SBA says there is help in filling out the applications.
Atlanta, Ga. (KM) Businesses in Carroll County, Maryland., and Adams County, Pennsylvania. which suffered losses due to flooding on August 31st and September 1st of 2018, can apply for low interest loans to cover their economic losses. The money comes from the US Small Business Administration.
Kathy Cook with the SBA says the deadline is coming up soon. “This particular deadlines is July 18th for small businesses, non-profit organization and small agricultural cooperatives to apply for working capital loans,” she says.
These loans cover economic losses, not physical losses. “What these economic injury disaster loans are to do is to kind of keep the business in business. To pay the expenses the business could pay had the disaster not occurred,” says Cook. Those include costs such as fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, insurance and other expenses.
Cook says anyone whose interested needs to apply now. She says help is available from local Small Business Development Centers in local communities, where the staff can provide assistance in filling out the applications and answer questions free of charge. “The individual businesses lost their financial statements, they can have help to restore them. If they’re a new business, they can help them work on using projections or using financial statements from the past business owner, if that was the case,” says Cook.
She suggests if you’re a business owner who feels you don’t quality, apply anyway. “And don’t second guess yourself,” she says. “We don’t want businesses to say ‘oh, my credit is not good enough.’ or ‘oh, I can’t afford another loan.’ You don’t know what the disaster loan process is until you try. There’s absolutely no cost to apply. The only cost is the time it takes to complete the application and submit it.”
The loan application can be completed and submitted on line at DisasterLoan.sba.gov. For those who want more information or to request an application be mailed to them can call 1-800-659-2955, or 1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired.
Working capital disaster loans of up to $2-million are available at 3.675% for businesses, and 2.5% for non-profit organizations for terms of up to 20-years. Applicants can also borrow up to $25,000 without collateral.
Other counties which are eligible for these loans are Baltimore, Cecil and Harford in Maryland, and Berks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York in Pennsylvania.
By Kevin McManus