Worked Example: SBA 7(a) Change of Ownership of an Express Tunnel Car Wash, Feasibility Study in Alabama
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a car wash project in Alabama, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.
Feasibility Study Data for the Mobile, AL Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Mobile, AL Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
A hotel-led Gulf Coast record
Mobile is led by lodging. Hotel and motel heads the named classes with 30 loans, well ahead of full-service restaurant at 18 and limited-service restaurant at 14, while gas station and truck stop and self storage tie at 8 each; Mobile's other 305 loans fall outside the named classes. Every placed loan belongs to Mobile County. SBA approved 433 loans there across FY2017 to FY2026, $251.7 million gross, rank 184 of 928, with 391 under 7(a) and 42 under 504. Franchises account for 17.6% of loans, which suits a hotel-heavy book, where flags impose standards.
Mobile has a median loan of $240,000. Mobile stands at 1.15x the national figure; in Mobile, half of loans run $50,000 to $606,700. Count slid from 46 loans and $17.0 million in FY2017 to a low of 26 loans and $10.6 million in FY2020, peaked at 60 loans and $31.6 million in FY2025 and ended at 38 loans and $26.6 million in FY2026. A Mobile hotel study should therefore weigh seasonal occupancy and rate, cost of any brand improvement plan, and an appraisal on income rather than on what the building cost.
Who holds the Mobile loans
Wells Fargo Bank National Association holds 55 loans and $5.0 million under 7(a), PNC Bank, National Association 43 loans and $8.4 million, and Hancock Whitney Bank 29 loans and $14.4 million. In Mobile's 504 list Southern Development Council is first, 18 loans and $15.9 million, and Florida Business Development Corporation second, 11 loans and $13.7 million. Mobile lender figures are SBA's records. Mobile names hold or held those loans. Mobile counts show volume only, and Mobile counts judge no lender or requirement.
Mobile floors, and the study to order
Mobile: cancelled after approval at least 12.8% of Mobile's approvals. The Mobile window is FY2017 to FY2024. Mobile counts undisbursed loans for 14.3%. In Mobile, 172 funded loans show charge-offs. Mobile floors them at 8.7% or more. Mobile has 4.7% within five years. Open Mobile loans may raise every Mobile floor. The July 2023 delineation shapes Mobile. Mobile reads each project's county by name. Mobile loses a loan with no placeable county. Mobile counts every approval, named or not. Mobile work should also test self-storage unit mix and lease-up pace where that class is in play, and for a gas station, fuel margin against shop sales, with debt service run on thin revenue in every case. Daniel Smith, MAI, names each Mobile study. Mobile studies are prepared by Loan Analytics.
SBA loans in the Mobile, AL Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 433 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $251.7 million |
| Median loan | $240,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $50,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $606,700 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 391 |
| SBA 504 loans | 42 |
| Franchise share of loans | 17.6% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 184 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.15x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 12.8% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 14.3% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 8.7% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 4.7% |
| Loans in that cohort | 172 |
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 Mobile, AL Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 46 | $17.0 million |
| FY2018 | 44 | $18.5 million |
| FY2019 | 45 | $22.5 million |
| FY2020 | 26 | $10.6 million |
| FY2021 | 39 | $27.5 million |
| FY2022 | 41 | $39.8 million |
| FY2023 | 46 | $29.9 million |
| FY2024 | 48 | $27.7 million |
| FY2025 | 60 | $31.6 million |
| FY2026 | 38 | $26.6 million |
Loans by asset class
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 305 |
| Hotel and motel | 30 |
| Full-service restaurant | 18 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 14 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 8 |
| Self storage | 8 |
| Dental office | 7 |
| Child care center | 6 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 5 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Development Council | 18 | $15.9 million |
| Florida Business Development Corporation | 11 | $13.7 million |
| Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc. | 8 | $5.8 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 55 | $5.0 million |
| PNC Bank, National Association | 43 | $8.4 million |
| Hancock Whitney Bank | 29 | $14.4 million |
| Northeast Bank (ME) | 23 | $2.8 million |
| Newtek Bank, National Association | 21 | $4.5 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.
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Mobile County, AL | 433 |
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-33660.
Related feasibility study pages
- Alabama feasibility study consultant
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- SBA feasibility study consultant
- Feasibility Study Data for the Birmingham, AL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Huntsville, AL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Montgomery, AL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Tuscaloosa, AL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Dothan, AL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Decatur, AL Metro Area
Feasibility study data by asset class in the Mobile, AL Metro Area
Worked examples
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Mobile, AL 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.
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