Question 1

Does the 51% occupancy rule work for an aerospace supplier's shop or a healthcare office near the Anschutz campus?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it's the mechanics that decide it, not the tenant type. Under 13 CFR 120.131, an existing building needs your business in at least 51% of the rentable space, with the rest free to lease out. New construction is stricter: 60% owner-occupancy at minimum, only 20% permanently leasable to a third party, and an absorption plan for the remaining 20%. That rule applies the same way to an aerospace supplier's building in Jefferson County, a healthcare practice near the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, or an airport-services operator near DEN. Metro Denver ranks first among the fifty largest metros for private aerospace employment, and healthcare in Aurora is anchored by HCA HealthONE and UCHealth, so owner-occupied buys in both sectors are common here, not an edge case.

Question 2

Is a 504 loan really just 10% down for a building in metro Denver?

Accepted Answer

Ten percent is the floor, not the rule. Under 13 CFR 120.910, a borrower puts in 10% on an ordinary project, 15% if the business has operated less than two years or the building is single purpose, and 20% if both apply. There is an upside for manufacturers, and Denver's aerospace cluster includes companies like Lockheed Martin Space, Ball, Northrop Grumman, and Sierra Space: small manufacturers under NAICS 31 to 33 get a $5.5 million 504 cap instead of the standard $5 million, under 13 CFR 120.931. If the approval is going to take a while and the seller won't wait, a bridge loan can get you to closing while the SBA file works through underwriting.

Question 3

I heard SBA fees were waived. Is that still true for a loan I close in Denver this year?

Accepted Answer

No. Fees came back for fiscal 2026, and any page still saying otherwise is stale. For loans approved between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026, the 7(a) upfront guaranty fee is back at 2% to 3.5% and up depending on size, after being zero under $1 million in fiscal 2025. The 504 upfront fee returned at 0.50%, with the annual service fee cut to 0.209%. Budget the upfront fee into your closing costs rather than finding it at the commitment letter. Small manufacturers keep a real carve-out: no 7(a) upfront fee at or under $950,000, and waived 504 fees, which matters for the aerospace and defense suppliers built into this metro's base.

Question 4

Does Colorado's tax structure actually change the math on an SBA purchase here?

Accepted Answer

It removes a line item most owners budget for elsewhere. Colorado has no franchise tax, no gross receipts tax, and no entity-level net worth tax on LLCs. The corporate income tax is a flat 4.40%, and pass-through owners pay the same flat rate on their individual return. That is a clean frame for a business buying its own real estate through SBA financing instead of leasing, since the state is not layering an extra entity-level tax on top of the purchase. Talk to your CPA about how a SALT-parity pass-through election applies to your structure before you close.

Question 5

Does it matter which tax district my Denver-area building sits in?

Accepted Answer

It can matter more than the county name on the deed. The City and County of Denver's total general mill levy is 79.202 mills. Cross into a special taxing district in Douglas County and the spread runs from about 69.8 to as high as 279.845 mills, with a median around 103.4 across 631 distinct tax districts. A building carrying 279.845 mills pays roughly 3.3 times the tax of an identical building at Denver's levy. Before you commit to a building for an SBA purchase, pull its tax district number from the county assessor and check that district's mill levy, not just the county average. If a straight long-term purchase fits better than an SBA structure, permanent CRE financing is worth comparing.

Question 6

With downtown Denver office vacancy near 39%, does it still make sense to buy instead of lease?

Accepted Answer

It depends on what your business actually needs, and downtown office is not the whole story. Downtown Denver office vacancy hit an all-time high of 38.9% in the first quarter of 2026 and eased slightly to 38.6% in the second quarter, with the best net absorption since early 2022. That is a downtown-office number, and most SBA owner-occupied buyers in this metro, aerospace suppliers, healthcare practices, airport-services operators, are not shopping downtown office space; they are buying industrial, flex, or medical office space near their workforce and customers. A business that wants to lock in occupancy cost and build equity instead of renting still has a strong case for buying, even in a soft office submarket elsewhere in the metro.

Question 7

What size SBA loan can I get for a Denver building?

Accepted Answer

$350K to $5M and up. We place 7(a) and 504 through relationships with more than 20 SBA lenders, and financing runs up to 90% of the project. The building has to be owner-occupied commercial real estate, the same 51% test that governs an aerospace supplier's shop in Jefferson County or a healthcare practice near the Anschutz Medical Campus. Subject to underwriting.

Question 8

How long can I amortize an SBA loan on Denver commercial property?

Accepted Answer

Up to 25 years, at market SBA rates. That is the point of SBA money on an owner-occupied building: a long term instead of a balloon you have to refinance on someone else's clock. It is slower to close than our short-term products, so if a Denver seller will not wait, a bridge loan can carry you to the SBA closing. Subject to underwriting.

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