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SBA 504 Refinance Program Lends Helping Hand to Assisted Living Provider

Mar 2021

This year, Sandy Tingle will celebrate 25 years as a social worker and 21 years as a small business owner. With a heart for service and a desire to provide safe, quality care for adults diagnosed with dementia-related diseases – Tingle made her dream her life’s work.

After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a Master of Social Work, Tingle relocated to Florida and founded Safe and Secure Respite Care, LLC. In 2000, she opened an adult day care for dementia patients in Crestview, Florida, providing much needed relief for full-time caregivers.

When the state grants funding the adult day care program ended, Tingle immediately applied for a Florida assisted living facility license and was approved for an 8-bed residence. Within a few months, the beds were full and Tingle knew she needed a bigger facility to meet the need for dementia care.

In 2004, Safe and Secure Respite Care purchased 2 parcels of property on Highway 90 in Crestview, FL. Within 3 years, residents began moving into the newly built 28-bed assisted living facility – Carington Manor.

Fast forward to 2018 when Tingle began a conversation with Dale Rice, Vice President with Hancock Whitney Bank, about refinancing Carington Manor’s conventional commercial mortgage. Rice explained the benefits of the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Program and introduced her to Stacey Green, Florida First Capital Business Development Officer for Northwest Florida and Southwest Alabama.

“Refinancing through the SBA 504 Loan Program allows small businesses to consolidate existing commercial mortgage debt into a long-term, predictable repayment schedule,” said Green. “Monthly savings can range as high as 20%! The added bonus is, the preserved capital can provide an opportunity for future expansion.”

Over the next 3 years, Tingle would persevere through setbacks including a divorce, a dissolution of the family trust and a pandemic. Rice and Green were there every step of the way, assisting and advising until the loan funded. Tingle says, “I will be forever thankful for Dale, Stacey and the SBA!”

The SBA 504 Program significantly lowered Tingle’s interest rate and, as a result, her monthly payment. “Previously, I was paying a 7% interest rate to a bank that was unwilling to work with me,” said Tingle. “The money I will save on the 504 refi loan will allow me to continue leading my company into the future with the possibility of expanding due to the extra cash flow. It is a wonderful program for small businesses.”

Tingle credits her staff for her success and her father for her tenacity. “My father, who was a Marine during World War II and fought on Guadalcanal, always said to me, ‘Never, ever give up. No matter how hard it gets, you never, ever give up.’”

Visit Carington Manor at www.caringtonmanor.com.

The SBA 504 Loan Program provides up to 90% financing at below-market, fixed interest rates and long amortization terms up to 25 years for the purchase of major fixed assets, such as owner-occupied commercial real estate, renovations, new construction, energy efficient “green” initiatives and/or fixed heavy duty machinery and equipment, as well as the refinance of commercial mortgage and other business debt with or without a cash-out option.

504 loans are paired with private-sector commercial loans and provide up to $5 million of aggregate SBA eligibility on standard 504 projects; up to $5.5 million per 504 energy efficient green project not exceed $16.5 million in the aggregate; and up to $5.5 million per eligible small manufacturing project with no limit on total SBA dollars available. These are SBA 2nd mortgage loan portions only; there is no limit on overall project dollar size.

For more information about SBA 504 loans in Alabama, Florida or South Georgia, contact a Florida First Capital Loan Officer or email us at info@ffcfc.com. Phone: 850.681.3601 or toll-free at 888.320.5504.