SBA offers disaster assistance to residents of Rhode Island affected by a condo fire in Kent County

PROVIDENCE, RI – Rhode Island businesses and residents affected by a condo fire on March 11, 2015, can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet announced today.

Administrator Contreras-Sweet made the loans available in response to a letter from  Gov. Gina M. Raimondo on March 31, requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers Kent County and the adjacent counties of Bristol, Providence and Washington in Rhode Island and, New London and Windham in Connecticut.

“The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people of Rhode Island with the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist businesses of all sizes, homeowners and renters with federal disaster loans,” said Administrator Contreras-Sweet. “Getting businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA.”

SBA’s customer service representatives are available at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center to answer questions about the disaster loan program and help individuals complete their applications.  The Center is located in the following community and is open as indicated:

Kent County
Warwick Public Library
600 Sandy Lane
Warwick, Rhode Island 02889

Opens:   Wednesday, April 8 at 9 a.m.

Hours:    Wednesday, April 8 and Thursday, April 9 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday, April 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Monday, April 13 through Thursday, April 16 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed:   Sunday, April 12

Closing:  Thursday, April 16 at 6 p.m.

“Businesses of any size and 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,” said SBA’s Rhode Island District Director Mark Hayward.

For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.  EIDL 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 Frank Skaggs, 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, to make improvements that help prevent the risk of future property damage caused by a similar disaster.

Interest rates are as low as 4 percent for businesses, 2.625 percent for nonprofit organizations, and 3.625 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years.  Loan amount and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Businesses and individuals may also obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and            hard-of-hearing), or by emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded at www.sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be returned to the center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is June 5, 2015.  The deadline to return economic injury applications is January 6, 2016.

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