I am trying to buy my first business, and I have a few questions.

How much do lenders typically require down (SBA and Commercial)? Is this downpayment to be verifyable cash, such as money in my personal bank acct?
I have equity in my home but it may not be enough. Are there other ways to secure capital? I own some land too, 15 ac.
Can I find a lender that will loan me the additional capital?

Someone told me that if I need to borrow 200K for the business purchase and the lender requires 20%, I should ask to borrow 240K to meet capital requirements. Is that true?

My credit is excellent and I am currently employed by the US military - 12 years.

Thanks!!!

How much do lenders typically require down (SBA and Commercial)? Is this downpayment to be verifyable cash, such as money in my personal bank acct?

Most lenders even if the loan will benefit from an SBA guarantee will require substantial equity. What a lender usually does is take a look at how the business capital structure is now and how it would look after the loan by creating a hypothetical set of financials. This will let the lender know if the proposed level of debt is reasonable. I would say that at a minimum, you want to be funded by 25% equity. Should this equity be verifiable cash? The answer to that is that it would help if you did not need to get into additional debt to pull this off. Additional debt means additional payments.

I own some land too, 15 ac. Can I find a lender that will loan me the additional capital?

Yes.

Someone told me that if I need to borrow 200K for the business purchase and the lender requires 20%, I should ask to borrow 240K to meet capital requirements. Is that true?

If by that you mean lying to the lender by saying that the purchase price is $240,000 instead of $200,000, then that would be fraud.

Thanks! I thought it sounded a bit shady to increase the asking price!