The U.S. Small Business Administration will offer low-interest loans to residents and businesses affected by December’s storms, with the Oktibbeha County Safe Room operating as a public information center.
The program was announced Wednesday in press releases from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency, with applications open until March 28 for loans to recover from physical damage and Oct. 27 for purely economic damage.
“These low-interest loans will help support Oktibbeha and Wayne County homeowners and businesses recover from damage sustained from the severe storms and tornadoes that Mississippi experienced in late December,” Gov. Tate Reeves said in the release. “The state of Mississippi will continue to use every available resource to help those impacted rebuild and recover.”
The loans are a response to the severe storms on Dec. 28 and 29, which resulted in 27 tornadoes and two deaths, according to MEMA.
While Oktibbeha and Wayne counties are the epicenters of the program, loans will also be available to those in Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Greene, Jasper, Jones, Lowndes, Noxubee, Perry, Webster and Winston counties, as well as the Alabama counties of Choctaw and Washington.
The loans have a wide range of applications according to SBA, covering not just businesses but residents and nonprofits who were affected by the storm. Homeowners can apply for up to $500,000 to repair or replace a primary residence, and renters or homeowners can borrow up to $100,000 to replace personal property.
Loans for physical damage to businesses, economic injury and general business loans have a cap of $2,000,000.
SBA also sometimes helps refinance mortgages on damaged or destroyed property, or helps victims relocate.
While the loans don’t apply to things fully covered by other insurance or new additions to property, up to 20% more may be available to make improvements that would prevent future damage. Applicants must have a credit history acceptable to SBA and the ability to repay the loans.
“These loans help homeowners, as well as small businesses and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes, meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster,” MEMA’s statement said. “These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.”
SBA loans defer the first payment for 12 months and do not accrue interest during that period. For those SBA determines can’t get credit elsewhere the interest rate doesn’t go above 4%.
For those that can, interest rates go as high as 8%, with businesses paying more than residents and nonprofits. Economic injury loans aren’t available to those who can get credit elsewhere.
The Oktibbeha County Community Safe Room will open today from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. as a Disaster Loan Outreach Center. Those looking for more information can head there Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. until it closes at 4 p.m. Feb. 13.
“We’lll have our customer service representatives there,” Jannel Finley, a public affairs specialist for SBA, told The Dispatch Wednesday. “They’ll be there to help any homeowners, renters or businesses that need assistance with the loan or information. If they want to apply, they can apply there.”
Loan applications can be found online at lending.sba.gov/search-disaster/. More information and assistance can be found by calling (800) 659-2955.
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