SBA 7(a) Assisted Living Feasibility Study in Florida

Florida ranks third nationally for 7(a) volume in assisted living without nursing care, while the class itself sits 13 of 39 within the state. FY2017 to FY2026 produced 212 approvals worth $228.9 million. The $640,250 median is 0.85x the 7(a) median for the class nationwide, and $274,750 to $1.3 million spans the middle half. Franchises are only 1.9% of loans. The 7(a) program view brings out two features: lending here is smaller per loan than the national pattern, and cancellations are among the highest in the group.

Lenders and counties

North State Bank holds 27 loans worth $24.2 million. Celtic Bank Corporation has 21 loans worth $35.6 million, a much larger average, then Wells Fargo Bank National Association, 12 loans and $5.7 million, Readycap Lending, LLC, 11 and $12.7 million, and Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company, 10 and $14.4 million. The entries are SBA's record of current or former holders. BROWARD County has 24 loans, PINELLAS 23, VOLUSIA 22 and HILLSBOROUGH 20, with PASCO at 11, so the Gulf coast, Orlando-area and southeast clusters all appear.

Cancellations and charge-offs

At least 15.8% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals were cancelled, with no change on the wider count. Against that, charge-offs are low: the 90 loans funded in FY2017 to FY2021 show 1.1% at the least charged off, and the same 1.1% inside five years. A lender can read the pair as a class where many projects stall before funding but funded homes rarely fail early. Open loans may still move both numbers. Volume reached 33 loans and $38.1 million in FY2021 and 27 loans and $37.0 million in FY2025.

What the code leaves out, and the study to commission

Only residences without nursing on site have their own industry code in SBA's data, and memory care has none, while homes with nursing are filed under skilled nursing and continuing care. A Florida project that mixes levels of care should therefore be read against those other pages too. The study should size demand from seniors in the county, beds already licensed, any planned supply, and the share of residents able to pay privately. It must test licensing timeline, which can explain cancellations, along with staffing, construction cost against a ticket near $640,250, and the payment at stabilized occupancy after a slow fill. Program rules are defined by SBA, not here.