A U.S. Small Business Administration loan can be smart business

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – If you are a disaster survivor in West Virginia you may not know you can get help from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that could lead to a smarter, faster recovery for businesses, homeowners, renters or private nonprofits.

The first step is to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Once you have done that, both FEMA and SBA encourage you to apply for a low-interest disaster SBA loan to help fund your recovery and to ensure the federal disaster recovery process continues. 

An SBA low-interest disaster loan is a primary source of funds for real estate property repairs and for replacing contents destroyed in the severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that occurred June 22-29.

Physical Damage Disaster Loans

Businesses and private nonprofit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets.

If your SBA loan application is approved, you may be eligible to borrow additional funds to cover the cost of improvements that will protect your property against future damage. Examples

include elevating utilities, water heaters and furnaces, and installing retaining walls and sump pumps. Applicants may be eligible for an SBA loan increase, for mitigation purposes, of up to 20 percent of their physical damage.

Interest rates are as low as 4 percent for businesses and 2.625 percent for nonprofit organizations, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans

SBA also offers a working capital loan to relieve the economic injury caused by the disaster. A disaster loan is available to eligible businesses as well as private nonprofits even if the property was not damaged by the June storms.

These loans are for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and certain private nonprofit organizations of all sizes to cover unpaid bills and lost business due to the disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available in amounts up to $2 million. The total of both physical damage and economic injury loans cannot exceed $2 million.

Eligible counties for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans

The disaster declaration covers the counties of Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Roane, Summers and Webster in West Virginia, which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA. 

Eligible counties for Economic Injury Disaster Loans only

Small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Lewis, Mercer, Logan, Mason, Mingo, Pendleton, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Upshur, Wayne, Wirt and Wood in West Virginia; Alleghany, Bath, Craig and Giles and Highland in Virginia; and Meigs in Ohio. 

Deferred Disaster Loan payments

The first payment for a disaster loan is due five months from the date of the SBA note.

Deadlines

The deadline to apply for an SBA Physical Damage loan is Aug. 24, 2016.

The deadline to apply for an SBA Economic Injury Disaster loan is March 27, 2017.

  • You can submit your SBA disaster loan application in one of three ways:  online at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/; in person at a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC); or by mail. SBA has staff at all DRCs to provide one-on-one assistance to businesses of all sizes, homeowners and renters in submitting their application.

Do not wait for an insurance settlement before submitting an SBA loan application. You can begin your recovery immediately with a low-interest SBA disaster loan. The loan balance will be reduced by the insurance settlement if you receive one. SBA loans may be available for losses not covered by insurance or other sources.

Remember, you don’t have to accept the loan if you qualify for one.

SBA Disaster Business Recovery Centers (BRCs) help businesses get back on their feet from damage they sustained during the storms. The BRCs are a resource where businesses can meet face-to-face with SBA representatives to learn how a low-interest disaster loan can help them recover. The BRCs are located in Greenbrier, Kanawha and Nicholas counties. To locate a DRC or an SBA BRC, call the SBA Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955.

If you have not registered with FEMA:

  • You can apply by calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 or (TTY)  800-462-7585. If you use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services, you should call 800-621-3362. Operators are multilingual and calls are answered from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time seven days a week; or

  • You can go online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov; or

  • You can visit a DRC.

Additional information on West Virginia’s disaster recovery can be found by calling the FEMA Helpline 800-621-3362 or visiting: www.DisasterAssistance.gov; the flood pages at www.WVflood.com; fema.gov/disaster/4273; twitter.com/femaregion3; and fema.gov/blog.

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A U.S. Small Business Administration loan can be smart business

Three Weeks Left to Register for Disaster Assistance

NEW YORK – The Jan. 28 deadline is approaching for Hurricane Sandy survivors in 13 designated New York counties to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster assistance.

FEMA

Federal disaster assistance for individuals and families can include money for rental assistance, essential home repairs, personal property losses and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.

Nearly 261,000 New Yorkers have contacted FEMA for help or information and more than $827 million in total individual assistance grants has been approved.

The deadline affects Sandy survivors living in counties designated for individual assistance: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.

Ways to register with FEMA:

  • Register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
  • Via smartphone or tablet at m.fema.gov.
  • Call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585.
  • For 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) call 800-621-3362.
  • The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day seven days a week until further notice.

The U.S. Small Business Administration

Survivors who have registered with FEMA and received a loan application from the SBA are urged to complete and return it. The information could lead to other FEMA help. No one is required to accept a loan.

SBA has approved more than $420 million in loans for homes and businesses.

The deadline to return the SBA application is Jan. 28, the same as the deadline for registering with FEMA.

SBA assistance includes:

  • Home Disaster Loans – Loans to homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate or personal property. Renters are eligible for personal property losses, including automobiles.
  • Business Disaster Loans – Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size may apply. Certain private, non-profit organizations may also be eligible.
  • Economic Injury Disaster Loans – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, nonprofit organizations meet their ordinary financial obligations that cannot be met because of the disaster. The deadline for economic injury loan applications is July 31. 

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/SandyNY, http://twitter.com/FEMASandy, www.facebook.com/FEMASandy and www.fema.gov/blog.

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Three Weeks Left to Register for Disaster Assistance

Over $42 Million In Disaster Loans Approved In New Jersey, SBA Urges Submission Of Applications Before December 31 Deadline

TRENTON, N.J. — The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved over $42.3 million in disaster assistance loans for 653 New Jersey residents and businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy. The deadline to apply for physical damage is December 31, 2012. Those affected by the disaster are encouraged to apply now and may apply for disaster loans electronically from SBA’s website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

Applicants do not have to wait for insurance to be settled before applying. No one is obligated to take a loan if it is offered, but if you don’t accept a loan, you may not be eligible for FEMA’s Other Needs Assistance. However, it is important for businesses and residents to maximize their recovery resources and take time to submit their SBA disaster applications before the December 31 deadline. 

SBA offers the following types of low-interest, long-term loans to cover uninsured losses:

Home Disaster Loans: to homeowners to repair disaster-damaged real estate and replace damaged contents. Renters are also eligible for their contents loss.

Business Physical Disaster Loans: to businesses to repair disaster-damaged property and repair/replace damaged business contents including inventory, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, etc., are also eligible.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs): to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster.

Interest rates are as low as 1.688 percent for homeowners and renters, 3 percent for non-profit organizations and 4 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. 

The filing deadline to return applications for physical damage is December 31, 2012. The deadline to return economic injury applications is July 31, 2013.

SBA customer service representatives are available at all Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) throughout the state and at the ten Business Recovery Centers (BRCs) in Atlantic City, Hackensack, Cape May, Newark, Jersey City, Piscataway, Lincroft, Manahawkin, Paterson and Plainfield.

SBA’s partners including counselors with the New Jersey Small Business Development Center (NJSBDC), SCORE, SBA Women’s Business Center and SBA’s Veteran’s Business Outreach Center are available to help business owners prepare needed financial information at no charge.

Details on the locations of Centers and the loan application process can be obtained by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, TTY 800-877-8339 or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.  

Loan applications can be downloaded from www.sba.gov.  Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Businesses of any size can learn about disaster business loans available from the Small Business Administration in this two minute video: SBA Disaster Business Loans.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. 

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

For more information about the SBA’s Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at www.sba.gov. 

 

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Over $42 Million In Disaster Loans Approved In New Jersey, SBA Urges Submission Of Applications Before December 31 Deadline