Does SBA or lender talk directly with the seller?

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March 02, 2026

by a searcher from University of Texas at Austin in Austin, TX, USA

I'm curious whether the lender and/or sba ever reaches out directly to the seller with questions during the underwriting process?
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Reply by a lender
from Eastern Illinois University in 900 E Diehl Rd, Naperville, IL 60563, USA
We are a Commercial Loan Brokerage Shop and we place commercial debt through over 500 different funding partners and work with over 80 SBA lenders. Generally speaking, the lender will not reach out directly to the seller with questions. Usually all questions float through the buyer or his representatives. If the lender has questions that require the seller to be on a call, usually that will be done via a conference call and the buyer and any other representatives they want would be present at the same time. The SBA requires a site visit for all acquisitions. In some cases a lender at the Bank does those site visits. In many cases, the Bank employs a third party firm to do the site visit. If the lender does the site visit, it is likely a conversation and questions could come up at that visit. That is why I always recommend if a lender is doing a site visit that the buyer is there as well and that the buyer and lender discuss what the seller is expecting and any questions in advance as not to catch the seller off guard. If you have additional questions related to this topic or SBA financing in general, you can reach me here or directly at redacted
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Reply by a lender
from Cornell University in Los Angeles, CA, USA
Hi Anon - nice to meet you. Lenders almost never reach out to the seller on their own. Everything flows through the buyer or their reps. If a lender needs seller input, it's typically a group call where the buyer is on the line too. The one area to watch is the site visit - every SBA acquisition requires one. Sometimes the bank sends their own person, sometimes they use a third party. When the bank handles it directly, conversations can happen in real time. My advice: the buyer should always attend, and both sides should prep ahead of time so nothing blindsides the seller. We have a lot experience financing various companies via the SBA. If you ever need help reviewing a deal, I am happy to help. We work with all the major SBA lenders. The bank pay us after your loan closes, so this is a 100% free service for you. You can email me directly at redacted or schedule a meeting with me: https://cal.com/francodeguzman/30min. Look forward to chatting!
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