The U.S. Small Business Administration reminds homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations of the deadline to submit disaster loan applications for damages caused by the apartment building fire in the town of West Springfield that occurred on April 30. The deadline to file an SBA disaster loan application for physical damage is July 18, 2011.
Anyone with insured losses should not wait for an insurance settlement before applying to the SBA. “If someone does 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 they agree to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay their SBA loan,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA Field Operations Center East.
Low-interest disaster loans are available in Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester counties in Massachusetts; and the neighboring counties of Hartford, Litchfield and Tolland in Connecticut.
Interest rates are as low as 2.688 percent for homeowners and renters, 3 percent for non-profit organizations and 4 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. The SBA sets the loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.
For additional assistance, call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955
(800-877-8339 for people with speech or hearing disabilities) Monday through Friday from
8 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET or send an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan application forms can be downloaded from the SBA website at 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.
Those affected by the disaster may apply for disaster loans from SBA’s website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical damage is July 18, 2011. The deadline to return economic injury applications is February 20, 2012.
For more information about the SBA’s Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at www.sba.gov.