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Bank Statement Loans for Restaurant and Retail Owners in Charleston, SC
King Street shops, Upper Peninsula restaurants and island eateries all ride a visitor and resident mix.
Charleston restaurant and retail owners show processor deposits, reservation-platform and delivery payouts and event income. Programs that use statements review 12 or 24 months of them.
Counting the work in Charleston
The Bureau of Labor Statistics tallies about 1,456 food services and drinking places establishments with employees in Charleston County, together employing about 29,097 people at an average annual pay of $31,231. Proprietors with no employees are not in that count, so the real number of solo restaurant and retail proprietors is greater. Against the national pattern, the employment location quotient is 1.33, a sign this line of work is a local specialty.
Census survey data count around 1,527 self-employed people in hospitality and the arts together with retail living in the city of Charleston. They make up 8.6 percent of the workers in that group and about 15.2 percent of all self-employed residents.
Charleston snapshot
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Employer establishments in food services and drinking places | 1,456 |
| Jobs at those establishments | 29,097 |
| Average annual pay | $31,231 |
| Self-employed residents in the related group | 1,527 |
| Share of that group who are self-employed | 8.6 percent |
| Statewide share for the same group | 7.3 percent |
Visitors plus locals
Downtown restaurants and shops depend on tourists in spring and fall and on locals in the shoulder months. Restaurants on James Island, West Ashley and Mount Pleasant lean more on residents. Hotel and convention traffic adds weekday business, and festivals create short surges.
The housing market for this work
On the ground in the city of Charleston, the usual rent runs close to $1,722 a month; 19.4 percent of workers work from home; and approximately 3.3 percent of units are held for seasonal or occasional use. Averages like these do not replace an appraisal of the house you are buying.
Reading the deposits
Processor statements are the strongest proof of monthly sales. Delivery platforms pay out net of fees, and catering checks arrive separately. A loan analyst groups each source, applies the program's expense factor and divides by the months in the period.
Leases and licenses
Downtown leases can be expensive, and a mortgage lender will review whether rent and payroll leave a business that is steady. A city business license, a health permit and ownership records are standard. If your restaurant has a liquor license, bring it.
Expansion and second locations
Starting a second shop is common. A lender will review both locations if you own both, and may ask how the second one has performed since opening. If the second location is under a year old, the earlier history of the first carries the file.
Making the file easier
The median resident of Charleston is 37 years old, so first-time homebuyers and move-up buyers both turn up in local files. Daily card batches rarely link sales exactly, since processors hold back fees and settle on a delay. Do not worry about reconciling every day. What matters is that monthly totals look such as a real business: a stable range, seasonal bumps that make sense for your trade and no sudden jump close to the application date. If a month is unusual, a sentence of explanation helps.
How Charleston compares
Statewide, 7.3 percent of South Carolina workers in hospitality and the arts together with retail are self-employed, so the Charleston share of 8.6 percent is above that mark. Among the 18 South Carolina areas on this site with enough workers to measure, Charleston ranks 7th for self-employment in this group. At $31,231, pay here is modest, which tend to means tight margins and a real debate over the expense factor.
What to explain up front
Payroll, rent and inventory all flow through the same account. A loan analyst wants those debits and does not subtract them again after applying the expense factor. What does draw attention is an owner who pays personal expenses from the business account, since it blurs the line between business costs and personal spending. Moving personal costs to a personal account several months before applying keeps the picture straightforward.
Reading the deposits
With a median home value near $510,000 in Charleston, the details below can shape how much documentation a lender wants. Second locations and franchise units add ownership points. If each location is a separate entity, the underwriter needs statements and ownership records for each one you want counted, and may count only a portion for partners. Bring the operating agreements and a one page chart showing who owns what.
Employers in the work around Charleston
| Line of business | Establishments | Jobs | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and other eating places | 1,214 | 25,607 | $30,856 |
| Special food services | 146 | 2,378 | $33,904 |
| Drinking places | 96 | 1,112 | $34,157 |
We pulled the local figures from the Census Bureau and BLS public tables; limits and definitions are on the data sources page.
General information only. Programs vary, and a lender must verify your income and ability to repay. This is not a commitment to lend.
Related
- Bank statement loans in Charleston, SC
- Restaurant and Retail Owners: national guide
- What you need to prove
- Seasonal Business Owners in Charleston
- Real Estate Agents in Charleston
- Restaurant and Retail Owners in Greenville, SC
- Restaurant and Retail Owners in Myrtle Beach, SC
Talk to a loan officer about Charleston
Start online or call us. We will say what to gather before anything else.
Frequently asked questions
My second restaurant is new. Does it hurt?
It can prompt points. The first location's longer record helps.
Do gratuities count?
Gratuities that are reported and run through your accounts may be considered. A tax professional can help you document them.
Are there many restaurant and retail owners in the Charleston area?
Payroll data for Charleston County show about 1,456 establishments with employees in food services and drinking places, and Census estimates count approximately 1,527 self-employed residents of the city of Charleston in the related industry group. Owners with no employees show up only in the Census number.
Does a mortgage lender treat restaurant and retail owners in Charleston differently from anywhere else?
A statement review is not local, but the purchase is. Here the median home is worth around $510,000, 56 percent of households own, and the median home dates from 1995; the South Carolina median value is $259,000.