IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
The Federal Reserve announced last week it will keep interest rates near zero, but at least one Inland Empire business owner believes keeping interest rates the same is temporary.
Jeff Sceranka, president of Enterprise Funding in Redlands, says that business owners who are looking to purchase a building for their enterprises should not delay, despite the Fed’s announcement. “There is still no question the rates will go up,” Sceranka said. “The question is when. If they don’t raise it now, they’ll raise it in three months.”
Sceranka’s projections are well supported. New economic projections published by the Federal Reserve on September 17 showed that the Fed still plans to raise rates this year. According to published reports, 13 of the 17 members in the Fed’s policymaking committee predicted that interest rates would be raised by at least 0.25 percentage points. Six other members predicted an even larger increase.
With that in mind, Sceranka advises business owners who want to purchase new property to do so now. “If they start escrow now, they will be locked in at a historically low fixed rate,” he said. “Borrowers need to be aware of variable rate loans, and how their payment will go up when the Fed start to raise rates.”
Enterprise Funding is a Certified Development Company (CDC) that specializes in facilitating 504 loans from the Small Business Administration, an agency of the federal government. The SBA 504 loan is a financing tool designed to help the small business community jump start new businesses, in addition to accelerating growth for established businesses without affecting their cash flow. Because the process of applying for the SBA 504 loan can be tedious, many business owners are unsuccessful at obtaining the loan on their own. “We provide strategic planning for the acquisition of assets at low cost,” Sceranka said. “Our loan is fixed for 20 years, and it’s fixed at the lowest interest rate in the history of our program.”
He worries that business owners may not understand that the current interest rates are historically low. “Before the economic collapse of 2008, interest rates were between seven and nine percent,” Sceranka said. “Now, they are at four to five percent – but only until they raise them again in three months.” After that, he cautions, “The cost for financing will go up.”
Business owners throughout the Inland Empire can contact Enterprise Funding to inquire about their options for the SBA 504 loan. “This is a great program that only requires 10 percent down,” Sceranka said. “They need to buy now before the market goes up.”
Enterprise Funding has been serving the Inland Empire since 1983, and has approved over $848 million dollars in projects. To learn about their SBA 504 loan services, call (909) 792-3803 ext. 24.
