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If you’ve kept up with the real estate market lately, you’ve seen that home prices are finally dropping. Unfortunately, while this seems like great news for prospective homebuyers, their enthusiasm has been dampened by rising interest rates, which are causing mortgage payments to be beyond their reach.
While this isn’t great news for realtors, it’s been superb news for remodeling companies. Instead of listing their homes, an increasing number of homeowners are turning to remodeling.
Many potential home sellers who are now stuck wanted to move because of a major life event causing a change in their living situation, like the addition of a baby or getting married. Now that their home is off the market, they’re remodeling. The number of remodelers making a nice living from this is increasing, thanks to SBA loans.
An SBA loan can help get your remodeling business off the ground. It can be used for buying your first truck, buying equipment and supplies, refinancing debt, or even purchasing a competitor’s remodeling company.
Benefits of owning a remodeling company
The biggest benefit of being a remodeler is the excellent earning potential. The median earnings for a remodeler is $63,000, and some remodelers make twice that or more in a year. In addition to great pay, many remodelers use their companies to pay for benefits, like health, life, and disability insurance.
Many remodelers got their start working for homebuilders (which is another industry currently suffering from dropping revenue). They learned the construction industry while getting paid and decided that working for themselves would be much more gratifying than building someone else’s company.
How to obtain financing to open, expand, or buy a remodeling company
If you’re looking for remodeling company financing, consider applying for an SBA loan. The various loan programs offered by the Small Business Administration can help provide the funding you need to set up your business.
The SBA is a government agency that doesn’t lend you the money directly. Instead, it guarantees a significant portion of your loan. That lowers the risk profile for SBA’s lending partners, which include conventional banks and financial institutions, so they’re more willing to approve loan requests.
You also must put significantly less cash or equity down to qualify with an SBA loan. And, with an SBA loan, no covenants or collateral is required.
The most common SBA remodeling loans include the SBA 7(a) and Express loans.
SBA 7(a) loan for starting or buying a remodeling company
The 7(a) is the preferred SBA loan for remodelers. You can use the funds made available through this program to purchase vehicles, expand your inventory of supplies and equipment, open a new office, or even purchase a competitor’s company.
If you own an existing remodeling company and want to buy out a partner, you can utilize the funds from an SBA 7(a) loan for that purpose.
The maximum SBA loan for a remodeling company is $5 million. These term loans are generally repaid with monthly payments that include interest.
The payment stays the same for fixed-rate loans since the interest rate is locked in. However, for variable rate loans, it’s up to the lender to request a different payment amount if the interest rate changes.
SBA Express Loans for remodeling companies
SBA Express Loans are a part of the agency’s 7(a) loan program. Up to $500,000 can be borrowed under an Express loan. The approval times are typically much faster for these loans.
If approved, the funds can be utilized for vehicles, office furniture, supplies, working capital, and real estate. Express loans over $25,000 have a collateral requirement. The SBA usually responds to Express loan applications within 36 hours.
The lenders ultimately make all eligibility and credit decisions. The market prime rate plus 4.5-6% interest is applied with repayment terms of up to 10 years.
How to apply for an SBA remodeling loan
Access our network of SBA lenders that includes leading nationwide banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions. Our lending partners are experienced in handling applications for remodeling companies, so they will diligently pursue your opportunity.
There are countless SBA approved lenders that are ready to offer you a remodeling SBA loan. These are just some of the top lenders:
| Rank | Bank | City | State | # of Loans | Avg Loan $ | Avg Interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | Columbus | OH | 235 | $281,772 | 7.0% |
| 2 | U.S. Bank | Cincinnati | OH | 82 | $78,085 | 6.6% |
| 3 | BayFirst National Bank | Saint Petersburg | FL | 49 | $612,592 | 8.1% |
| 4 | Bank of Hope | Los Angeles | CA | 36 | $666,606 | 6.6% |
| 5 | M&T | Buffalo | NY | 34 | $141,682 | 7.7% |
| 6 | BancorpSouth Bank | Tupelo | MS | 33 | $465,645 | 6.9% |
| 7 | Newtek Small Business Finance | Lake Success | NY | 32 | $840,013 | 7.4% |
| 8 | KeyBank | Cleveland | OH | 30 | $247,303 | 6.9% |
| 9 | Hanmi Bank | Los Angeles | CA | 28 | $697,250 | 6.2% |
| 10 | Readycap Lending, LLC | Berkeley Heights | NJ | 23 | $988,435 | 6.6% |
| 11 | TD Bank | Wilmington | DE | 21 | $252,310 | 8.9% |
| 12 | Wells Fargo | Sioux Falls | SD | 20 | $387,905 | 8.8% |
| 13 | Commonwealth Business Bank | Los Angeles | CA | 18 | $936,444 | 6.1% |
| 14 | PNC Bank | Wilmington | DE | 18 | $455,978 | 6.4% |
| 15 | Webster Bank | Waterbury | CT | 16 | $343,131 | 6.4% |
| 16 | Berkshire Bank | Pittsfield | MA | 15 | $1,253,000 | 6.2% |
| 17 | Celtic Bank | Salt Lake City | UT | 15 | $910,233 | 6.7% |
| 18 | Bank of America | Charlotte | NC | 14 | $352,179 | 3.8% |
| 19 | PCB Bank | Los Angeles | CA | 14 | $961,429 | 6.3% |
| 20 | Byline Bank | Chicago | IL | 12 | $714,583 | 6.4% |