Nadeene Sena and her family gather their belongings and load up to leave their Orcutt home after a sinkhole opened following a major January storm that left dozens of homes damaged or destroyed. Santa Barbara County residents and business owners who suffered damages can apply for loans through an SBAÂ Disaster Loan Outreach Center opening in Orcutt.
A Mini Cooper sits abandoned on the 4500 block of Buena Vista Road in Guadalupe during a major storm that flooded parts of the city in early January. Santa Barbara County residents and business owners who suffered damages from the storm can apply for loans through the SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center opening in Orcutt.
Nadeene Sena and her family gather their belongings and load up to leave their Orcutt home after a sinkhole opened following a major January storm that left dozens of homes damaged or destroyed. Santa Barbara County residents and business owners who suffered damages can apply for loans through an SBAÂ Disaster Loan Outreach Center opening in Orcutt.
A Mini Cooper sits abandoned on the 4500 block of Buena Vista Road in Guadalupe during a major storm that flooded parts of the city in early January. Santa Barbara County residents and business owners who suffered damages from the storm can apply for loans through the SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center opening in Orcutt.
An SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center is scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Orcutt Union School District offices, and additional centers are planned to open later in other areas of Santa Barbara County.
The center, established by the U.S. Small Business Administration, will assist businesses and residents affected by the January storms, and individual assistance representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency also will be available.
SBA is encouraging businesses of all sizes, nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters to visit the Disaster Loan Outreach Center for one-on-one assistance, said Jackie Ruiz, county public information officer.
Customer service representatives can answer questions about the disaster loan program and assist with completing disaster loan applications, Ruiz said.
SBA provides low-interest, long-term loans for physical and economic damage caused by a declared disaster, and community members may be eligible for a variety of home and personal property, business and economic injury loans.
Home and personal property loans
Homeowners can apply for up to $200,000 to replace or repair their primary residences, and loans may also be available for improvements to help prevent future property damage by a similar disaster.
Renters and homeowners may also borrow up to $40,000 to replace or repair personal property damaged or destroyed by the storms.
Business physical disaster loans
Businesses of any size and most private nonprofit organizations may apply for SBA physical disaster loans of up to $2 million for the repair or replacement of real property, machinery, equipment, fixtures, inventory and leasehold improvements.
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Small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most nonprofit organizations that have suffered economic injury, regardless of physical damage as result of the January storms, may qualify for an economic injury disaster loan.
SBA can provide up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the disaster not occurred.
The loan amount is based on actual economic injury and the company’s financial needs.
To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, residents and business owners must register with FEMA at www.disasterassistance.gov.
The SBA deadline to apply for property damage loans is March 16. The deadline to apply for economic injury assistance is Oct. 16.
Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center toll-free at 800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance.
People who are deaf or hard of hearing or have a speech disability can dial 711 to access telecommunication relay services.
Lee Central Coast Newspapers associate editor Mike Hodgson covers Santa Barbara County government and events and issues in Santa Ynez Valley. Follow him on Twitter @MHodgsonSYVNews.
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