Question 1

Which SBA office handles a loan for my West Palm Beach business?

Accepted Answer

Ft. Pierce, not Miami. Palm Beach County is in the SBA's South Florida District, whose district office sits at 51 SW 1st Ave., Suite 201, Miami, but the county itself is served through the Ft. Pierce virtual office (305-536-7561), which also covers Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee, Glades, Highlands, Indian River, Osceola and Brevard counties. There's no separate West Palm Beach SBA office. We work this district through our partner lender network, so the routing doesn't slow your file down.

Question 2

How much cash do I actually need to put into a West Palm Beach purchase?

Accepted Answer

10% is the floor, and it moves fast from there. SBA rules require 15% down if the business has been operating less than two years or the building is single-purpose, and 20% if both apply. That matters more here than in a lot of markets: the county's mid-tier single-family value sits near $564,000 and its priciest submarkets run into seven figures, so the dollar gap between a 10% and a 20% down payment is not small. See our SBA loan terms for the current down payment ranges we place.

Question 3

Are SBA loan fees still waived going into a 2026 closing?

Accepted Answer

No, and don't underwrite as if they are. SBA guaranty fees were reinstated for FY2026, covering loans approved between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026: 7(a) upfront fees run 2 to 3.5%+ depending on loan size, and 504 carries a 0.50% upfront fee. Small manufacturers still get relief, 0% on 7(a) loans up to $950,000 and waived 504 fees, but a typical West Palm Beach owner-occupied purchase doesn't qualify for that carve-out. Build the fee into your closing number rather than assuming last year's waiver still applies.

Question 4

What will property tax and insurance cost on an SBA-financed building here versus leasing?

Accepted Answer

More than most of Florida, and it's the number that decides the deal. Palm Beach County's 2025 investor millage runs from roughly 14.65 mills in Jupiter to about 20.45 in the City of West Palm Beach on a county-wide base of 12.2580 mills, before fire and library adders in some districts. Insurance is the bigger surprise: as of March 2026, Palm Beach County's average homeowners premium including wind, $6,323, is the highest on the Florida mainland, ahead of both Broward and Miami-Dade. That's residential data, so it's a directional read on carry, not a commercial quote, but it's the line item to underwrite hardest before you buy instead of rent.

Question 5

Which local businesses actually use SBA financing to buy their building in this county?

Accepted Answer

The sectors that are still hiring, mostly. Education and health services and professional and business services were the only two major sectors adding jobs in the metro as of June 2026, up 2.1% and 1.5% year over year respectively, while leisure and hospitality, financial activities and construction all shrank. A medical practice or professional-services firm buying its own space is financing into the part of the local economy that's actually growing; a hospitality or construction purchase should be underwritten against a softening sector, not a boom one.

Question 6

Do impact fees change the math on an SBA 504 construction project here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it's a real, checkable number. Ground-up construction in unincorporated Palm Beach County carries roughly $15,000 to $16,000 in county impact fees on a single-family house, effective January 1, 2026, and commercial construction is on its own published schedule. On the public buildings component alone, unincorporated county rates run $186.20 per 1,000 square feet for general office, $396.15 for medical office, $104.50 for general industrial and $50.35 for warehouse, with road-improvement fees and the other components charged separately on top, before city permit fees or any CDD assessment. Fold that into your project budget before you size an SBA 504 request, since the CDC's 40% of project cost is calculated against total project cost, not just acquisition.

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