Just have ideas floating around in my head and was studying their website. Anybody have any experiences or opinions from obtaining financing through their programs ?

www.sba.gov

My brother in law went through them in order to buy a small business.

All they really do is to prepare the paperwork and then "sub out" the financing end of it. They do NOT tell you if you are getting a good deal, if the business can really make money, etc., etc. Do NOT count on them for business advice in any form.

My bil was bankrupt in less than a year. As it turned out, the people who he bought the business from pulled one over on him. It was his fault in the end, he did not find or get the right people to look at the books and see if what he was buying was worth it.

I am sure there are people that go the SBA route and turn out just fine, but be prepared for a lot of paperwork. Again, they will not look at your "deal" and tell you if it is viable or not.

One word: PAPERWORK. Do you have any rich relatives?

The SBA doesn't loan money.  You apply for a loan through your bank, and if the application doesn't meet their funding standards, they can apply to the SBA to guarantee all or part of the loan, which leads to the large amount of paperwork from the SBA.

If you default, the bank gets reimbursed by the SBA for the guaranteed part.