Businesses, private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters in Bucks County can apply for a physical disaster loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration through Nov. 9. Anyone in the declared counties in Pennsylvania with damages caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida from Aug. 31-Sept. 5 can apply.
Bucks residents are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA.
Businesses and private nonprofit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets.
Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA, for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements may include a sump pump, elevation, French drain or retaining wall to help protect property and occupants from future damage caused by a similar disaster.
For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA offers 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.
Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed personal property.
Interest rates are as low as 2.855 percent for businesses, 2 percent for nonprofit organizations and 1.563 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.
Applicants may apply using the Electronic Loan Application via SBA’s secure website at disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/ and should apply under SBA declaration #17165, not for the COVID-19 incident. Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or by sending an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications can be downloaded from sba.gov/disaster.
Completed applications should be 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 Nov. 9. The deadline to return economic injury applications is June 10, 2022.
