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Program 10
SBA Financing in Waco
SBA loans that put Waco businesses in their building.
When a deal calls for long-term, government-backed financing, we place SBA 7(a) and 504 loans through relationships with more than 20 SBA lenders. We match your scenario to the right program and the best terms. In Waco that is campus retail, the building trades, and I-35 corridor manufacturers. Business-purpose only, and every structure is set in underwriting.
7(a) & 504
programs
90%
financing
25-yr
terms
20+
SBA lenders
Typical figures, subject to underwriting and market conditions. Not a commitment to lend.
How it works
SBA loans offer low down payments and long amortizations for owner-occupied property and business acquisition. USA Mortgage arranges and places SBA financing through our network of partner lenders; we are not ourselves an SBA lender. We shop your file across that network so you get the strongest approval.
Who it's for
Owner-occupied commercial RE
Business acquisition
Real estate plus equipment
Partner or stock buyout
Typical terms
Loan amount$350K to $5M+
FinancingUp to 90%
TermUp to 25 years
RateMarket SBA rates
PropertyOwner-occupied CRE
Programs7(a) and 504
*Typical terms, subject to underwriting and market conditions.
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Local FAQ
SBA Financing in Waco, answered.
Which SBA district office handles a Waco deal, and is there an SBA office in town?
The Dallas / Fort Worth District Office, and no, there is no SBA branch in Waco. This is not read off a map. In the SBA's own loan-level FOIA data, all 235 McLennan County 7(a) approvals since fiscal 2020 and all 21 McLennan County 504 approvals since fiscal 2010 carry the Dallas / Fort Worth district office, with no other value in the file, and the San Antonio district's published 55-county list does not include McLennan. The SBA's district page gives the office as 150 Westpark Way, Suite 130, Euless, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In practice you deal with your lender, not the district office, but it decides whose queue your file sits in.
Sources: data.sba.gov
I run a short-term rental or bed and breakfast near downtown and want to buy the property with an SBA loan. Does Waco's STR licensing process slow that down?
It can, if the property needs a special permit. Where Waco's zoning requires a special permit for a bed and breakfast or an STR Type I, the city's own process takes approximately 60 to 90 days for Plan Commission and City Council approval, and no license issues until it's granted. That timeline runs alongside, not inside, your SBA underwriting, so budget for both before you commit to a closing date. If you need to close on the real estate before the license clears, a bridge loan can get you to the closing table now, with a refinance into SBA once the license is in hand.
Sources: waco-texas.com
Is there a cap on how large an SBA 504 loan can get for a manufacturing or distribution building along the I-35 corridor near Waco?
Yes: $5 million standard, with a $5.5 million ceiling reserved for small manufacturers and qualifying energy projects. That distinction matters here, since McLennan County's economy includes real food-processing and manufacturing payroll along the I-35 corridor. A qualifying small manufacturer underwrites to the higher cap; a general owner-occupied purchase, whether it's trades, retail, or hospitality, underwrites to the $5 million ceiling. That's a federal regulation, not a lender preference.
Sources: wacoeconomicdevelopment.com
How much SBA 7(a) lending actually gets done in McLennan County in a year?
Around 30 to 40 loans a year, and the dollar total swings on a handful of large deals. The SBA's own loan file shows 235 7(a) approvals in McLennan County totalling $183,297,300 from fiscal 2020 through fiscal 2026 to date. Fiscal 2025, the last complete year, was 39 loans for $37,503,300: an average of $961,623 against a median of $600,000, which tells you a few big files carry the dollars while most approvals are far smaller. Fiscal 2026 stands at 21 loans for $39,003,700, but that is three quarters only, through June 30, 2026. Waco borrowers account for 132 of the 235, with Woodway, Lorena, Hewitt and Robinson making up most of the rest.
Sources: data.sba.gov
Should I take my Waco deal to a local bank or to a national SBA lender?
It depends on your loan size, and the county's own numbers show why. The most active 7(a) lender in McLennan County is local: The First National Bank of McGregor, doing business as TFNB Your Bank for Life, made 58 of the 235 loans since fiscal 2020, about 25 percent of the count, but only $13,004,200 of the $183,297,300, about 7 percent of the dollars. That is an average loan of roughly $224,000. By dollars the leader is a national SBA specialist, Live Oak Banking Company, at $18,258,000 across 7 loans, an average near $2.6 million. Small working-capital and small-property files get done locally here; larger owner-occupied purchases tend to leave the county for a lender that writes that size every week. We are not an SBA lender ourselves; we place the file with the partner lender that fits the deal.
Is there a Waco CDC for a 504 loan, and how common is 504 here?
No CDC is headquartered in McLennan County, and 504 is genuinely rare here. The SBA's 504 file shows 21 loans totalling $34,191,000 in McLennan County across fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2026 to date, roughly 1.2 loans a year, with three of those years, fiscal 2011, fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2024, recording none at all. Recent activity: 2 loans for $7,606,000 in fiscal 2023, none in fiscal 2024, 3 loans for $8,512,000 in fiscal 2025. Every one of those deals was delivered by an out-of-county Certified Development Company, most often Capital Certified Development Corporation in Austin, which did 8 of the 21, with others based in Tyler, Lubbock, San Antonio and Plano. If your project pencils for 504, expect to work with a CDC outside the county and to budget the extra coordination that adds to the calendar.
Sources: data.sba.gov
Where can I get free help putting an SBA package together in Waco?
Two SBA-connected resource partners sit physically in Waco. The McLennan Small Business Development Center is hosted by McLennan Community College at 4601 N 19th Street, Building A, Room 36B, and states it is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration; it covers seven counties, Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Hill, Johnson and McLennan. PeopleFund, an Austin-based nonprofit lender, keeps a Waco office at 605 Austin Avenue, Suite 3, and shows up in the SBA's 504 file as the CDC on a fiscal 2025 Waco project. Neither is a substitute for a lender, but an SBDC advisor will work through your projections before a lender sees them, at no cost.
Sources: mccsbdc.com
Is a $1,000,000 Waco building in range, given the county's $600,000 median 7(a) approval?
It is, and plan on about 10% down. SBA financing runs up to 90%, so on a $1,000,000 owner-occupied Waco building that is up to $900,000 financed and $100,000 from you (1,000,000 x 90% = 900,000). That size is in range for this county: McLennan County's fiscal 2025 7(a) approvals averaged $961,623 against a median of $600,000. Terms run up to 25 years at market SBA rates, on owner-occupied commercial real estate. Subject to underwriting.
Sources: data.sba.gov
Below what size is a McGregor bank like TFNB the better home for an SBA file?
Below about $350,000, which is where we start placing files. Below that you are usually better served locally: TFNB Your Bank for Life in McGregor made 58 of the county's 235 7(a) approvals since fiscal 2020 but only about 7% of the dollars, an average near $224,000. Larger owner-occupied purchases tend to leave the county for a lender that writes that size every week, which is where our network of more than 20 SBA lenders earns its keep. We are not an SBA lender ourselves; we place the file. Subject to underwriting.
Sources: data.sba.gov
How long does an SBA loan take to close in Waco, and what slows it down?
Figure 30 to 90 days, and treat that as a floor rather than a target. Two local things stretch it. If the property needs a Waco special permit for a bed and breakfast or an STR Type I, the city's own Plan Commission and City Council process runs approximately 60 to 90 days on its own clock, alongside SBA underwriting rather than inside it. And a 504 here means an out-of-county CDC, since none is headquartered in McLennan County, which adds coordination. If the closing date will not wait, a bridge loan closes now and refinances into SBA once the file is clean. Subject to underwriting.
Sources: waco-texas.com, data.sba.gov
More SBA Financing questions, answered on the program page
Resources
Guides for SBA Financing
SBA · 5 min read
SBA 7(a) vs 504: Which Is Right for Owner-Occupied Real Estate?
Read the guide SBA · 5 min read
SBA 504 Loans for Owner-Occupied Commercial Real Estate
Read the guide SBA · 4 min read
SBA Loan Down Payment, Rates, and Terms Explained
Read the guide SBA · 5 min read
The $1M SBA Loan: What 7(a) and 504 Look Like at That Size
Read the guide More in Waco
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About the local figures on this page
Local rules move. Every tax rate, fee, ordinance and market figure here comes from a primary source and carries the date we read it, and we correct them as the rules change. Where a number is mid-change or we could not verify it, we say so rather than guess. Before you commit a budget, confirm anything that drives it with the city or county, and talk to your attorney or CPA on questions of law or tax.
Published by USA Mortgage Funding, LLC, NMLS #152588. Researched from primary sources by our team, drafted with AI assistance, and every figure checked against its source before publishing. Where an answer rests on a public record, that record is linked under it. Figures read on 2026-08-13.
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