Deadline for Disaster Assistance for private citizens, businesses & nonprofits

The U.S. Small Business Administration reminds homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations located in Vermont that Sept. 6, 2011 is the deadline to submit their disaster loan applications for physical damage caused by the severe storms and flooding that occurred on May 26-27.

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 the following Vermont counties: Caledonia and Washington which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA. 

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. to 6 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. 

To speak to an SBA representative face to face, visit one of the Centers indicated below.

                                                            

FEMA/SBA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs)		SBA Business Recovery Center (BRC)
Caledonia County	Washington County	Washington County
St. Johnsbury Welcome Center	Barre City Auditorium	Barre City Hall - Barre Area Development
51 Deport Square	16 Auditorium Hill	6 North Main Street
St. Johnsbury VT 05819	Barre VT 05641	Barre VT 05641
Open Mon-Sat; 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Sun; Noon to 6:00 PM	Open Mon-Sat; 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM	Open:  Mon-Fri; 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM

 Those affected by the disaster may also apply for disaster loans electronically from SBA’s website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.  The filing deadline to return applications for physical damage is September 6, 2011.  The deadline to return economic injury applications is April 9, 2012.