Keys to navigating SBA help, landlord-tenant challenges during COVID-19

By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter

Rose Law Group hosted a virtual round table yesterday aimed at helping businesses, landlords and tenants navigate the Care Act economic stimulus bill and other ways for businesses to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our goal is to save all of our clients businesses,” said Rose Law Group Founder and President Jordan Rose. You can check out the virtual forum here.

Rose Law Group attorneys Eric HillTom Galvin and Shruti Gurudanti stressed the need to document business impacts and losses due to the pandemic when applying for U.S. Small Business Administration loans and other potential assistance.

Gurudanti said she is seeing tenants, landlords and lenders talking about how to navigate the current situation but stressed the need to document everything.

“We’re seeing both sides being amiable and coming up with solutions that can either defer payments or come with solutions that can either defer payments or come up with a better interest rate,” Gurudanti said.

She stressed to put everything in writing. Gurudanti also recommended commercial real estate landlords and tenants also communicate and set up programs and protocols of how to work through the pandemic’s impacts. She also stressed to document all those interactions and potential changes and adjustments to leases.

Hill said small businesses and others receiving SBA loans will need to document costs (including payrolls, utility and other bills) for an 8-week period to figure out its structure and terms.

Galvin said the SBA wants to get assistance loans out as quickly as possible and has upgrade its website for small business applicants. “If you have 1 employee or 499 employees you are eligible for these programs,” Galvin said.