TMC Financing keeps auto repair shop local
Imperial Automotive purchases permanent shop location for $1.2 million
TMC Financing today announced the owner of Imperial Automotive financed the purchase of commercial property at 109-111 Verdi Street in San Rafael, California, with a 20-year, fixed-rate U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan for $1.2 million.
“I’ve been in business 15 years in this location,” said Kevin Reier, who bought the auto repair shop in 2000 after working for years as a mechanic. “Last year, my landlord passed away and the heirs decided to sell the building rather than continue leasing it. They gave me first right to buy, but I thought there was no way I could afford to buy the property.”
Reier said he had begun to search for a new location to lease when his broker asked him if he’d heard of TMC Financing and the SBA 504 program. “He ran some numbers and said my payment would be the same as rent. I couldn’t believe it, so I went on the TMC website and ran the numbers for myself. He was right,” Reier said.
“This is exactly what the SBA 504 program was made for,” said David Griffis, senior vice president/business development at TMC Financing. “Here’s a successful small business that would be forced to move, if SBA-guaranteed financing weren’t available. Since there’s a shortage of automotive buildings in Marin County, there was a high chance that losing his lease would have forced him out of business.”
“TMC and the SBA allowed me to stay in the location where I’ve built my business,” Reier said. “For my clients, that’s big. They buy new cars and I don’t see them for a while, but then they need me. They might forget my name or number, but they know my location.”
Reier said buying the 5,040-square-foot building allowed him to plan long term, hire an additional employee and invest in equipment. “As a small-business owner, I’ve put my whole life into the business,” he said. “I probably haven’t saved as much for retirement as I should have. But now I have a building that will provide net income in retirement and probably an inheritance for my kids. And because I own the building, my employees know their jobs are stable.”