SBA Financing in Vancouver

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 a Vancouver machine shop, a Camas technology office, or a trades or medical building near PeaceHealth Southwest or Legacy Salmon Creek.

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. Small manufacturers get a break either way, with a $5.5 million 504 cap instead of the standard $5 million, which matters in a county with a real advanced-manufacturing base. Budget the Washington sales tax on materials and equipment into the project too: Vancouver's combined rate runs 8.9% as of April 2026, higher than the county's unincorporated rate. 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.

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%. Small manufacturers keep a real carve-out: no 7(a) upfront fee at or under $950,000, and waived 504 fees. Budget the upfront fee into your closing costs rather than finding it at the commitment letter.

No state income tax on the business or its owners, no B&O tax on the sale or rental of the real estate. But B&O still reaches service income and materials still carry sales tax. Washington charges no personal or corporate income tax on income earned today, and RCW 82.04.390 exempts gross proceeds from the sale of real estate from the B&O tax, with WAC 458-20-118 exempting rental income too. A separate 9.9% tax on individual income above $1,000,000, which expressly reaches rental and pass-through income, is scheduled for tax years beginning 2028 and is under legal challenge, so it does not touch a file you write today. What isn't exempt: service revenue the business itself generates is B&O-taxable at the standard service rate, and the equipment and materials that go into fitting out the building carry Washington sales tax. An owner-user buying its building on the Washington side while serving customers across the river in Oregon is the classic Clark County SBA 504 profile. Talk to your Washington CPA about how the B&O rate applies to your specific revenue mix.

Roughly 0.97% of assessed value a year, and there's no acquisition-value reset. The City of Vancouver's total 2026 levy in tax code area 037000 is 9.6856 per $1,000 of assessed value, which works out to about 0.97%. Washington values property at 100% of true and fair value annually, so your bill moves to market on the county's assessment schedule rather than resetting the day you close. Rates vary by tax code area across Clark County, from the low 5s in rural Battle Ground areas to over 10 in parts of Ridgefield, so confirm the specific tax code area on the parcel you're financing before you underwrite the carry.

The Port of Vancouver corridor and the Camas technology belt are where owner-users are buying. And every long-term rental you keep on the side needs registering. Advanced manufacturing and technology anchors like the Camas corridor and the logistics activity around the Port of Vancouver are where a business is more likely to find a building worth owning rather than leasing. If your deal includes any residential rental unit inside Vancouver city limits, remember the city now requires registration of every long-term rental unit starting January 1, 2026, with a $30 per-unit annual fee and a required update within 60 days of any change in ownership. We don't have local SBA volume or approval-timeline data for Clark County to share, so ask your assigned lender directly once your file is in motion.

$350,000, running up to $5M and beyond on the right file. That floor rules out a very small storefront purchase but covers most owner-occupied commercial product in Clark County, from a Vancouver machine shop to a Camas technology office. Financing runs up to 90% of the project across 7(a) and 504, and we place the file through relationships with more than 20 SBA lenders rather than through one desk. Subject to underwriting.

Up to 25 years, at market SBA rates. That is the longest term of any program we run, and it is the reason an owner-user building purchase pencils where a shorter commercial term would not. Underwrite the carry alongside the roughly 0.97% annual property tax inside the City of Vancouver, and remember Washington reassesses to market annually rather than resetting value at your purchase, so the tax line moves over a 25-year hold. This is owner-occupied commercial real estate only. Subject to underwriting.