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Certified Development Company · SBA 504

Community Certified Development Corporation

Houston, TX · 277 504 loans since 2010, 60 in the last five years · active in 2 states.

Loans, last 5 yrs
60
Typical project
$2.2M
total cost, estimated
Typical CDC loan
$876k
the SBA second
Typical term
25 yr
Default rate
5.4%
all 504 5.0%

What stands out about Community Certified Development Corporation

vs every other CDC

Strictly regional — it lends almost entirely in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama. It does bigger projects than most — a median $1.7M against about $1.1M for the typical CDC. It over-weights hotels (except casino hotels) and motels — 10% of its loans, about 2.0× the CDC norm. On losses it is typical — a 5.4% default rate, close to the 5.0% all-504 average.

What they finance

last 5 years
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels
8%
Machine Shops
7%
Elementary and Secondary Schools
5%
Child Care Services
5%
Caterers
5%
Everything else
70%

Project sizes

bank first + CDC second
Under $500k
3%
$500k – $1M
15%
$1M – $2.5M
38%
$2.5M – $5M
27%
Over $5M
17%

A 504 project is roughly half bank first mortgage, 45% CDC second and the rest your own money. This is the financed portion, not the whole project.

Banks they work with

first mortgage partners
Bank Deals together
Zions Bank, A Division of9
Texas First Bank6
Home Bank, National Association4
The Brenham National Bank3
Bank Five Nine3
b1BANK3

A 504 needs two lenders. The CDC arranges the SBA portion, a bank writes the first mortgage. If a CDC has done dozens of deals with a particular bank, that pairing works — which is worth knowing before you go hunting for a first mortgage on your own.

Their loans, year by year

cumulative % of CDC dollars charged off
ApprovedYr 1Yr 2Yr 3Yr 4Yr 5Yr 6Yr 7Yr 8Yr 9Yr 10
20100.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0
20110.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0
20120.00.00.01.71.71.71.71.71.71.7
20130.00.01.11.11.11.11.11.11.11.1
20140.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0
20150.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0
20170.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0··
20190.00.00.00.00.00.0····
20210.00.00.00.0······
20220.00.00.0·······
20230.00.0········
0%
12%+▨ too recent to know

504 loans default a little less often than 7(a) overall — 5.0% of loans against 5.7%. But that edge is mostly a mix effect: 7(a) writes far more of the small loans that fail most, and counted at the same loan size 504 is not clearly safer. Numbers this small move sharply on a handful of loans, so read a single cell with care.

Source SBA 504 FOIAReleased 2026-06-30 Loans judged 172 States TX (44), LA (16)

Is 504 right for you?

504 is for owner-occupied real estate and heavy equipment, and it fixes most of your rate for 25 years. The trade is two lenders, two closings and more paperwork than a 7(a).

Compare the two on your numbers → How the program works →

Other CDCs to consider

Most CDCs lend across several states, so the nearest one is rarely your only option — and rates and service vary.