LINCOLN BUSINESS JOURNAL
COVER story DALER USMANOV, OWNER, UNISELL AUTO, WITH WILL SAILORS OF NEDCO
BULLISH ON nebraska SBA LENDER NEDCO FUELS BUSINESS GROWTH
Daler Usmanov had leased the home of Unisell Auto for almost eight years. “When the pandemic was announced in March 2020, business started booming,” Usmanov said. “Pre-owned car sales were almost double compared to the prior year.” As Usmanov considered a new space for the dealership, the owner’s commercial real estate agent introduced him to Premier Bank, which in turn got Usmanov in touch with the Nebraska Economic Development Corporation (NEDCO) and its loan program. “A really good commercial banker familiar with NEDCO loan programs will make a huge difference during the process,” he said. NEDCO is licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as a CDC (Certified Development Corporation). The nonprofit corporation is designed to support financing for Nebraska’s small businesses. Lincoln-based NEDCO also represents the biggest provider of SBA 7(a) loans in Nebraska. The SBA’s 504 program represents loans for large equipment and real estate and, according to administration information, private lenders provide 50% of the project’s financing with the SBA supplying up to 40% and the
small business supplying 10%. “The first thing that attracted me was the 10% down payment versus the 20% conventional commercial loan; for example, if you are buying a building over a million dollars, it makes a difference in your cash flow to put 10% versus 20% down,” Usmanov said. In Usmanov’s case, the Bellevue building purchase was financed with a 60% conventional, 40% NEDCO loan with 10% down. “Just saving 10% on the down payment already helped me to save and purchase the building,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the NEDCO loan program, I probably would not have owned the building today.” In fact, Usmanov said if the need for pre-owned vehicles remains as strong as it has been, a second location may be on the horizon in the near future. “The second loan will definitely be through NEDCO as well,” he said. “The people at the SBA and NEDCO are the best. And they are there for business owners like me to make their dreams come true.”
Statewide Impact
NEDCO leadership like President Scott Sailors have a gauge on the strength of respective sectors, via their work with banks and borrowers from
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