WASHINGTON - (Business Wire) North Carolina residents and businesses affected by severe storms and tornadoes that occurred on November 14 - 15, 2008 can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Acting Administrator Sandy K. Baruah announced today.
Acting Administrator Baruah made the loans available in response to a letter from Gov. Michael F. Easley on November 18 requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers Johnston County and the adjacent counties of Franklin, Harnett, Nash, Sampson, Wake, Wayne and Wilson in North Carolina.
“The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people of North Carolina with the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes with federal disaster loans,” said Acting Administrator Baruah. “Getting our businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA.”
“Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property,” said Frank Skaggs, Director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center in Atlanta. SBA’s customer service representatives will be on hand at the Disaster Loan Outreach Centers to issue loan applications, answer questions about the SBA’s disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their applications.
The Centers will be located in the following communities and will open as indicated:
| Johnston County | | Wilson County |
| Kenly Fire Dept. | | Wilson County Rescue |
| 101 West 1st Street | | 1902 S. Tarboro Street |
| Kenly, NC 27542 | | Wilson, NC 27893 |
| | | | |
| Opens: | | Friday, Nov. 21, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. |
| | Saturday, Nov. 22, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (one Saturday only) |
| | Sunday, Nov. 23, Noon to 7 p.m. (one Sunday only) |
| | Monday-Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. until further notice |
Lee Cornelison, SBA’s North Carolina District Director added that “Low-interest Federal disaster loans are available to homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations of all sizes whose property was damaged or destroyed by the severe storms and tornadoes.”
Businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. The SBA also provides mitigation funds to disaster victims based on 20 percent of the verified physical damage. These funds are designed to help borrowers pay for protective measures to minimize damages of the same kind in the future.
For small businesses, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.
Interest rates are as low as 2.687 percent for homeowners and renters, and 4 percent for businesses, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based upon each applicant’s financial condition.
Individuals and businesses unable to visit the Center in person may obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, or by emailing our customer service center at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA website at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be returned to the Center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX. 76155.
Victims may now apply for disaster loans from SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is January 21, 2009. The deadline to return economic injury applications is August 21, 2009.
For more information about the SBA’s Disaster Loan Programs, visit our website at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.
Release Number: 09-103, NC 11543/11544
U.S. Small Business Administration
Michael Lampton, 404-331-0333
