Repair storm damage at low interest

Ronica Shannon
Register News Writer

July 06, 2009 08:04 am

— Help is in town for residents of Madison and surrounding counties whose home, rental property or business was damaged during the May 8 tornado, and loans are available at a special low-interest rate.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be in Richmond until Thursday, July 16, and is the result of a disaster declaration request from Gov. Steve Beshear.
The declaration covers Madison, Clark, Estill, Fayette, Garrard, Jackson, Jessamine and Rockcastle counties.
SBA representatives are located at the Joint Information Center at 558 S. Keeneland Drive across from the Madison County Emergency Medical Service building. They are available for assistance Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.. The center will close July 16 at 6 p.m.
Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters can receive loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, according to Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center in Atlanta.
Some loans have an interest rate as low as 2.437 percent for homeowners and renters, and 4 percent for businesses, with terms up to 30 years, said Kathy Cook, communications specialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Those residents who wish to apply for a loan should not be intimidated by the filing process, Cook said.
“People think that because it’s government paperwork, it’s going to be difficult,” Cook said. “We can help them fill out the paperwork.”
Those approved for a loan have no obligation to enter into an agreement with the SBA, Cook said. In fact, they can take the SBA’s assessment and use it to help them determine their damage repair needs.
“If nothing else, it will give them the opportunity to learn what we feel is their damage,” she said. “My concern is that people will second guess what their needs are.”
Injury disaster loans also are available and can be used to businesses that were financially strained during the disaster.
“A business may or may not have physical damage, but because of the disaster, they may not be able to pay their bills had the disaster not occurred,” Cook said. “Let’s say the tornado came down a road and your restaurant was next to a building that was damaged. Customers might not want to go there because it looks devastated. That business can start losing revenue and start having difficulty paying their bills.”
Individuals and businesses unable to visit the Center in person may obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8229 for the hearing impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.
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, Texas, 76155.
Kentucky residents affected by the storms may apply for disaster loans from SBA’s secure Web site at www.disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Aug. 24. The deadline to return economic injury applications is March 24, 2010.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.