In February 2011, a borrower contacted ValueXpress explaining he wanted to purchase an existing retail business that operated as a home center in a 60,000-square-foot facility in Mississippi. The borrower, previously a general manager of a truck stop that comprised fuel and a convenience store, now owned rental real estate and had obtained bank financing for income-producing properties, but had never obtained a business loan.
After explaining that the highest likelihood of a loan approval would be through the SBA 7(a) program, ValueXpress assisted the borrower through each step of the loan process. “The first step was to direct the borrower to our website,” said Jay Bhakta, a senior loan originator at the ValueXpress Jackson, MS office. “On our website, we have all the forms to complete an SBA 7(a) loan package, but more important, we have detailed instructions on how to fill out the forms. Many lenders provide forms, but no instruction.”
“After the borrower got a nice start on the package, I went to meet with him at his office and we went through each form,” notes Bhakta. “I got Jim Brett, our SBA underwriter in New York, on the phone to work through any SBA technical issues that could negatively impact the transaction.”
“Once the package was complete, we held a conference call with the seller, a long-time owner of the business, to collect information on the business history, sales segmentation, management, operating expenses and future growth. This information is required for the loan credit memorandum,” said Bhakta. “Subsequent to the conference call, Jim completed the credit memorandum and both the lender and borrower portion of the SBA package and sent it off to the SBA Loan Guaranty Processing Center in Hazard, KY. The entire process was completed in three weeks.”
