Less Than Three Weeks to Apply for SBA Disaster Loans; SBA Disaster Centers Closed July 3rd and 4th in Observance of Holiday

All Centers will be closed Friday, July 3^rd and Saturday, July 4^th in recognition of Independence Day. The Centers will resume operation Monday, July 6 as indicated below.

"Assisting individuals and business owners to recover from a disaster is our primary mission," said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA Field Operations Center East. "We are encouraging anyone affected by this disaster to visit a center while we still have staff here and obtain individual assistance with completing their loan applications from our representatives."

The Centers are located in the following communities and are open as indicated:

The disaster declaration covers Calhoun, McDowell, Mingo, Raleigh and Wyoming counties which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA. Small businesses and most private, non-profit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Boone, Braxton, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mercer, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Wayne and Wirt in West Virginia; contiguous counties of Martin and Pike in Kentucky; and contiguous counties of Buchanan and Tazewell in Virginia.

The SBA offers loans up to $200,000 to repair disaster damaged primary residences. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to replace personal property such as furniture, appliances and clothing. Loans to businesses and non-profit organizations of all sizes are available up to $2 million to repair damage to real estate, machinery, inventory and equipment.

The Small Business Administration's EIDLs are available to small businesses, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage.

Interest rates are as low as 2.437 percent for homeowners and renters and 4.000 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition.

Additionally, disaster victims with insurance should not wait for an insurance settlement before applying to the SBA. If victims do not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, the SBA will consider making a loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay their SBA loan.

The SBA also offers 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, which may prevent damages of the same kind in the future.

Disaster victims may obtain an application 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. until 9 p.m. EDT, or by emailing the Customer Service Center at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Victims may apply for disaster loans from SBA's secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is July 14, 2009. The deadline to return economic injury applications is February 15, 2010.

For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Programs, visit our website at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

Release Number: 09-544, WV 11750/11751

U.S. Small Business Administration
Michael Lampton
404-331-0333