SBA 7(a) Self Storage Feasibility Study in Ohio

Ohio self storage under 7(a): close to the national norm

Ohio's self storage borrowers under SBA 7(a) resemble self storage borrowers elsewhere in the size of their loans, and that sameness is itself a finding. Over the ten fiscal years, 63 self storage loans went through the program, totalling $90.4 million. The typical loan, $960,000, comes to 0.98x the nationwide 7(a) figure for storage, and no metric on this page clears our distinctness margin when set beside Ohio's other classes and beside storage nationwide. What sets the cell apart is its roster of holders and the timing of its approvals, not the size of its ticket. Ohio ranks 7 among states for these loans by count, while self storage sits at 20 of 39 among Ohio's asset classes, a mid-table place. Half of the loans fall between $348,000 and $2.2 million, a broad band, and the franchise share of 9.5% says most of these projects belong to independent owners.

One holder dominates the table

Live Oak Banking Company shows 27 loans and $51.6 million, the largest total in the lender table. Bank Five Nine follows with 9 loans and $14.4 million, and The Huntington National Bank matches that count of 9 on only $1.2 million, so its holdings in the class are of a different character. These are SBA's records of the loans each institution holds or held today, which can differ from the originator, and nothing in them speaks about how any lender underwrites. The counties are scattered: Summit has 8 loans, Lorain 6, and Delaware, Hamilton and Lucas 5 each, with Cuyahoga at 3. Approvals ran at 11 loans and $15.3 million in FY2017, rose to 14 loans and $16.6 million in FY2021, brought $18.0 million on 11 loans in FY2022, and had fallen to 2 loans and $3.6 million by FY2026.

Ohio storage approvals made between FY2017 and FY2024 later fell away before closing at a rate of at least 8.6%, or 10.3% once the loans that never disbursed are added. Among 32 loans funded in the early years, the portion charged off to date stands at 0.00%, and the five-year view is unchanged. Neither number is final, since open loans can still default, and a cohort of this size is thin enough that one future loss would move the figure visibly.

What a study here has to test

Under SBA's coding, vehicle storage for RVs and boats is indistinguishable from ordinary self storage, so a project aimed at vehicle storage must be read with that blur in mind. A feasibility study for an Ohio facility under 7(a) should test the supply already operating around the site at a sensible driving range, the unit mix a market can absorb, and the rent the competing facilities actually collect. Land and construction cost belong against a loan whose middle half runs from $348,000 to $2.2 million, since a purpose-built facility may sit at either end. The coverage test should model lease-up honestly, with a slow case beside the base case, and the appraisal will lean on stabilised income, so the study should show how occupancy reaches that level and what the loan must carry meanwhile.