How long does an SBA loan take? Plan on 60 to 90 days.
From accepted offer to money moving, a business acquisition loan realistically runs 60 to 90 days. Prepared buyers land near the front of that range. Unprepared deals drift past it and sometimes die of the drift. Here is where the weeks actually go.
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Sixty days is earned, ninety is common
Banks quote their piece in weeks, but your clock runs from accepted offer to funded, and that full journey is what takes 60 to 90 days. Our fastest first-time file funded on day 62, and a repeat buyer with a standing file closed deal three in 47 days. Those numbers come from preparation, not luck.
Where the weeks go
Weeks one and two: your package goes in, the personal financial statement, resumes, tax returns, and the target’s financials, and the bank issues a term sheet. Weeks three through seven: underwriting, where the bank’s analysts rebuild the numbers, order the business valuation, and question every addback. Weeks eight through twelve: commitment, closing conditions, insurance, licenses, landlord consents, and funding.
The pattern to notice: the middle stage is the long one, and it runs on the quality of the seller’s books. You cannot rush an underwriter who keeps finding surprises.
What quietly adds a month
Seller financials that do not tie to tax returns add weeks while everyone reconciles them. Appraisals and landlord consents are ordered too late instead of on day one. Real estate in the deal adds an appraisal and, if you are stacking two loans, closing them in the wrong order can break the structure outright: see how stacking and sequencing work.
Every one of those is avoidable with a checklist built before the offer, which is most of what closing support is.
The second deal is faster than the first
Repeat buyers keep a standing deal file: personal financials current, entity documents ready, lender relationships warm. That is how deal three funds in 47 days while a first-timer’s deal two doors down is still waiting on a resume. The playbook for buying on repeat lives at BYOPE, be your own PE.
How long does an SBA loan take for buying a business?
Can an SBA loan close in 30 days?
What slows an SBA loan down the most?
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