Regalis Capital on BizBuySell Data: 90% of Buyers Expect Seller Financing, 29% of Owners Plan to Offer It

BizBuySell data: 90% of buyers expect seller financing, 29% of owners plan to offer it. Regalis Capital says that gap is where deals stall.

DOVER, DE, UNITED STATES, September 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Nine out of ten buyers expect the seller to carry part of the purchase price, and fewer than three in ten owners plan to offer it, according to BizBuySell's Q2 2026 Insight Report. Regalis Capital, a done-for-you business acquisition service at regaliscapital.com, says that gap is the most common reason a small business sale stalls after both sides have already agreed on a number.

The figures come from BizBuySell's Q2 2026 Insight Report, as reported by Small Business Trends, which found that 90% of buyers expect seller financing to be involved while only 29% of owners plan to offer it. The same report counts 2,117 businesses sold in the quarter at a median sale price of $349,250.

Seller financing is simple to describe. The seller agrees in writing to take part of the price later instead of taking all of it at closing. Buyers want it because it keeps the seller invested in a clean handoff and shows a lender that the person who knows the company best still believes in it. Owners resist it because it feels like being paid twice for the same business, once in cash and once in patience.

The structure Regalis Capital sees most often on acquisitions in the $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 range is roughly 70% to 85% SBA 7(a) loan, 15% to 30% seller note, and the buyer's own equity injection. Under the SBA rule taking effect October 1, 2026, that injection has a 10% minimum on a complete change of ownership, according to SBA Information Notice 5000-880695. Full standby seller notes at 0% interest have become the standard shape, and full standby means the seller collects no principal and no interest on the note until the SBA loan is paid off.

That shape now carries extra weight. Under that same SBA rule effective October 1, 2026, a seller note on full standby counts toward the required injection, but only toward the limited half of it. On a $1,000,000 purchase the required injection is $100,000, and at most $50,000 of that can be covered by a standby seller note or a qualifying minority investor. The remainder has to be the buyer's own unborrowed cash.

Regalis Capital is not a lender. These figures are illustrative arithmetic based on the SBA requirements described above as of September 8, 2026, and are not an offer of credit or a commitment to lend. Actual terms are set by the lender and vary by borrower and deal.

Timing is what separates the buyers who get a note from the buyers who get a lecture. Raising it on the first call, explaining that the lender expects the seller to stay on the hook, and writing the number into the letter of intent turns the note into part of the deal everyone planned for. Raising it after diligence, when the seller has already spent the closing proceeds on paper, turns it into a renegotiation.

"Ninety percent of buyers walk in assuming the note is there, and most owners are not planning to offer one," said the Regalis Capital team. "Ask early, say plainly why the lender wants it, and put it in the letter of intent. The deals that fall apart are the ones where the note shows up as a surprise two weeks before closing."

Buyers who want the mechanics and the exact language to use can read the free Regalis Capital guide to seller notes at learn.regaliscapital.com/guides/seller-financing-seller-notes-new-sba-rules/. A companion piece explaining full standby in plain terms is published at learn.regaliscapital.com/guides/full-standby-seller-note-explained/. Both are open to anyone and ask for no signup.

About Regalis Capital

Regalis Capital is a done-for-you business acquisition service that helps buyers find, value, negotiate and finance small business acquisitions, most of them with SBA 7(a) loans. The firm has over $300M under contract and closing and works with 150+ active buyers. Learn more at regaliscapital.com.

Ashley Miller
Regalis Capital Corp.
+1 647-946-8687
email us here