Charleston, W.Va. — Disaster recovery officials have a key message for homeowners, renters and business owners in the four West Virginia counties approved for Individual Assistance as a result of the severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides of July 28-29: Complete your U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan application.
Discarding it could be like throwing away money.
After survivors register with the FEMA, they may receive an application for a low-interest disaster loan from the SBA. The number one mistake people make is assuming these loans are only for businesses or simply choosing to ignore the application because they do not want to take out a loan.
Applicants should know:
- Filling out the SBA loan application is a necessary step for homeowners and renters to be considered for various forms of disaster assistance.
- If the SBA is unable to approve a loan, the applicant may be referred back to FEMA for some other types of disaster aid, such as assistance to repair or replace destroyed personal items, like furniture and vehicles.
- Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair/replace primary residences if not fully compensated by insurance or some other source.
- Homeowners and renters may borrow up to $40,000 to repair/replace personal property.
- Businesses may borrow up to $2 million for any combination of property damage or economic injury.
- Some small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations may also utilize Economic Injury Loans to meet financial obligations after the severe storms and flooding; but in order to do so, they must be located within the declared disaster area or next door to those areas.
- The term of a low-interest disaster loan can be up to 30 years.
Storm survivors who have questions about the application should call the SBA Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or email DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Individuals who are deaf or are hard of hearing can call TTY 1-800-877-8339. Survivors can also apply online using an electronic loan application. That website is https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
SBA specialists are also working at the three Disaster Recovery Centers operating in Marion, Marshall and Wetzel counties. They can answer questions regarding the disaster loan process, help residents fill out loan applications and accept the completed forms. To find a DRC location, click on http://asd.fema.gov/inter/locator/home.htm.
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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.
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 us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion3 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s Web site at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800) 877-8339.