The SBA loan process actually starts with a bank or credit union. At a high level you have to qualify for the loan under their approval criteria and then they go to the SBA to get the guarantee. If you stay under 350k for your loan, and the lender is a preferred lender, the bank or credit union wonu2019t have to ask the SBA for their approval. They simply submit your information into the SBA eTran system and have an approval in moments (so long as you donu2019t have any felonys).Other items to note:At a 400k purchase amount you will have to at a minimum put 10% down in the cash (so 40k)You will have to have a well thought out business plan and projections preparedYou will have to be able to demonstrate some level of experience in the industry you are enteringThe business needs to be able to demonstrate enough cash flow to pay all its own expenses and cover the payment for any loan you will take out to purchase the business withI wrote an eBook that shares the ins and outs of SBA loans if you are interested.