At the first of October, changes to the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 501 10 (c) went into effect. These changes affect SBA loans that involve a change of ownership of fixed assets. Some of the changes are specific to business valuations, but others involve machinery and equipment appraisals. Since these are the ones that could affect Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraisers (CMEAs) and NEBBI members, we wanted to list them here. As of October 1, 2010, when affected fixed assets change hands, the following will apply.

• If the fixed assets are given a value other than depreciated net book value, an equipment appraisal must be ordered.
• The equipment appraisal can only be performed by a qualified individual.