Federal loans Roswell disaster victims can apply for
Published
Modified
A new set of resources is available for Roswell disaster victims.
President Joe Biden on Nov. 1 declared Chaves County a major disaster area because of the severe storm and floods that occurred Oct. 19-20. The federal declaration opened up eligibility for residents and business owners to apply for U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans.
Business owners can apply for two types of loans for uninsured disaster losses: physical damage and economic injury loans.
Businesses of any size can apply for loans to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventory, supplies, machinery and equipment, according to SBA. Private nonprofits are also eligible for the physical damage loans.
The physical damage loan application deadline is Dec. 31.
SBA also offers working capital loans to help businesses “meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster.” Private nonprofits and small agricultural cooperatives can also apply.
The economic injury loan application deadline is Aug. 1.
Each loan has a $2 million cap. There’s an overall statutory limit of $2 million for business loans, which applies to the combination of physical and economic injury loans, according to SBA. If a business is a major employer, SBA can lift the $2 million limit.
Business owners can get loans from SBA with interest rates as low as 4%. If a business can get credit elsewhere, the interest rate is 8% with SBA.
Loans are available for terms of up to 30 years.
Repayment begins a year after the first disbursement, which is also when interest starts to accrue.
There are also loans of up to $500,000 for homeowners with destroyed real estate, and loans of up to $100,000 for homeowners and renters with damaged or destroyed personal property.
