Worked Example: SBA 504 Hotel Feasibility Study in Washington
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a hotel project in Washington, financed with an SBA 504 loan.
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
348 loans within Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA between FY2017 through FY2026 add up to $237.2 million gross. Mount Vernon-Anacortes sits at 212 of 928 among all core-based areas by loans. Worth noting: $306,350 stands as the middle loan; the bulk of loans lies between $63,150 and $833,750. The median here is 1.47x of the median nationwide, placing the typical loan ahead of the figure for the nation. Mount Vernon-Anacortes holds only its own counties, unlike a state page, which gives a statewide average: 348 loans in all.
286 7(a) approvals compare with 62 approvals under 504. Also, 8.6% of the approvals go to franchisees in this area. Beyond that, for 7(a) approvals, the busiest banks and lenders by count rank as Banner Bank at 41 loans totalling $4.2 million, U.S. Bank, National Association with 37 loans totalling $12.0 million, and Harborstone CU holding 36 loans for $23.5 million. Separately, in 504 approvals, the top program intermediaries on loan count stand as Northwest Business Development Association holding 34 loans totalling $25.6 million and Ameritrust CDC at 15 loans worth $13.3 million. Beyond that, all the names are taken from SBA data for 348 approvals; they list completed approvals and no more, and not the standards that lenders require in Mount Vernon-Anacortes.
30 for full-service restaurant, gas station and truck stop with 18, 16 in hotel and motel, then 16 in limited-service restaurant lead the named classes in loan count. 205 approvals fall beyond every named class, so its $237.2 million total is wider than the class list. Beyond that, 5 loans in medical office across Mount Vernon-Anacortes make too small a base to show any claim. In turn, Skagit County accounts for every one of 348 approvals, so area and county form one market. Beyond that, year by year, FY2017 begins at 34 loans and $29.7 million; FY2026 is the high point at 43 loans and $23.2 million, then FY2026, a year yet to finish, concludes the count at 43 loans and $23.2 million.
7.2% among FY2017 to FY2024 loans in Mount Vernon-Anacortes have been cancelled before funding, a floor. Then, the matching ceiling here stays withheld, so only the floor stands. No loss floor is shown for Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA; the FY2017 to FY2021 cohort is too sparse, and a blank does not mean zero. Worth noting: take each share on this page like a minimum, as loans approved in the latest years received too little opportunity to fall through or default, across 348 loans. Each area here rests on the CBSA that takes in any loan's county of the project, under the July 2023 definitions as published; the counties are paired by name, so a project whose county falls in no CBSA is dropped from every area, with no exception. Then, in a class or out of one, any 7(a) and 504 approval in Mount Vernon-Anacortes is added towards its $237.2 million total.
Around Mount Vernon-Anacortes, a proper study covering a site starts from the actual proposal, instead of the 348-loan file. Customer demand in Mount Vernon-Anacortes is the opening test: will Mount Vernon-Anacortes's catchment sustain the revenue assumed, set against rivals around Skagit County? For context, the local median runs 1.47x against the national median, so local prices may sit above norms, perhaps; test the real scope against bids from nearby trades. Next, the debt service test joins demand to cost in Mount Vernon-Anacortes: forecast income measured on loan payments, plus a downside case. Beyond that, an independent appraisal caps the work for Mount Vernon-Anacortes: the value of the collateral must carry the sum proposed. In turn, a borrower who brings a third-party report of Mount Vernon-Anacortes, ahead of approaching any lender, addresses these rates up front; the verdict sits with the lender and the agency in Mount Vernon-Anacortes, and a study cannot change that.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 348 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $237.2 million |
| Median loan | $306,350 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $63,150 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $833,750 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 286 |
| SBA 504 loans | 62 |
| Franchise share of loans | 8.6% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 212 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.47x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 7.2% |
|---|---|
| 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 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 34 | $29.7 million |
| FY2018 | 37 | $12.3 million |
| FY2019 | 38 | $23.0 million |
| FY2020 | 23 | $18.8 million |
| FY2021 | 25 | $20.9 million |
| FY2022 | 40 | $25.6 million |
| FY2023 | 25 | $29.2 million |
| FY2024 | 41 | $24.1 million |
| FY2025 | 42 | $30.5 million |
| FY2026 | 43 | $23.2 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 205 |
| Full-service restaurant | 30 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 18 |
| Hotel and motel | 16 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 16 |
| Fitness center | 11 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 8 |
| Car wash | 5 |
| 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.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest Business Development Association | 34 | $25.6 million |
| Ameritrust CDC | 15 | $13.3 million |
| Evergreen Business Capital | 13 | $14.8 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Banner Bank | 41 | $4.2 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 37 | $12.0 million |
| Harborstone CU | 36 | $23.5 million |
| Heritage Bank (WA) | 19 | $8.7 million |
| Columbia Bank (OR) | 16 | $2.5 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.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Skagit County, WA | 348 |
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-34580.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a hotel project in Washington, financed with an SBA 504 loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 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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