Length of the Owner Occupancy Requirement for the SBA Loan

[Padric Lynch]

I know the intent of the SBA 504 loan is for owner occupancy, but when can an owner rent to another tenant? Let's say I build a commercial building and my business occupies 60% (per SBA requirements) of the building while a tenant occupies 40%. My business turns out to be not that lucrative and renting my space to another tenant would be the buildings highest and best use. When would I be able to rent the 60% I was using for my business to someone else?