Nizel Pradhan
Diablo Creek Equestrian Center, run by husband-and-wife team Abelino and Esmeralda Espinoza, is a 5-acre horse ranch located in Danville, CA. Passionate about horses from a young age, Abelino wanted to share his love of the animals he grew up with. The SBA 504 Program allowed him to expand his business and enhance his offering to residents of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Diablo Creek Equestrian Center, run by husband-and-wife team Abelino and Esmeralda Espinoza, is a 5-acre horse ranch located in Danville, CA. Passionate about horses from a young age, Abelino wanted to share his love of the animals he grew up with. The SBA 504 Program allowed him to expand his business and enhance his offering to residents of the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 2018, the couple opened their first equestrian center. While the center was successful, the Espinozas didn’t know enough about their financing options. Looking back, Esmeralda says that if they knew about the SBA 504 loan program, that’s where they would have started.
“The fixed interest rate of the SBA 504 loan is very attractive,” she states. “We currently have a variable interest rate on our other property and that is not ideal. We’d love to refinance that property with a fixed 504 loan.”
The SBA 504 loan is a commercial real estate loan that provides below-market fixed interest rates with down payments as low as 10 percent. SBA 504 loans enable small business owners to purchase, construct, or refinance owner-occupied commercial real estate. Improvements and equipment with a service life of 10 years can also be financed with the SBA 504 Program.
“Most small-to-medium-sized businesses can qualify for an SBA 504 loan, and many can receive 90 percent financing,” Anna Rummelein, who administered the SBA 504 loan on behalf of TMC Financing explains. “Startups and ‘single-use properties’ such as Diablo Creek Equestrian Center can receive 85 percent financing.”
With the SBA 504 loan program, the Espinozas purchased a new 5-acre horse ranch including a custom two-level, 4,762 square foot home for $3.4 million with only 15 percent down payment.
Owning this new property is changing not only the business, but the community.
“It’s helped us so much with the service that we’re giving our clients,” says Esmeralda. “The demand is high – we get calls for new business every single day. Thanks to this facility, we are able to accommodate more people, so kids and adults actually connect with nature.”
“Besides just growing the business, the impact we’re making on the client’s life is priceless. We have a lot of people who come in because they suffer from anxiety or depression. When they come to us, they can get away from all the stress of life.”
Things are looking up for Diablo Creek Equestrian Center, and there may be more expansion in the near future. Esmeralda is enthusiastic about both the SBA 504 loan program and the help she got from TMC.
“We wouldn’t have been able to purchase this property if it wasn’t for the 15 percent down payment,” she says. “I have been in the financial industry for a long time, and I’m very impressed by the work ethic and the professionalism I saw from TMC Financing. Wendy went above and beyond to help, and unfortunately, you don’t see that often.”
Her advice to other business owners:
“We tell all our clients about TMC Financing. In the Latino community, there’s a lot of business owners in need of affordable financing, they just don’t know about the SBA 504 loan.”
About TMC Financing
TMC Financing is a non-profit Certified Development Company with a mission to promote economic development and job creation for small businesses in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Oregon. Since its founding in 1981, TMC has secured more than $10 billion in SBA 504 commercial real estate financing for 6,000 small businesses. As a result of the financing, these small businesses have created over 60,000 jobs. Business owners can confirm they meet the qualifications for an SBA 504 loan by visiting the TMC Financing website at https://www.tmcfinancing.com/.
