loans
An operating business inside a real estate code
Nonresidential property managers (NAICS 531312) run office buildings, shopping centers and industrial parks for the people who own them. SBA does not finance passive real estate investment, but a company that earns fees managing other people's buildings is an operating service business and is eligible. A firm that also owns rental buildings can borrow for the management business, but SBA proceeds cannot buy or carry the rentals. See eligible passive companies.
| Figure | Nonresidential property managers | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Loans / lenders | 106 / 46 | A modest market, spread across many lenders |
| Total approved | $40,919,500 | |
| Median loan | $250,000 | Above the national $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $100,000 to $365,975 | Mostly working capital, buildouts and small purchases |
| 90th percentile | $985,000 | Just under $1 million |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 10 (9.4%) | Where most of the acquisitions sit |
| Median rate | 10.5% (middle half 9.5% to 11.25%) | A quarter point above the national 10.25% |
| Fixed-rate share | 4.7% | Almost everything floats |
| Start-ups / franchises | 12.3% / 4.7% | About one loan in eight went to a new firm |
| Acquisitions | 7 (6.6%), median $1,170,100 at 10.25% | Rare, but more than four times the median loan |
| SBA 504 | 3 loans, median $733,000 | Few managers buy the office they work from |
Management fees are the revenue; everything else passes through
The first adjustment a lender makes is to find the income the management company actually keeps. A commercial manager's P&L often carries large amounts that belong to the owners it serves: on-site payroll that the owner reimburses, vendor invoices paid on the owner's behalf, and rent collected into accounts the manager controls but does not own. Lenders separate these before they measure margin or coverage.
| Line on the P&L or balance sheet | How an SBA lender treats it |
|---|---|
| Base management fees | The core of repayment; valued by contract, owner and tenure |
| Leasing commissions | Counted, but lumpy; lenders look for a repeat pattern across years before relying on them |
| Construction or project management fees | Treated as occasional unless the file shows they recur |
| Reimbursed on-site payroll and expenses | Removed from both revenue and cost: it is the owner's expense, not the manager's income |
| Tenant rents and security deposits held in trust | Not the company's cash; excluded from liquidity and never available for debt service |
| Accounting and reporting fees charged to owners | Counted if written into the management agreements |
Owner money in the company's accounts is the fastest way for a manager's file to look stronger than it is, and the first thing an underwriter will strip out.
Many states require a real estate license and a properly kept trust account to manage property for others, and a lender will ask for both. Owner funds mixed with operating cash raise a question about controls that the rest of the package then has to answer. Reconcile the trust accounts to the owner statements before a lender asks. Residential property managers face the same test with larger trust balances.
The contract book: cancellation, owners and building sales
Once revenue is restated, the lender's attention moves to how durable it is. Three things decide that for a commercial manager:
- Termination rights. Most commercial management agreements let the owner end them on short notice without cause. Lenders therefore weight tenure more than contract length: an owner that has kept the same manager through several renewals is worth more than a long agreement signed last year.
- Owner concentration. A manager may run a dozen buildings for one investment group. On paper that is many properties; to a lender it is one customer. Underwriters count owners, not buildings. See customer concentration.
- Disposition risk. When a building sells, the buyer often brings its own manager. A book concentrated in properties whose owners are likely sellers, such as funds near the end of their life, is weaker than it looks, even when every relationship is good.
Occupancy in the managed buildings matters too, because base fees are usually tied to rent collected. A manager whose book leans toward office buildings with rising vacancy will see fees fall without losing a single contract. Lenders ask for fees by property and by owner across two or three years so they can see which way the book is moving.
Coverage is then tested on what is left. SBA requires debt service coverage of at least 1.15x, and 1.0x globally once the owners' personal obligations are counted. See debt service coverage and global cash flow.
Start-ups get funded; acquisitions are rare and large
Start-ups made up 12.3% of loans, a real share for a business with almost no hard assets. Commercial management firms are often born when an experienced manager leaves a larger firm with owners who want to follow. A lender can underwrite that start-up on signed agreements and the founder's record, after reading any non-compete owed to the former employer, and with the 10% equity injection SBA requires of every start-up.
Acquisitions ran the other way: 7 loans, 6.6% of the total against 10.4% nationally, at a median of $1,170,100 and 10.25%. Buying a management company means buying contracts that can be cancelled, which is why buyers and lenders are careful, and why the deals that do close are large enough to be worth the diligence. Several SBA rules shape them:
- No earnout. Buyers of contract books naturally want to pay part of the price only if owners stay. SBA prohibits an earnout to the seller in a change of ownership it finances. See earnouts and acquisition debt.
- Seller notes. A seller note counts toward up to half of the required 10% equity injection only on full standby, with no principal or interest paid, for the life of the SBA loan. A note that pays is allowed but counts as debt in the coverage test. See seller notes and full standby.
- Consents. Management agreements often need the owner's approval before assignment or a change of control; lenders want to see them before closing. See change-of-control consents.
- Valuation. With almost no real estate or equipment in the deal, nearly any purchase loan above $250,000 triggers SBA's independent business valuation, and the purchase loan cannot exceed it.
- The seller's handover. The seller may consult for up to 12 months, or up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026, but cannot stay on as an owner, officer or employee. Introducing the buyer to every owner inside that window is the retention plan.
From 1 October 2026, a change of ownership must also show 1.25x coverage on historical results, financial due diligence is required on every one, and a quality of earnings report is required on acquisitions of $3 million or more excluding real estate. See financing a property management company acquisition.
Express, floating rates and the few 504 loans
A third of the loans (33%) were SBA Express, which goes up to $500,000 with a 50% guaranty and suits the working capital and office buildout loans at the low end of this industry. See SBA 7(a) vs SBA Express.
Only 4.7% of loans were fixed-rate, and the middle half of approvals ran from 9.5% to 11.25%. On floating loans above $350,000, SBA caps the spread at the base rate plus 3%. Current rates by loan size are on SBA loan rates.
SBA 504 barely appears: 3 loans, median $733,000. Most managers lease modest offices, often in a building they manage. One that buys its own can use 504 if it occupies at least 51% of an existing building, and may lease the rest. See SBA 7(a) vs 504.
Preparing a property manager's file
Begin with SBA's standard list: business tax returns for 2–3 years, a P&L, balance sheet and year-to-date P&L, a debt schedule with copies of any notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more, every one of whom personally guarantees the loan. For a purchase, add the target's latest full year of figures and the letter of intent. A commercial manager's file then needs:
- Management fee revenue by property and by owner for each year, with reimbursed costs shown separately
- The management agreements for the largest owners, including termination, assignment and change-of-control terms
- A list of managed properties with each owner's tenure and any known plans to sell
- Trust account reconciliations tied to owner statements, and the firm's real estate license where the state requires one
- Any non-compete or non-solicitation terms binding the principals
- The owner's resume, supporting SBA Form 1919's management experience
Transparent builds the full lender package — financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo — in a day once the documents are in. For a manager, the package restates fees net of reimbursements and lays out the contract book by owner, tenure and termination terms, which is the view an underwriter builds anyway. Transparent's book holds 278 lenders that write SBA 7(a) and 504, and on SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower.
Common questions
- Can a company that owns rental buildings get an SBA loan?
- Not for the buildings it rents out: SBA does not finance passive real estate investment. A company that earns fees managing property for others is an operating business and is eligible, and a manager that also owns buildings can borrow for the management business, not for the rentals.
- Do lenders count reimbursed payroll as revenue?
- No. On-site payroll and expenses the owner reimburses are removed from both revenue and cost. The loan is sized on management fees and the other income the company keeps.
- My management agreements can be cancelled on short notice. Can I still borrow?
- Yes; short termination rights are normal in commercial management and lenders expect them. They put more weight on how long each owner has stayed and how concentrated the book is than on the notice period in the contract.
- Can I start a property management company with an SBA loan?
- Yes, and it is not unusual here: start-ups were 12.3% of loans from October 2023 to June 2026. Lenders look for an experienced founder, owner commitments in writing, and at least a 10% equity injection.
- Can I buy a management company with an earnout tied to contract retention?
- Not with SBA financing. SBA prohibits an earnout to the seller in a change of ownership it finances. Retention risk is usually handled through the price, a seller note, and the seller's consulting period.