Worked Example: USDA B&I Hotel Acquisition Feasibility Study in Georgia
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a hotel project in Georgia, financed with a USDA Business and Industry guaranteed loan.
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Jefferson, GA Micro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
The agency approved 119 SBA loans for Jefferson projects from FY2017 through FY2026, carrying $117.2 million across every asset class. Jefferson holds rank 433 of 928 against every other statistical area, Jefferson among them. A typical Jefferson loan is $500,000; the middle half of Jefferson approvals run from $150,000 to $1.3 million. Jefferson borrowers borrow more, at 2.40x of the national median. Large Jefferson tickets are the first thing that sets Jefferson apart.
The micro area shows 102 loans under 7(a), against 17 under 504; in Jefferson, 7(a) carries the larger proportion. The franchise share of Jefferson loans is 19.3% in this micro area. Wells Fargo Bank National Association tops the 7(a) Jefferson table at 11 loans and $836,400. 7 loans and $3.8 million belong to United Community Bank (SC), in second place. Further down, Northeast Bank (ME) shows 6 loans, with 5 more at Metro City Bank. On 504, Small Business Access Partners, Inc. comes first: 7 loans, $10.7 million. These are SBA's records of Jefferson loans held or once held. In Jefferson, the line for Wells Fargo Bank National Association appears as the Jefferson holder SBA reports; the Jefferson list neither praises nor faults any holder.
Most of the Jefferson total sits outside the tracked asset classes: 70 loans that carry codes outside the Jefferson table. The Jefferson class rows therefore describe a minority of Jefferson lending. The Jefferson class table opens with full-service restaurant, 7 loans, then limited-service restaurant with 7, and hotel and motel at 5. Jackson County, GA is the largest source of loans, with 119. Demand differs between these counties, so the Jefferson figure hides some spread.
Looking at FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, Jefferson cancellations came to at least 10.7%. A ceiling for Jefferson would sit above 10.7%, but as the Jefferson number is held Jefferson back at the source. The Jefferson charge-off rate is withheld: too few Jefferson loans reached the funded cohort, so Jefferson gets no Jefferson rate, and a blank Jefferson never means none. Annual Jefferson approvals peaked in FY2025 at 22 loans and $17.1 million, and the quietest Jefferson year before FY2026 was FY2018, at 9 loans and $9.1 million. A loan joins the Jefferson, GA figures through its project county, as with Jackson County, GA or Jackson County, GA, counties are assigned under the July 2023 Jefferson delineation, while any county the Jefferson name match misses is omitted from Jefferson.
A study for a Jefferson project has to be drafted for the specific county, because the micro Jefferson area total blends different markets. In Jefferson, with full-service restaurant first in the Jefferson class table, the study should check the lease term against payback, seats against realistic covers and Jefferson dining rooms and their weeknight trade. A Jefferson request in limited-service restaurant depend on build-out Jefferson cost for a small box and on competing quick-service sites nearby. Cash flow for a Jefferson loan has to clear even if sales dip; the appraisal needs local sales and Jefferson rents behind it. Since Jefferson loans skew large, the Jefferson study should tie the amount to the Jefferson project and not to the area.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 119 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $117.2 million |
| Median loan | $500,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $150,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $1.3 million |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 102 |
| SBA 504 loans | 17 |
| Franchise share of loans | 19.3% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 433 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 2.40x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 10.7% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | withheld |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | withheld |
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 Jefferson, GA Micro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 10 | $9.2 million |
| FY2018 | 9 | $9.1 million |
| FY2019 | 10 | $10.1 million |
| FY2020 | 14 | $14.6 million |
| FY2021 | 9 | $22.1 million |
| FY2022 | 10 | $8.5 million |
| FY2023 | 9 | $6.2 million |
| FY2024 | 13 | $11.5 million |
| FY2025 | 22 | $17.1 million |
| FY2026 | 13 | $8.9 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 70 |
| Full-service restaurant | 7 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 7 |
| Hotel and motel | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business Access Partners, Inc. | 7 | $10.7 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 11 | $836,400 |
| United Community Bank (SC) | 7 | $3.8 million |
| Northeast Bank (ME) | 6 | $931,900 |
| Metro City Bank | 5 | $23.7 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 |
|---|---|
| Jackson County, GA | 119 |
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-27600.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a hotel project in Georgia, financed with a USDA Business and Industry guaranteed loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Jefferson, GA Micro 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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