Who we are
Wert-Berater, Inc. has prepared independent feasibility studies for lenders, certified development companies, and federal agencies since 1998 — more than four thousand engagements representing $40.2 billion in evaluated project value across all fifty states and international assignments. Our fiduciary duty runs to the lender and the agency, never to the sponsor’s optimism: fees are fixed, quoted up front, never contingent on findings, and a determination is never changed under pressure.
What we do
SBA 504 feasibility studies for owner-occupied real estate and equipment credits — repayment at program coverage minimums, occupancy rules, special-purpose treatment, and debenture structure under SOP 50 10 — and SBA 7(a) studies for business acquisition, construction, and working-capital credits covering operating projections, management capability, and global cash flow. Every study ships as a complete analytical report plus a fully linked Excel model with zero hardcoded numbers.
How we do it
The study maps section by section to the SOP’s requirements so the underwriter and CDC can cite it directly. Demand uses the accepted methodology for the asset class with the arithmetic shown; coverage is tested at exactly 1.15x operating and 1.00x global across sensitivity, rate-stress, and Monte Carlo cases; and where conditions are required, they are enumerated with curing documents named — the format that becomes the closing checklist.
How we can help you
SBA deals stall on documentation gaps, not on bad projects. A study built to the framework moves through lender and CDC review without the question cycles that burn closing timelines — and underwriter Q&A support through closing is part of the engagement, not an extra. Deals already in underwriting against a deadline qualify for rush delivery at a fixed fee, quoted up front.
How to engage us
Standard delivery is 10 to 15 business days from complete project data. Rush delivery for deals already in underwriting is accepted case by case for an additional fixed fee, quoted up front and committed in writing. Engagements are typically initiated by the borrower, with lender or CDC confirmation obtained before work begins — institutions differ, so confirm the procedure with your lending contact.
What an SBA feasibility study consultant does
An SBA feasibility study consultant is an independent, third-party analyst engaged to test whether a project can carry its debt before a lender or Certified Development Company commits capital. The role is deliberately separate from the borrower and the loan officer: the consultant has no stake in whether the deal funds, and that independence is exactly what gives the study weight in credit committee. Our conclusions are evidenced, sourced, and written for the reviewer who has to defend the file — not for the sponsor who wants to hear yes.
When the SBA — or your lender — expects a feasibility study
Under the current SBA SOP 50 10, a feasibility study is commonly required or strongly advised whenever repayment depends on assumptions a lender cannot verify from historical financials. In practice that means:
- Start-ups and new businesses with no operating history to underwrite against.
- Changes of ownership where projected performance departs from the seller’s record.
- Special-purpose or limited-market properties — hotels and motels, car washes, gas stations, self-storage, assisted living and memory care, marinas, bowling and entertainment, wineries and event venues — where the real estate has few alternative uses.
- New construction or major expansion that materially changes the borrower’s operations.
- Management-dependent or higher-risk industries, or borrowers new to the field.
The study informs the lender’s credit decision; it is not a guarantee of approval, and SBA eligibility is determined by the lender and the Agency. When you are unsure whether your deal needs one, your lender or CDC is the authority — and we are glad to speak with them directly. Borrowers typically learn a study is needed at the point the credit package is assembled; engaging it early in the application timeline, rather than after underwriting raises the question, routinely saves weeks of loan-cycle time.
SBA 504 and SBA 7(a): what each study has to prove
SBA 504 studies support owner-occupied real estate and fixed-asset credits. The program’s structure — a private first mortgage alongside a CDC debenture — concentrates the analysis on the property and the operating business that occupies it: owner-occupancy expectations (generally a majority of an existing building, more for ground-up construction), special-purpose treatment, and repayment at program coverage from the business’s own operations, because an owner-occupied project has no rent roll to fall back on. SBA 7(a) studies support acquisition, construction, and working-capital credits — operating projections, management capability, and global cash flow across the borrower’s entire obligation, sweeping the guarantors’ personal cash flows and other debts into the test. In both, repayment ability is evidenced at 1.15x operating and 1.00x global coverage and carried through sensitivity, rate-stress, and Monte Carlo cases, so the committee sees the downside rather than only the base case.
What SOP 50 10 8 means for your study
SOP 50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025 and as subsequently updated, is the SBA’s governing standard operating procedure for lenders and CDCs. Its approach to feasibility remains principles-based rather than a checklist: the SOP places responsibility on the participating lender to underwrite prudently, and where repayment rests on projections rather than history, the lender is expected to have those projections independently supported. That is the door the feasibility study walks through. A study written to the SOP’s logic — independent authorship, sourced assumptions, coverage demonstrated under stress, conditions stated explicitly — gives the lender language it can carry directly into the credit memorandum and, if the file is audited or the guarantee is later tested, a defense that was in the file from the start. Our studies cite the program requirements they respond to, so the reviewer never has to guess which box a section is answering.
What’s inside the SBA deliverable
Every SBA study ships as a complete analytical report plus a fully linked Excel model with zero hardcoded numbers, so a reviewer can trace any figure to its source. The report covers an executive summary and conclusion; market and demand analysis using the accepted methodology for the asset class; competitive supply; site and technical review; a management assessment; multi-year financial projections with the coverage tests above; and an explicit list of conditions with the curing documents named — the section that becomes the lender’s closing checklist.
The financial model behind the finding
The model is where SBA studies are won or lost. Ours is built to underwriting conventions rather than pitch conventions: a ten-year pro forma with the ramp-up period modeled explicitly instead of a stabilized year presented as year one; revenue built from a defined trade area and a defended capture rate, not a market-share assertion; operating expenses benchmarked against RMA and industry data with deviations explained; replacement capital expenditures reserved on the asset’s real consumption schedule, with coverage reported both before and after reserves; sensitivity analysis at ±5, 10, and 15 percent; interest-rate stress from +0.5 to +3.0 percent; and Monte Carlo simulation across the assumptions that matter. Because every cell is linked and sourced, the underwriter’s twenty-minute first pass — conclusion, coverage, conditions — holds up when the analyst’s two-hour second pass follows the numbers home.
Why studies get returned — and how ours are built not to be
The recurring rejection grounds in SBA files are unsupported capture rates, ramp-up periods that skip the hard first years, hardcoded models a reviewer cannot audit, coverage shown only at stabilization, and conditions the study never surfaces. Each of those is a structural choice, which means each is avoidable by structure: we treat the downside case as a first-class deliverable, state year-one coverage next to stabilized coverage, and name the conditions precedent ourselves rather than leaving them for the committee to discover. A correct forecast can still be unusable to a lender if it cannot be independently verified — we build for verification from the first cell.
The engagement, step by step
- 1. Scope and quote. Tell us the project, program, and timeline; a fixed fee is quoted in writing within one business day. There is no charge for the quote.
- 2. Data collection. We issue a document request tailored to the deal — typically the project budget and sources-and-uses, site and plan information, management résumés, historical financials where they exist, franchise or management agreements, and the lender’s term sheet.
- 3. Market and technical analysis. Trade area definition, demand and competitive supply work on the accepted methodology for the asset class, and review of costs and the construction plan.
- 4. Model and draft. The fully linked model is built, stressed, and reconciled; the draft is checked against the program’s requirements before it leaves the building.
- 5. Delivery and lender support. Standard delivery is 10 to 15 business days from complete project data. After delivery we answer the lender’s and CDC’s questions directly — the study is not finished until the reviewer is.
Industries and special-purpose properties we cover
Since 1998 the firm has completed studies across more than a hundred asset classes — hospitality, self-storage, car washes, fuel and travel centers, senior housing and healthcare, manufacturing and processing, agriculture and cold storage, marinas, and mixed-use development among them. Special-purpose properties, which draw the most SBA scrutiny, are core territory rather than the exception.
Credentials and cost
Studies are prepared by senior analysts — including MAI-designated professionals and former institutional underwriters — under principal review, with a fiduciary duty that runs to the lender and the Agency. The fee is fixed and quoted in writing within one business day of your request, scoped to the project’s size, asset class, and complexity; it is never a percentage of the deal and never contingent on the finding. Standard delivery is 10 to 15 business days from complete project data, and rush delivery for deals already in underwriting is available for a fixed add-on committed up front.
Frequently asked questions
Does the SBA require a feasibility study for every loan?
No. Under SOP 50 10 the requirement is risk-based — the lender or CDC decides, and it is most common for start-ups, changes of ownership, special-purpose properties, and new construction. When repayment depends on projections a lender cannot verify from history, a study is typically expected.
Who orders the study, the borrower or the lender?
Engagements are usually initiated by the borrower, with the lender or CDC confirming scope before work begins. Either way the study must be independent and prepared by a third party with no interest in whether the loan funds.
What debt-service coverage does an SBA study need to show?
There is no single universal number, but repayment ability is the core test. We evidence coverage at 1.15x operating and 1.00x global and carry it through sensitivity and stress cases so the committee sees the margin under adverse conditions.
What does SOP 50 10 8 actually say about feasibility studies?
The SOP is principles-based: it holds the lender responsible for prudent, well-supported underwriting rather than prescribing a study outline. Where repayment rests on projections, the lender is expected to have them independently supported — which is why the study must be independent, sourced, and stress-tested rather than a formatted business plan.
How long does an SBA feasibility study take?
Standard delivery is 10 to 15 business days from complete project data. Rush delivery for deals already in underwriting is available for a fixed add-on, quoted up front.
How much does an SBA feasibility study cost?
The fee is fixed, quoted in writing within one business day, and scoped to the project’s size and complexity — never a percentage of the deal and never contingent on the finding.
What is a special-purpose property, and why does it matter for SBA?
Special-purpose or limited-market properties — hotels, car washes, gas stations, self-storage, assisted living and similar — have few alternative uses, so SBA lenders scrutinize demand and re-use risk closely. The study addresses market depth and downside directly, which is where these deals usually stall.
Will you speak with our lender or CDC directly?
Yes — and we prefer to. Scope is confirmed with the lender before work begins where the institution requires it, and after delivery we answer the underwriter’s questions directly until the file is resolved.
What happens if the study reaches a negative conclusion?
The finding is reported as the evidence supports it — fees are never contingent on the outcome, and a determination is never changed under pressure. In practice a negative or conditioned finding usually identifies what would have stalled the deal in underwriting anyway, while there is still time to restructure, resize, or re-scope.
Is a feasibility study the same as the appraisal?
No. The appraisal opines on property value; the feasibility study tests whether the specific project, at its specific scale and capital structure, generates the cash flow to service its debt. SBA files for projection-based deals commonly need both, and the two documents must not contradict each other.