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Comparing USDA & SBA Loan Programs

Whether you are starting a new business or expanding your existing business, you’re probably going to need a loan to make your dreams come true. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs are designed for just that, but the focus of each program is different. In many ways, it’s like comparing apples to oranges, but you can navigate through the red tape to decide which programs from which division will be best for your business. It would be a grave mistake to simply lump these two programs together, because the needs and requirements for the various loans can be vastly different.

USDA Loans

When people think of UDSA loans, they envision farms and bed and breakfasts deep in the heart of the Corn Belt, but that isn’t at all what the program is meant to be.

  • Focus on rural areas – USDA loans for business are focused on developing business in rural areas. What constitutes a rural area can be debated, but the goal is to provide assistance to businesses of all types.
  • Defaulting loans – The USDA has programs available to businesses that are in debt or even defaulting on previous loans.
  • Loans for specific industries – There are many loans available to specific types of businesses such as biofuel producers and micro entrepreneurs.
  • Grants – Unlike the SBA, the USDA has a number of grants available to help businesses get started or expand. A grant is money given that does not have to be paid back.

USDA loans aren’t for financing a cupcake bakery in downtown New York, but a bakery in small town America may be eligible.

SBA Loans

While the SBA does have money and programs for rural businesses, the organization and its loan program is designed to help out every type of business whether rural or urban.

  • Microloans – The microloan program is designed to provide small short-term loans as well as the better known 7(a) general small business loan.
  • Real Estate and equipment loans – The real estate and equipment loans are designed to help businesses expand and keep up with the changing times.
  • Disaster loans – If your business is involved with a natural disaster such as an earthquake or tornado, then there are loans available to help get you back on your feet.

The SBA doesn’t have many grant programs, unlike the USDA, but there are a variety of loans that people can choose from.

Choosing the Right Agency

It’s very possible that your business can qualify for loans from both agencies. If you’re in an urban area, then the SBA will likely be the best choice, but rural communities and farms can find something from both. The key is being able to sift through the red tape to find the loan programs that are best for you. There are numerous commercial lenders in your area that can provide these loans, but each one it different. That’s why SBA Loan Pro is here to help you find the perfect loan and the perfect provider. Don’t let the mire of government bureaucracy keep you down, let us do the hard work for you.

Privacy Policy

SBA Loan Pro respects the privacy of our clients and has developed this Privacy Policy to demonstrate our commitment to protecting your privacy. This policy describes and sets forth our policies on the following topics:

  1. Collection and Use

  2. How we collect and use information

  3. Disclosure of your information to third-parties

  4. Making updates or changes to your information; Data retention

  5. Security

  6. Choice/Opt-out

  7. Information obtained from third-parties

  8. Notification of Privacy Policy changes

  9. Contact information

This privacy statement describes how Flex Business Loans collects and uses the personal information you provide on our website: www.sbaloanpro.com. It also describes the choices available to you regarding our use of your personal information and how you can access and update this information.

1. Collection and Use

We collect the following personal information:

We collect the following information regarding your business:

2. How we collect and use information

3. Disclosure of Your Information to Third Parties

4. Making Updates or Changes to Your Information; Data Retention

You may update or remove your profile information at any time by going to your profile page and clicking “Edit My Profile.” Any changes made will be updated immediately.

If you want to stop using your account you may deactivate it or delete it. When you deactivate an account, no lender or any other third party will have access to your account or information, but the information will not be deleted. By deactivating your account you will have the ability to restore the account in its entirety.

You may delete your account. If you choose to delete your account it will be permanently deleted from SBA Loan Pro. You should only delete your account if you are certain you never want to reactivate it again.

SBA Loan Pro will retain data in a commercially reasonable manner upon deletion of an account. If an account is deleted, onlySBA Loan Pro will have access to the information. No third party provider will have access to your personal information. SBA Loan Pro will only use your data for internal research and SBA Loan Pro marketing. Data that is retained by SBA Loan Pro will be retained for a commercially reasonable period of time as determined by SBA Loan Pro.

5. Security

We have extensive security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information stored in our database. These measures include the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology during credit card transactions and administrative access to site data, as well as other proprietary security measures which are applied to all repositories and transfers of user information. We will exercise reasonable care in providing secure transmission of information between your computer and our servers, but given that no information transmitted over the Internet can be guaranteed 100% secure, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted to us over the Internet and hence accept no liability for any unintentional disclosure. For further information, please see our Terms of Use.

In the event there is a data breach, SBA Loan Pro will notify you within 45 days. We will notify you that a breach occurred, what type of information was breached, when the breach occurred, what steps you can follow to further protect your information, what actions we are taking regarding the breach and what steps we are taking to ensure the breach does not happen again.

6. Choice/Opt-Out

You may choose not to receive our newsletter or marketing emails prior to receiving any such materials by checking the “No” box when prompted at sign-up. You may choose to stop receiving our newsletter or marketing emails by following the unsubscribe instruction included in these emails or you can contact us at support@sbaloanpro.com.

7. Information Obtained from Third Parties

We purchase marketing data about our customers from third parties and combine it with information we already have about you, to create more tailored advertising and products.

If you provide information about others, or if others give us your information, we will only use that information for the specific reason for which it was provided to us.

Any information obtained from a third-party will be used to assist matching your business with various lenders.

If you have any questions about security on our website, you can contact us at support@sbaloanpro.com.

8. Notification of Privacy Policy Changes

We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes to our information practices. If we make any material changes we will notify you by email (sent to the email address specified in your account) or by means of a notice on this Site. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy policy.

9. Contact Information

You can contact us about this privacy policy by writing or email us at the address below:

SBA Loan Pro
565 Metro Place South, Suite 300
Dublin, OH 43017
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 614-654-4353

This policy was last revised January 12, 2015

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Terms of Use

This is a legal agreement (“Agreement”) between you and SBA Loan Pro (“SBA Loan Pro”), which may be contacted at 565 Metro Place South, Suite 300
Dublin, OH 43017.  By accessing the SBA Loan Pro website, currently located at www.sbaloanpro.com(the “Site”), and using any of the Services (as defined below) accessible though the Site, you become a user and agree to, and are bound by, the terms and conditions of this Agreement for as long as you continue to use the Site or Services. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE THE SITE OR
THE SERVICES. Your use of, or participation in, certain Services may be subject to additional terms, and such terms will be either listed in this Agreement or will be presented to you for your acceptance when you sign up to use such Services or purchase such products.

This Agreement is subject to change by SBA Loan Pro in its sole discretion at any time, with or without notice. Your continued use of this Site or the Services after the posting of revisions to this Agreement will constitute your acceptance of such revisions. Please consult the end of this Agreement to determine when the Agreement was last revised.

SBA Loan Pro is licensed as set forth in the Licenses and Disclosures section, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

  1. Defined terms

  2. Use of Site and Service

  3. Proprietary Rights

  4. User Information

  5. Services

  6. Links to Third-Party Websites/Dealings with Advertisers and Sponsors

  7. Lender Terms

  8. Disclaimer of Warranty

  9. Limitation of Liability

  10. Indemnification

  11. Communication and Privacy

  12. Term and Termination

  13. Cancellation

  14. General Provisions

  15. Revision Date

1. Defined Terms

As used in this Agreement, the following words shall have the following meanings. “SBA Loan Pro” includes “SBA Loan Pro”, “we”, “us” and variations such as “our”. “Service” includes the products, services and software that you order, receive or access as part of the Flex Business Loans service.

2. Use of Site and Service

As a user of the Site or a user registered to use any of the Services (a “Registered User”), you agree to the following:

a. Exclusive Use. Your account is to be used only by you and only for your business needs. You may not authorize others to use your account, and you may not assign or otherwise transfer your account to any other person or entity. You acknowledge that SBA Loan Pro is not responsible for third-party access to your account that results from theft or misappropriation of your user name and passwords.

b. Information Submitted. You are solely responsible for, and assume all liability regarding, (i) the information and content you provide through your use of the Site and any Services; (ii) the information and content you make available in any manner through the service; and (iii) your interaction with any and all third-parties.

c. Risk Assumption and Precautions. You assume all risk when using the Services, including but not limited to all of the risks associated with any interactions with third-parties, including but not limited to any lenders to which you are matched, referred or provided.

d. No Guarantees. SBA Loan Pro may not be able to provide matches for every Registered User seeking to use its services. Further, SBA Loan Pro makes no guarantees as to the number of matches or the ability to obtain business funding in any amount.

e. No False Information. You will provide accurate, true, current and complete information.

f. Legal Purpose. You will not use the Site or Services for any illegal purpose. You will only use the Site or Service in accordance with federal, state and local laws.

g. Business Purpose. You will only use the Site or Services for a bona fide business purpose. You will not use the Site or Services for personal, family or household purposes. You may not use the Site or Services to obtain information about or make decisions about anyone but yourself and/or your business.

h. Age. You must be eighteen (18) years or older to use the Site or Services.

3. Proprietary Rights

a. Ownership of Proprietary Information. You hereby acknowledge and agree that SBA Loan Pro is the owner of all rights in and to the Site and Services. These proprietary rights are protected by federal, state and local laws and regulations. You are permitted to use the Site and Services only as expressly authorized by this Agreement. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute or create derivative works, reverse engineer or reverse compile any of the Site or Services or technology.

b. No Use of Confidential Information. You will not post, copy, modify, transmit, disclose, show in public, create any derivative works from, distribute, make commercial use of, or reproduce in any way any (i) confidential information or (ii) other copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information accessible via the Site or Services, without first obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights.

c. License to Provided Content. By providing information or content to any account or public area of the Site or Service, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to SBA Loan Pro and its users, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully-paid, worldwide license to use, reproduce, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such information and content, and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such information and content, and to grant and authorize sub-licenses of the foregoing. From time to time, we may create, test or implement new features or services on the Site in which you may voluntarily choose to participate, in accordance with the additional terms and conditions of such features or programs. By your voluntary participation in such features or programs, you grant us the rights stated in this subsection in connection with the additional terms and conditions (if any) of such features or services.

4. User Information

a. Privacy Policy. For information about the collection and possible use of information and material provided by you, please click on SBA Loan Pro´s Privacy Policy located on the Site. The SBA Loan Pro Privacy Policy is hereby incorporated by reference into this Agreement. By using the Site or the Services, you are consenting to the terms of SBA Loan Pro´s Privacy Policy.

b. Information Security Policy. The SBA Loan Pro Information Security Policy, hereby incorporated by reference into this Agreement, explains the policy applicable to the information that is collected through the Site, received directly from you or transmitted to or from third parties.

c. Disclosure by Law. You acknowledge and agree that SBA Loan Pro may disclose information you provide if required to do so by law, at the request of a third-party, or if we, in our sole discretion, believe that disclosure is reasonable to (i) comply with the law, requests or orders from law enforcement, or any legal process (whether or nor such disclosure is required by applicable law); or (ii) protect or defend SBA Loan Pros´s, or a third-party´s, rights or property.

d. Use of Anonymous Information for Research. By using the Site and/or Services, you agree to allow SBA Loan Pro to anonymously use the information from you and your experiences through the Services to continue SBA Loan Pro´s research into successful business practices and to improve the Services.

5. Services

SBA Loan Pro offers subscription services, each of which is explained in more detail below. Further product, subscription and services descriptions are provided through the Site and are made a part of this Agreement by reference.

a. The Free Membership Plan. This is a free subscription that occurs when you complete the loan profile on the Site. This membership may provide various lender matches. You will receive contact information for the lender matches and You may apply directly with the lender from the lender match for a business loan product. You will also have access to SBA Loan Pro customer service representatives via chat to assist you with certain questions. SBA Loan Pro does not make any guarantee of the number of lender matches each customer may or will have.

6. Links to Third-Party Websites and Dealings with Advertisers and Sponsors

The Site and Services may contain links to websites of third-parties, including without limitation, advertisers, which are not under the control of SBA Loan Pro, and SBA Loan Pro is not responsible for the content of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such websites. SBA Loan Pro provides these links to you as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply that SBA Loan Pro endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content on such third-party website. Your correspondence or business dealings with, or participation in promotions of, advertisers or third-parties found on or through the Site or Services are solely between you and such advertiser or third-party. You agree that SBA Loan Pro will not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of the presence of such advertisers on the Site or Services. Please visit our Privacy Policy to learn more about how we use your information.

7. Lender Terms

The following terms apply to a lender or potential lender that accesses the Site. All other terms also apply to a lender or potential lender.

a. Access to the Site. Access to the Site will be on a limited basis in accordance with the Lender Package purchased. A lender or potential lender may not exceed the limits of the Lender Package purchased. In the event a lender or potential lender exceeds the limits set forth in the Lender Package purchased, such lender or potential lender shall be prohibited from future access to the Site.

b. Access to Client Information. A lender or potential lender may only access client information for the purpose of providing business loans. Lenders or potential lenders are explicitly restricted from accessing the Site or client information for the purpose of providing personal loans for personal, family or household use.

c. Client Information. A lender or potential lender that accesses the Site and/or purchases a Lender Package and accesses Client Information does so at its own risk. SBA Loan Pro makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy, validity or legitimacy of the Client Information. SBA Loan Pro disclaims any and all potential liability as to the use of the Client Information. SBA Loan Pro does not guarantee the ability of a client being prepared to receive or be approved for any particular loan product or amount.

8. Disclaimer of Warranty

a. No Warranties. THIS SECTION WILL APPLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. SBA LOAN PRO PROVIDES THE SERVICES ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS AND GRANTS NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICES OR THE SITE (INCLUDING ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN), INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SBA LOAN PRO DOES NOT WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE SECURE, UNINTERRUPTED, ALWAYS AVAILABLE, ERROR- FREE OR WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT ANY DEFECTS IN THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED. SBA LOAN PRO DISCLAIMS LIABILITY FOR, AND NO WARRANTY IS MADE WITH RESPECT TO, THE CONNECTIVITY AND AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICES.

b. Third-Party Content. Opinions, advice, statements, offers, or other information or content made available through the Site or Services, but not directly by SBA Loan Pro, are those of their respective authors, and should not necessarily be relied upon. Such authors are solely responsible for such content. SBA LOAN PRO DOES NOT: (i) GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE SERVICES, OR (ii) ADOPT, ENDORSE OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE
ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY OPINION, ADVICE, OR STATEMENT MADE BY ANY PARTY OTHER THAN SBA LOAN PRO. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL SBA LOAN PRO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM ANYONE´S RELIANCE ON INFORMATION OR OTHER CONTENT POSTED ON THE SITE OR SERVICES, OR TRANSMITTED TO OR BY ANY USERS.

c. Beta Features. From time to time, SBA Loan Pro may offer new “beta” features or tools with which its users may experiment on the Site or Services. Such features or tools are offered solely for experimental purposes and without any warranty of any kind, and may be modified or discontinued at SBA Loan Pro´s sole discretion. The provisions of this Disclaimer of Warranty section apply with full force to such features or tools.

9. Limitation of Liability

a. Incidental Damages and Aggregate Liability. IN NO EVENT WILL SBA LOAN PRO BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA OR PROGRAMS, SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS AND PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES,
EVEN IF SBA LOAN PRO KNOWS OR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL SBA LOAN PRO´S AGGREGATE LIABILITY, IN ANY FORM OF ACTION WHATSOEVER IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE USE OF THE SERVICES OR SITE, EXCEED THE PRICE PAID BY YOU FOR YOUR ACCOUNT OR SUBSCRIPTION, OR, IF YOU HAVE NOT PAID SBA LOAN PRO FOR THE USE OF ANY SERVICES, THE AMOUNT OF US$25.00 OR ITS EQUIVALENT.

b. No Liability for non-SBA Loan Pro Actions. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL SBA LOAN PRO BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, GENERAL, SPECIAL, COMPENSATORY, CONSEQUENTIAL, AND/OR INCIDENTAL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF YOU OR ANYONE ELSE IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THE SERVICES.

c. Information Verification. SBA Loan Pro and its contractors may use various ways of verifying information that users have provided. However, none of those ways are perfect, and you agree that SBA Loan Pro and its contractors will have no liability to you arising from any incorrectly verified information.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless SBA Loan Pro, its officers, directors, employees, agents and third parties, for any losses, costs, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable attorneys´ fees) relating to or arising out of (i) your use of or inability to use the Site or Services, (ii) any user postings made by you, (iii) your violation of any terms of this Agreement or your violation of any rights of a third-party, or (iv) your violation of any applicable laws, rules or regulations. SBA Loan Pro reserves the right, at its own cost, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to
indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with SBA Loan Pro in asserting any available defenses.

11. Communication and Privacy

We may use your email address to send you messages notifying you of important changes to the Services or special offers. Further, we may contact you by telephone if you voluntarily provide us with your telephone number, in order to communicate with you regarding the Services. If you do not want to receive such email messages or telephone calls, please refer to our Privacy Policy to review your options.

12. Term and Termination

This agreement will become effective upon your acceptance of the Agreement by your use of the Site or Services and will remain in effect in perpetuity unless terminated hereunder. Either you or SBA Loan Pro may terminate your account at any time, for any reason or no reason, without explanation, effective upon written notice to the other party. SBA Loan Pro reserves the right to immediately suspend or terminate your access to any of the Services, without notice, for any reason or no reason. We also reserve the right to remove your account information or data from our Services and any other records at any time at our sole discretion. In the event your access to any of the Services is suspended due to the breach of this Agreement, you agree that all fees then paid to SBA Loan Pro by you will be nonrefundable and all outstanding or pending payments will immediately be due. You may terminate your account by following the steps in the applicable section under “Cancellations” below.

13. Cancellations

You may cancel your profile at any time by contacting Customer Service at 614-654-4353

14. General Provisions

a. Controlling Law and Jurisdiction. You agree that Colorado law (without giving effect to its conflicts of law principles) will govern this Agreement, the Site and the Services and that any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Site or the Services will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal and state courts in the Central District of Colorado. You acknowledge and agree that any violation of this Agreement may cause SBA Loan Pro irreparable harm, and therefore agree that SBA Loan Pro will be entitled to seek extraordinary relief in court, including but not limited to temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and permanent injunctions without the necessity of posting a bond or other security, in addition to and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that SBA Loan Pro may have for a breach of this Agreement.

b. Miscellaneous. This Agreement, which you accept upon registration for the Services, the Privacy Policy located on the Site, and any applicable payment, renewal, Additional Services terms, comprise the entire agreement between you and SBA Loan Pro regarding the use of this Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and SBA Loan Pro related to your use of this Site or Services (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of this Agreement). The FAQ´s found on the Services are for informational purposes only and are not deemed to be part of this Agreement. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the Agreement will survive termination of your registration to the Service. The failure of SBA Loan Pro to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the remainder of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect. Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the use of the Site or this Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section titles in this Agreement are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

c. Securities Statements. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR OTHER GUARANTEES OF ANY KIND AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR TIMELINESS OF ANY PRICE QUOTES, NOR DO WE MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTES OR OTHER GUARANTEES OF ANY KIND AS TO THE PRESENT OR FUTURE VALUE OR SUITABILITY OF ANY SALE, TRADE OR OTHER TRANSACTION INVOLVING ANY PARTICULAR SECURITY OR ANY OTHER INVESTMENT OF ANY KIND. You understand that we are not a broker or dealer in securities, and not an investment or financial advisor. You are solely responsible for your investment research. Prior to undertaking any securities transaction,
you should consult a broker or other financial advisor with respect to the price, suitability, value or other aspects of any stock, mutual fund, security or other investment.

d. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado, without regard to conflicts of laws provisions thereof, and without regard to the United Nations Convention of the International Sale of Goods. The jurisdiction and venue for actions related to the subject matter hereof shall be the Colorado State and United States Federal Courts located in Denver, Colorado, and each party hereby submits to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.

15. Revision Date

This Agreement was last revised on January 12, 2015

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