Experience with Live Oak or Fountainhead?

searcher profile

August 22, 2022

by a searcher from Columbia University in Miami, FL, USA

Hi all,

Does anyone have experience working with one of the specialized lenders in the post title? If so, is there a specific person you'd recommend working with there? Would be grateful for a quick intro.


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commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
in Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
I haven't closed yet but I've met with lenders from several top SBA banks. Lisa Forest (https://www.searchfunder.com/profile/lisa-forrest) and Sarah Andrews (https://www.searchfunder.com/profile/sarah-andrews) from Live Oak really are wonderful--extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and really nice! If you ping one of them they will send you a link to their "office hours" which is a live webcast type presentation that gives you a good overview of their process, information about SBA, and has time for your questions. I was familiar with the SBA loan process prior to connecting with them and have still enjoyed attending those sessions (twice!).
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Reply by an investor
from University of California, Berkeley in San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
The biggest difference is that lenders like Live Oak are bank lenders while lenders like Fountainhead are so-called non-bank lenders. In my experience, bank lenders are more risk averse but offer better interest terms and are interested in long term relationships. Non-bank lenders usually sell SBA loans quickly after closing and tend to have more relaxed underwriting standards while charging the maximum allowed rate.
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