APPRO and CERRON Blog

Should you refinance?

Written by Kathy Morse | Feb 22, 2012 9:05:12 AM

I recently received an e-mail from SPEDCO with the following information. The 20-year SBA effective rate is 4.711% for the month of February, continuing the low rate trend we’ve been witnessing for the past fifteen months. (Please be aware this rate applies to those loans that were approved after October 1, 2011. Loans approved before that date have an even lower rate of interest because they do not carry one of the new servicing fees instituted recently by the government.) The 10-year rate is even sweeter: approximately 3.818% %!

Please note the approximate interest rate for 504 loans using debt refinance provisions are 4.914% for 20-year loans and 4.341% for 10 year loans as the SBA charges a higher rate of interest for loans in this category.

On October 11, 2011 SBA published a major revision to the current 504 temporary debt refinancing regulations. These enhancements have made the 504 program much more useful to many small businesses seeking to refinance their debt or obtain today’s extraordinary 504 rates.
New! Refinance of Eligible Business Expenses allowed for first time, including:
 Utility Bills
 Property taxes that are not past due
 Rent paid to an unrelated party
 Salaries
 Inventory
 Pay off/pay down Business Line of Credit
 Building upkeep and improvement

Keep in mind that this program enhancement is in effect only for 7 more months, until September 27, 2012. SBA is expecting that the $7.5 billion it has set aside for the program will be fully used up – so don’t delay to make certain you receive the full benefit of these and other changes.

For information about refinancing options for your commercial project, please contact the team at APPRO and CERRON.