Metal building financing in San Antonio: where each loan starts
A loan for a shop, warehouse or barn in San Antonio, Bexar County or the six counties around it starts at one of four desks: the SBA San Antonio District Office, a Certified Development Company, a bank in the SBA 7(a) program, or a Farm Service Agency office. Which desk depends on who owns the building and who will use it.
Each program below may be offered to a borrower who meets its rules, but approval is never certain and is never this site's to give; amounts, rates and terms live on the agency pages in the source lines, because they change, and this site prints none of them.
Lot picked out? Each request goes to one independent contractor, whose call it is which jobs to accept.
The four desks, side by side
Each desk is written for a different owner. Find the row that sounds like you, then read its section below.
| Desk | What it handles | Owner the program is written for |
|---|---|---|
| SBA San Antonio District Office, 615 E. Houston St., Suite 298 | Counseling on SBA funding programs, and a connection to lenders and partner groups | A small business in any of the seven counties |
| A Certified Development Company | The SBA 504 loan, put together with a senior lender | An operating, for-profit small business buying or building fixed assets |
| A bank or other lender in the SBA 7(a) program | The SBA 7(a) loan, which can carry real estate, equipment and working capital | An operating, for-profit small business that cannot find the desired credit on reasonable terms from non-government sources |
| A Farm Service Agency office | The Farm Storage Facility Loan and Farm Ownership Loans | A farmer or rancher putting up storage or farm buildings |
Checked at U.S. Small Business Administration, San Antonio District Office, 2026-10-17.
Checked at U.S. Small Business Administration, 504 loans and list of Certified Development Companies, 2026-10-17.
Checked at U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program, 2026-10-17.
Checked at USDA Farm Service Agency, Farm Storage Facility Loan Program, 2026-10-17.
Is there an SBA office in San Antonio?
Yes. The SBA San Antonio District Office is at 615 E. Houston St., Suite 298, San Antonio, TX 78205, phone 210-403-5900, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed on federal holidays. Its page lists 55 south central Texas counties, and all seven on this site are on it: Atascosa, Bexar, Frio, Guadalupe, Karnes, Medina and Wilson.
The office describes its work as help with SBA services, funding programs among them, along with counseling, contracting certifications and disaster recovery, and it can connect an owner to lenders and partner organizations. That makes it the place to ask which loan fits before a bank ever sees a drawing. It does not write the loan: on a 7(a) SBA says you work with your lender and not with SBA, and a 504 comes only through a Certified Development Company.
Checked at U.S. Small Business Administration, San Antonio District Office, 2026-10-17.
Checked at U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program, 2026-10-17.
The SBA 504 loan, for a building your own business runs out of
The 504 is SBA's program for major fixed assets. Buying, building or renovating buildings or land is one of the uses on SBA's page, so a new steel shop, warehouse or office for an operating company sits inside what the program describes. Three things sit outside it: working capital or inventory, refinancing debt that falls outside SBA's qualified-debt definition, and speculation or investment in rental real estate.
The application runs through a Certified Development Company, a nonprofit SBA certifies and regulates, which builds the loan together with a senior lender. SBA publishes a list of these companies that filters to Texas. The business has to be an operating company that runs for profit inside the U.S. and counts as small under SBA size rules, and SBA also looks at management experience, a feasible business plan, character and the ability to repay.
Checked at U.S. Small Business Administration, 504 loan program, 2026-10-17.
The SBA 7(a) loan, when the building is one part of the plan
The 7(a) is SBA's primary business loan. SBA backs part of a loan that a participating lender makes, and its list of uses puts acquiring, refinancing or improving real estate and buildings next to working capital, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, and changes of ownership. That range is the main difference from the 504, which leaves working capital out.
You apply to the lender, never to SBA, and the lender decides which documents it needs. SBA points owners to its Lender Match tool to find a participating lender, and to the district office for questions. One test belongs to the 7(a) alone: SBA requires that the business be unable to obtain the desired credit on reasonable terms from non-federal, non-state and non-local government sources, and that it be creditworthy with a reasonable ability to repay.
Checked at U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program, 2026-10-17.
Owners the SBA rules leave out
Federal rule 13 CFR 120.110 lists the businesses that cannot get SBA business loans, and two entries on it settle a lot of metal building projects around San Antonio. Non-profit businesses are on the list, though a for-profit subsidiary of one is eligible, so a church fellowship hall or a nonprofit community building starts with an ordinary lender. Passive businesses owned by developers and landlords that do not use or occupy what the loan pays for are on it too, which reaches a row of shop bays built to rent to other businesses.
The same entry points to one setup common with owner-built shops: the Eligible Passive Company in 13 CFR 120.111, a company in any legal form that holds the property and leases it to one or more operating companies for their business. The rule wants the lease in writing and behind SBA's lien, a remaining lease term at least as long as the loan, and the operating company on the loan as co-borrower or guarantor. Whether your own company structure fits is the lender's or the Certified Development Company's call.
Checked at Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 13 CFR 120.110, 2026-10-17.
Checked at Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 13 CFR 120.111, 2026-10-17.
Hay barns, grain storage and ranch buildings: the Farm Service Agency
Farm and ranch buildings go through USDA's Farm Service Agency, not SBA, and two of its programs name buildings outright. Under the Farm Storage Facility Loan Program, FSA may offer financing to build or upgrade on-farm storage, and it lists hay barns, grain bins, bulk tanks and cold storage among the eligible facility types, new or used, permanently affixed or portable. The commodities it names run from hay and grains to milk, eggs, and fruits and vegetables. FSA runs it for the Commodity Credit Corporation and posts the current lending rates on the program page.
FSA names the purchase of farmland, the construction of farm buildings, and improvements to existing structures as uses of its Farm Ownership Loans. FSA makes them directly, or a commercial lender makes them with FSA backing, and the applicant has to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident with enough education, training or experience managing a farm. Farm Operating Loans are a different tool: the building purpose FSA lists for them is minor improvements or repairs to buildings and fencing, so a new barn is a question for the first two programs.
Farm Ownership and Farm Operating applications go to the FSA office for your area, with financial records and a farm business plan. FSA's office locator on fsa.usda.gov finds the office that takes your county.
Checked at USDA Farm Service Agency, Farm Storage Facility Loan Program, 2026-10-17.
Checked at USDA Farm Service Agency, Farm Ownership Loans, 2026-10-17.
Checked at USDA Farm Service Agency, Farm Operating Loans, 2026-10-17.
The building paperwork a lender will look at
Each of these programs looks at a plan, and for a metal building the plan is one building on one lot. Three things from the building side make that plan readable:
A written estimate split by scope: building package, slab, site work, utilities and septic, permits, finish-out. No company serving this area posts a price, for the reasons on the cost sheet, so the figure has to be a quote from the contractor standing on your lot.
The permit path for the address. Inside a city the city reviews the job; outside, each of the seven counties answers differently. The San Antonio and Bexar County permit sheet covers both sides of the line.
Whether state accessibility registration applies. TDLR requires registration and review for a project with a total estimated construction cost of $50,000 or more; the TDLR sheet explains what counts toward it.
Company price pages checked; none shows a figure. Checked at Four San Antonio-area metal building company websites, 2026-09-13.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers frequently asked questions, 2026-09-13.
Getting a price to take to the lender
This site arranges no loans and prints no loan terms for any builder. Send the county and what the building is for; one independent metal building contractor receives the request and decides which jobs to take. Most financed jobs here are a commercial steel building or a metal shop building.
What owners ask
Where is the SBA office for a business in Bexar County?
The SBA San Antonio District Office, 615 E. Houston St., Suite 298, San Antonio, TX 78205, phone 210-403-5900, open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Its page lists Bexar among the 55 counties it serves, along with Atascosa, Frio, Guadalupe, Karnes, Medina and Wilson. It helps with SBA funding programs and counseling and can point you to lenders; the loan itself comes from a lender or a Certified Development Company. Checked at the SBA San Antonio District Office page, 2026-10-17.
Which SBA loan can also carry equipment and working capital?
The 7(a). SBA lists working capital among 7(a) uses next to real estate and buildings, while its 504 page rules out working capital and inventory. Both can carry machinery: the 7(a) lists buying and installing machinery and equipment, and the 504 lists long-term machinery and equipment. Either may be offered to a business that qualifies, and the lender or Certified Development Company decides. Checked at SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan pages, 2026-10-17.
Can my real estate LLC use an SBA loan for a shop it leases to my own company?
It may, if it qualifies as an Eligible Passive Company under 13 CFR 120.111: a company that holds the property and leases it to an operating company for that company's business. The lease has to be in writing, the operating company has to be an eligible small business and be on the loan as co-borrower or guarantor, and the lease has to run at least as long as the loan. A company renting to unrelated tenants is the passive landlord business 13 CFR 120.110 makes ineligible. Checked at eCFR, 13 CFR 120.110 and 120.111, 2026-10-17.
Can a Farm Operating Loan pay for a new metal barn?
The building purpose FSA lists for Farm Operating Loans is minor improvements or repairs to buildings and fencing. A new barn fits the programs that name buildings: Farm Ownership Loans, whose uses FSA says include the construction of farm buildings, and the Farm Storage Facility Loan Program, which lists hay barns and grain bins among its eligible facilities. Each may be offered to a producer who qualifies, and the FSA office has the current terms. Checked at the FSA Farm Operating Loans, Farm Ownership Loans and Farm Storage Facility Loan pages, 2026-10-17.