Joe DownsCEO & Co-Founder, Belrose Storage Group. Founder, Storage Moguls.

Your 10% Equity Injection No Games Allowed

17 Apr 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:33

SBA loans require you to put in 10% of your own money from documented sources. You can't borrow it, accept undocumented gifts, or raid retirement accounts. The lender verifies where it comes from, and every dollar of the loan must go to acquisition, closing costs, working capital, or improvements.

Chapters

Your equity injection, the minimum is 10%, must come from you, the borrower, and must be documented. It cannot be borrowed from another source, gifted without proper documentation, or drawn from a retirement account in a way that creates additional debt. Your SBA lender will verify the source of those funds. Eligible expenses— acquisition price is one, closing costs, working capital for the first operating cycle, and initial improvements are all eligible. Just document every line item. The SBA requires clear use of proceeds accounting.