Due to this historic winter storm, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has established disaster assistance resources to help you and your business in recovery. If your business was impacted by the recent severe winter storms and is located in one of the 77 counties to be declared a disaster area, you may be eligible for a low-interest federal disaster loan through the SBA.
What Types of Disaster Loans are Available?
- Business Physical Disaster – Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc., are also eligible.
- Economic Injury – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, 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. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.
- Home Disaster – Loans to homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles.
What are the Loan Amount Limits?
- Business Loans – The law limits business loans to $2,000,000 for the repair or replacement of real estate, inventories, machinery, equipment, and all other physical losses. Subject to this maximum, loan amounts cannot exceed the verified uninsured disaster loss.
- Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) – The law limits EIDLs to $2,000,000 for alleviating economic injury caused by the disaster. The actual amount of each loan is limited to the economic injury determined by SBA, less business interruption insurance and other recoveries up to the administrative lending limit. EIDL assistance is available only to entities and their owners who cannot provide for their own recovery from non-government sources, as determined by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
- Business Loan Ceiling – The $2,000,000 statutory limit for business loans applies to the combination of physical, economic injury, mitigation and refinancing, and applies to all disaster loans to a business and its affiliates for each disaster. If a business is a major source of employment, SBA has the authority to waive the $2,000,000 statutory limit.
- Home Loans – SBA regulations limit home loans to $200,000 for the repair or replacement of real estate and $40,000 to repair or replace personal property. Subject to these maximums, loan amounts cannot exceed the verified uninsured disaster loss.
What Restrictions are there on Loan Eligibility?
- Uninsured Losses – Only uninsured or otherwise uncompensated disaster losses are eligible. Any insurance proceeds which are required to be applied against outstanding mortgages are not available to fund disaster repairs and do not reduce loan eligibility. However, any insurance proceeds voluntarily applied to any outstanding mortgages do reduce loan eligibility.
- Ineligible Property – Secondary homes, personal pleasure boats, airplanes, recreational vehicles and similar property are not eligible, unless used for business purposes. Property such as antiques and collections are eligible only to the extent of their functional value. Amounts for landscaping, swimming pools, etc., are limited.
- Noncompliance – Applicants who have not complied with the terms of previous SBA loans may not be eligible. This includes borrowers who did not maintain flood and/or hazard insurance on previous SBA loans.
The SBA has published a fact sheet with more information on loan eligibility, specifics regarding interest rates and other loan details. To apply for a disaster assistance loan through the SBA, visit the SBA’s Disaster Loan Assistance website.
To get updates on any new information regarding these resources and other COVID-19 recovery resources through the SBA, please visit the SBA’s website.
Next Steps
If your business was negatively affected by the winter storms, and you are eligible, we encourage you to start the application process and get back on the road to recovery.
If you have any other questions about the different types of loans, or your eligibility to receive disaster assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!