SBA Disaster Assistance

If you haven't read my previous post regarding making claims in general, I encourage you to do so before you read this one.

Whether President Obama signs a Disaster Declaration for Taos County is unknown at the time of this post.  It may take several more days before anything actually happens, but I'm going to post this information with hopeful optimism that Washington doesn't let us down.

There are some types of immediate assistance grants available to homeowners through FEMA.  Some of the specific items covered include water delivery systems for example.  You can file directly through FEMA for this assistance and they promise a 10-day turn-around time in most cases.

More comprehensive assistance is administered through the Small Business Administration.  These are all Disaster Loans -- not grants.  Navigating their website can be a little daunting, but here are key links:

Types of Disaster Loans are described as:

• Home and Personal Property Loans

  SBA states:  Renters and homeowners alike may borrow up to $40,000 to repair or replace clothing, furniture, cars, appliances, etc. damaged or destroyed in the disaster. Homeowners may apply for up to $200,000 to repair or replace their primary residence to its pre-disaster condition.  A Factsheet for Homeowners is available online and applications can be filed electronically or over the phone.

• Business Physical Disaster Loans 
  

  Physical Disaster Loan proceeds may be used for the repair or replacement of the following: Real property, Machinery, Equipment, Fixtures, Inventory, Leasehold improvements

In addition, disaster loans to repair or replace real property or leasehold improvements may be increased by as much as 20 percent of the total amount of disaster damage to real estate and/or leasehold improvements as verified by SBA to protect the damaged real property against possible future disasters of the same type.
SBA loans cover uninsured and under-insured physical damage. If you are required to apply insurance proceeds to an outstanding mortgage on the damaged property, you can include that amount in your disaster loan application.

• Economic Injury Disaster Loans

  If your business is located in a declared disaster area and has suffered economic injury because of the disaster (regardless of physical damage), you may be eligible for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). Substantial economic injury is the inability of a business to meet its obligations as they mature and to pay its ordinary and necessary operating expenses. EIDLs provide the necessary working capital to help small businesses survive until normal operations resume after a disaster.

  The Factsheet for Businesses should be helpful.
  

Please note that if you have insurance that may cover part of your loss, the SBA Factsheet states that you should not wait for your insurance claim to be processed before you file for an assistance loan with them:

Should I wait for my insurance settlement before I file my loan application?
No. Don’t miss the filing deadline by waiting for an insurance settlement. Final insurance information can be added when a settlement is made. The SBA can approve a loan for the total replacement cost, but any insurance proceeds that duplicate SBA’s loan must be applied to your SBA loan.

I hope this gets you started if you're thinking about the SBA process.  They state in several places that their loan applications are processed within 18 days, but that the most common reason for delay is that some piece of information was not provided or verified to them.

This is a kind of "heads up" to those who have never dealt with the U.S. Government.  They want each "i" dotted and every "t" crossed before they approve your loan and they'll want hard copies of just about everything they ask for, but don't be discouraged.  This low-interest loan program is a reason why we pay Federal Income taxes each year.