SBA Opens
Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Warren
Center Located at County Library Branch
Offers Rural Disaster Assistance to New Jersey Businesses and
Residents Affected by the Severe Storms and Flooding
Post Date:08/22/2023
3:23 PM
Low-interest federal disaster loans are available
to businesses and residents in Warren County, New Jersey,
affected by the severe storms and flooding that occurred July
14-15, 2023, announced Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman
of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Beginning Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, SBA customer
service representatives will be on hand at a Disaster Loan
Outreach Center located in the Warren County Library’s Richard
D. Gardner Branch to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan
program, explain the application process and help each
individual complete the application.
Located at 2 Shotwell Drive, Belvidere (off Route
519 in White Township), the center will open at 11 a.m. on
Wednesday, Aug. 23. Subsequent hours will be Monday through
Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The
center will be closed on Sunday, and will close permanently on
Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 4 p.m.
No appointment is necessary. The SBA outreach
center will be located in the second floor meeting room of the
Gardner Branch and is fully accessible using the building’s
elevator. Warren County is offering the location and assisting
with setting up the center, which will be operated by federal
officials.
Further information about reporting damage and obtaining
aid is available on a webpage established on
Warren County’s Public Safety website.
According to the SBA, businesses of all sizes and
private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to
repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery
and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.
For small businesses, small agricultural
cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most
private nonprofit organizations of any size, SBA offers
Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital
needs caused by the disaster. Economic injury assistance is
available regardless of whether the business suffered any
property damage.
Disaster loans up to $500,000 are available to
homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real
estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $100,000
to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property,
including personal vehicles.
SBA can also lend additional funds to businesses
and homeowners to help with the cost of improvements to
protect, prevent or minimize future disaster damage.
Interest rates can be as low as 4% for businesses,
2.375% for private nonprofit organizations and 2.5.% for
homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts
and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s
financial condition.
SBA disaster loan borrowers have up to one year
from the date of the note to begin making payments. In
addition, interest does not begin to accrue until 12 months
from the date of the initial loan disbursement and accrues only
on the amount disbursed.
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic
Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/
and should apply under SBA declaration # 18086.
Disaster loan information and application forms
can be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at
800-659-2955 (if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access
telecommunications relay services) or sending an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.
Loan applications can also be downloaded from sba.gov/disaster.
Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business
Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport
Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
While the SBA Loan Outreach Center is open until
September 6 at the Library so that individuals who need
assistance applying can sit down with an SBA representative and
apply, residents do not need to go to the center to apply and
can use the link to SBA’s secure website instead. The deadline
to apply for property damage is Oct. 17, 2023. The deadline to
apply for economic injury is May 20, 2024.
SBA acted under the Disaster Assistance for Rural
Communities Act to declare a disaster in response to a request
received from Gov. Philip D. Murphy.
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