Glossary · Reading the business
Hard assets
In short
Physical, tangible items like equipment, real estate, and inventory. These are important because they often serve as collateral for your SBA loan and contribute to the business's value.
What it means in a deal
When buying a business, hard assets are crucial for your collateral analysis. Lenders will appraise these assets to determine their liquidation value, which directly impacts the loan's collateral coverage. Make sure all significant hard assets are included in the asset purchase agreement.
Related terms
Common questions about Hard assets
- If the acquired business has minimal hard assets, how does the SBA ensure adequate collateral?
- What happens if my business has very few hard assets to offer as loan collateral?
- If the business has no hard assets, what kind of collateral will an SBA 7(a) loan require?
- What constitutes sufficient collateral when a 7(a) loan is primarily for working capital with few hard assets?
- If the business has minimal hard assets, what types of alternative collateral might a lender require for the SBA 7(a) loan?
- Do I need personal assets to secure the loan if the business assets are sufficient?
Defined by CapBench SBA Intelligence — plain-English definitions for business buyers, lenders, advisors, and AI agents, grounded in public SBA rules and records. Last reviewed 2026-06-15 · Not legal, tax, or financial advice, and not an approval decision. Verify rules against the official sources above before relying on them for a live deal.
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