Stop paying your landlord's mortgage.
Every rent check builds someone else's equity. For a lot of Atlanta business owners, owning the building you operate from is within reach - often with as little as 10% down through an SBA loan. I represent owner-users buying their own space, from the lease-versus-buy math to the keys.
See If Buying Makes Sense Lease vs. BuyWhat changes when the building is yours
You build equity
Instead of rent that disappears every month, your payment goes toward an asset you own. Over a typical hold, that's a second balance sheet growing alongside your business.
Your cost stops moving
No annual rent escalations, no renewal negotiation where the landlord holds the leverage. A fixed-rate purchase locks your occupancy cost while rents around you keep climbing.
You control the space
Renovate, expand, re-sign, sublet - on your terms, not a landlord's. And when a neighboring anchor goes dark, it's your decision how to respond, not your problem to absorb.
How an SBA 504 loan makes it possible
The reason most owners assume they can't buy is the down payment - and the SBA 504 program is built specifically to solve that for owner-occupied commercial real estate.
- About 10% down. A 504 typically structures as roughly 50% conventional bank loan, 40% SBA-backed debenture, and 10% from you - about half of a conventional commercial down payment.
- Long, often fixed terms. The SBA portion carries a long amortization at a fixed, often below-market rate, which is what makes the monthly number competitive with your rent.
- Occupy 51%, lease the rest. You only have to occupy a majority of an existing building. Buy a bit bigger, and the extra space can be leased to tenants whose rent helps carry your note.
- 7(a) as the alternative. When a 504 doesn't fit the deal, an SBA 7(a) loan is the flexible backup. Part of my job is helping you figure out which path your purchase actually qualifies for.
I'm an adviser, not a lender - but I work alongside SBA lenders every day and will connect you with the right ones early, so financing and the building search move together.
- ~50% - conventional bank loan
- ~40% - SBA-backed debenture
- ~10% - your down payment
- Occupy 51%+, lease the remainder
- Long, often fixed-rate term
Lease vs. buy - the real comparison
Owning isn't automatically the right move, and I won't pretend it is. The decision comes down to capital, time horizon, and how stable your footprint is. Here's the straight version of both sides.
Buying wins when you plan to stay put for years, your space needs are stable, and you have the down payment and closing capital available without starving the business. You trade flexibility for equity, a fixed cost, and control - and potentially rental income from extra space.
Leasing still wins when you're growing fast and unsure of your size, you'd rather keep capital in the business than tie it up in a building, or the right location is only available to rent. Flexibility has real value, and there's no shame in protecting it.
The way to know is to put them side by side - your current rent and its escalations against a real purchase scenario, including the down payment, the note, maintenance, and the equity you'd build. That comparison is the first thing I run. For a plain-English walkthrough, read leasing vs. buying with an SBA loan.
- Lease-vs-buy analysis
- Find on- & off-market buildings
- Connect you with SBA lenders
- Underwrite price & occupancy cost
- Negotiate the purchase
- Manage diligence to close
Buyer representation, start to finish
Buying a building is a bigger, slower, higher-stakes transaction than signing a lease - and the listing agent works for the seller. Here's where I stand in for you:
- Run the buy-vs-lease numbers against your actual rent, so the decision is grounded before we tour anything.
- Find the building - listed inventory plus off-market properties sourced through direct owner relationships across Atlanta and Cobb County.
- Underwrite the purchase - price against value, occupancy cost against your current rent, and the economics of leasing any excess space.
- Negotiate and manage the close - offer, inspections, appraisal, and the SBA and lender timeline, through to funding.
Owner-user buying, answered
How much do I really need to put down?
With an SBA 504, often around 10% for a standard owner-occupied purchase - roughly half of a conventional commercial down payment. Special-use buildings or newer businesses may run 15-20%. The rest is split between a bank loan and the SBA-backed portion.
Do I have to use the whole building myself?
No. For an existing building, your business needs to occupy at least 51%. You can lease out the other 49% - a common way owner-users offset their payment and even grow into the extra space later.
Who pays your fee on a purchase?
In most commercial purchases the commission is paid from the transaction, customarily by the seller from sale proceeds. I'll confirm exactly how it works for your specific deal, in writing, before we begin - no surprises.
How long does buying take versus leasing?
Plan on longer. Between the building search, offer and negotiation, inspections and appraisal, and the SBA and lender process, an owner-user purchase commonly runs a few months. Starting the financing conversation early is the single best way to keep it on schedule.
I already lease. Can I buy when my lease is up?
Often, yes - and timing the search to your lease expiration is exactly the kind of thing to plan backward from. Give it a long runway; the worst position is a lease ending with no purchase ready and no leverage to renew.
Ready to buy? Let's find the deal.
Tell me what you pay now and what your business needs. I'll run the buy-versus-lease numbers and give you a straight answer either way.
See If Buying Makes Sense