Delaware businesses and residents affected by remnants of Hurricane Ida in early September of last year may apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced.
Guzman made the loans available in response to a letter from Delaware Gov. John Carney on Jan. 19, requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA. Businesses and residents in the declared area can now apply for low-interest disaster loans from the SBA.
The declaration includes New Castle County and the adjacent counties of Kent in Delaware; Cecil and Kent in Maryland; Gloucester and Salem in New Jersey; and Chester and Delaware in Pennsylvania. Much of the damage in Delaware came in portions of Wilmington when Brandywine Creek flooded.
Due to health precautions from Covid-19, the SBA will not establish a field presence. However, the SBA will continue to provide customer service and conduct outreach virtually with webinars, phone assistance, and application assistance.
The SBA has opened a Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center to help survivors apply online using the Electronic Loan Application via the SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoan@sba.gov. Virtual customer support representatives are available to help applicants complete the online application from Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Sunday. Phone, (800) 659-2955
“Businesses and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets,” said SBA’s Delaware District Director John Fleming.
For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.
“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 Kem Fleming, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.
Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements may include a safe room or storm shelter, sump pump, French drain, or retaining wall to help protect property and occupants from future damage caused by a similar disaster.
Interest rates are as low as 2.855 percent for businesses, two percent for nonprofit organizations, and 1.563 percent for homeowners and renters, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is March 25, 2022. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Oct. 24, 2022.
