Worked Example: SBA 7(a) Flex-Serve Car Wash Feasibility Study in Texas
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a car wash project in Texas, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Beaumont-Port Arthur drew 358 SBA approvals across FY2017 to FY2026, worth $349.8 million gross. By loan count, Beaumont-Port Arthur stands 206 of 928 among all areas. Half the Beaumont-Port Arthur loans are $473,150 or smaller. $150,000 to $1.3 million spans the Beaumont-Port Arthur middle half. Beaumont-Port Arthur: 2.27x of the national median. By program, Beaumont-Port Arthur has 325 7(a) loans and 33 504 loans. Beaumont-Port Arthur shows a franchise share of 24.6%. Those 358 Beaumont-Port Arthur loans carry $349.8 million.
In Beaumont-Port Arthur, the tracked classes lead with gas station and truck stop (37), hotel and motel (23), and full-service restaurant (15). Fourth in Beaumont-Port Arthur is limited-service restaurant, with 14 loans. 193 loans in Beaumont-Port Arthur fit no class, so Beaumont-Port Arthur class patterns say less. County placement in Beaumont-Port Arthur is led by Jefferson County, TX (251), Orange County, TX (56), and Hardin County, TX (51).
SBA lists the current holder of each Beaumont-Port Arthur loan; the originator may differ. Beaumont-Port Arthur lists, for 7(a), Live Oak Banking Company with 16 loans ($22.6 million) and Hancock Whitney Bank with 15 loans ($19.6 million). Among Beaumont-Port Arthur 504 holders: North Texas Certified Development Corporation (20 loans, $16.7 million) and Southeast Texas Economic Development Foundation (8 loans, $9.1 million). A Beaumont-Port Arthur borrower reads these rows as context. Beaumont-Port Arthur rows promise no one a loan.
Of Beaumont-Port Arthur approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, 15.7% were cancelled, a floor. The ceiling is withheld for Beaumont-Port Arthur: Beaumont-Port Arthur loans are few. Beaumont-Port Arthur charge-offs: 5.0% among 160 loans disbursed FY2017 to FY2021, a floor. Beaumont-Port Arthur withholds a five-year rate: Beaumont-Port Arthur loans are too few. Treat Beaumont-Port Arthur rates as floors. Later events lift them, Beaumont-Port Arthur included. County names place the Beaumont-Port Arthur loans. The July 2023 delineation defines Beaumont-Port Arthur. Unmatched counties drop out of Beaumont-Port Arthur. The Beaumont-Port Arthur total includes loans outside the classes.
The Beaumont-Port Arthur trend peaks in FY2021 with 52 loans ($62.9 million) and bottoms in FY2026 with 24 ($20.2 million). The first year, FY2017, shows 44 loans and $23.9 million for Beaumont-Port Arthur. FY2026 closes the Beaumont-Port Arthur series at 24 loans, $20.2 million. A Beaumont-Port Arthur study weighs local demand against Jefferson County, TX competitors, not national patterns. Cost follows in Beaumont-Port Arthur: site, build and equipment priced against a $473,150 median. Beaumont-Port Arthur is 2.27x of the national one. Coverage for Beaumont-Port Arthur is run on weaker income. Beaumont-Port Arthur floors shape that downside. Beaumont-Port Arthur appraisal evidence comes from area sales. Beaumont-Port Arthur income evidence sits beside it. Absorption near Jefferson County, TX is tested for Beaumont-Port Arthur on a slow case. Beside Jefferson County, TX findings, the Beaumont-Port Arthur study lists what it could not test.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 358 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $349.8 million |
| Median loan | $473,150 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $150,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $1.3 million |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 325 |
| SBA 504 loans | 33 |
| Franchise share of loans | 24.6% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 206 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 2.27x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 15.7% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | withheld |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 5.0% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 160 |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA loans approved in the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 44 | $23.9 million |
| FY2018 | 32 | $33.1 million |
| FY2019 | 40 | $40.9 million |
| FY2020 | 26 | $24.4 million |
| FY2021 | 52 | $62.9 million |
| FY2022 | 36 | $45.2 million |
| FY2023 | 31 | $33.6 million |
| FY2024 | 38 | $40.4 million |
| FY2025 | 35 | $25.1 million |
| FY2026 | 24 | $20.2 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 193 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 37 |
| Hotel and motel | 23 |
| Full-service restaurant | 15 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 14 |
| Self storage | 10 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 10 |
| Car wash | 8 |
| Fitness center | 7 |
| Child care center | 7 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 6 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| North Texas Certified Development Corporation | 20 | $16.7 million |
| Southeast Texas Economic Development Foundation | 8 | $9.1 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| PNC Bank, National Association | 34 | $17.4 million |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 20 | $3.3 million |
| Live Oak Banking Company | 16 | $22.6 million |
| Hancock Whitney Bank | 15 | $19.6 million |
| Prosperity Bank | 15 | $17.6 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Jefferson County, TX | 251 |
| Orange County, TX | 56 |
| Hardin County, TX | 51 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MT-13140.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a car wash project in Texas, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.
Start with the data.
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