Car Wash Feasibility Study in Nebraska

Half the lending runs through 504

In Nebraska, the real estate program carries almost as much car wash lending as the working-capital one. Washes in the state took 27 approvals over FY2017 to FY2026, worth $28.1 million; the split was 14 under 7(a) and 13 under 504. That balance, with a median loan of $1.1 million that is 1.15x the national median, signals tunnel and express projects that include land and construction. The location quotient of 1.31x shows washes taking a larger share of approvals here than nationally, while the state sits 34 of 53 and the class 11 of 39 inside Nebraska.

Franchising and the shape of the years

The franchise share of 29.6% is substantial, so a good part of the book is branded operators. Half of the loans fall between $498,500 and $1.4 million. Nothing was approved in FY2017 or FY2018, then FY2019 brought 5 loans for $5.9 million, FY2020 brought 3 for $5.0 million, and FY2026 has already reached 5 loans and $4.1 million with the year not finished. Such a start-stop record is typical of a class where a handful of builders open several sites at once.

Geography without a lender table

Douglas County, with Omaha, and Sarpy County, its suburban neighbour, each have 5 loans. Dakota, Hall, Lancaster and Scotts Bluff follow at 2 each, and Buffalo, Burt, Colfax and Cuming each have 1, so some of the activity sits on highway corridors and small cities rather than in the metro. No lender is ranked on this page, and the cancellation and charge-off percentages are suppressed, because the number of loans in each cohort is too small to report fairly. A missing rate is not a zero rate. Car and truck washes, including mobile ones, share a single industry code, and truck washes are filed alongside them, so the counts are approximate.

Tests for a Nebraska wash project

A study should start with traffic: daily counts at the site, the entry and exit geometry, and the stacking space a tunnel needs on peak days. It should price the equipment package and the land separately, because a large share of local loans fund real estate, and show unlimited-wash membership assumptions with a churn allowance. Winter matters in the Plains, so monthly revenue should reflect freezing weeks, and water, sewer and wastewater permits belong in the cost schedule. Debt service coverage ought to hold when a competing tunnel opens nearby, and an appraiser is likely to value the wash as a business apart from its land and building.