SBA Disaster Loans Available in New Hampshire for Businesses and Individuals

ATLANTA, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration's Regional Administrator for New England, Jeanne Hulit, is encouraging survivors affected by Tropical Storm Irene in the State of New Hampshire to register for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and return completed SBA disaster loan applications to get the help they need.

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The SBA's low-interest disaster loan program is the primary source of federal funds for long-term recovery for uninsured damages caused by a declared disaster. "We are coordinating recovery efforts with our SBA Resource Partners along with federal, state and local stakeholders in the declared disaster area to ensure affected survivors receive proper assistance from the SBA.  Taking time to complete and return the loan application package to the SBA is an important part of the recovery process," Hulit said.

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 up to $40,000 to repair or replace disaster damaged or destroyed personal property.  Businesses and private non-profit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million for physical losses and working capital needs.  Interest rates are as low as 2.5 percent for homeowners and renters, 3 percent for non-profit organizations and 4 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years.  

Greta Johansson, SBA's district director for New Hampshire added, "Our SBA District Office and statewide resource partners, including six SCORE Chapters, the full network of New Hampshire Small Business Development Center offices and the Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Women's Business Center are ready to help local businesses determine if access to federal resources will help them recover from the disaster.  They are also available to assist businesses in completing their disaster loan applications at no cost.  In addition, the NH Division of Economic Development (NH DRED) is available to assist affected employers regarding workforce issues and production delays."

Business owners interested in accessing these resources may call the SBA's New Hampshire District Office at 603-225-1400 to be directed to local business counseling resources throughout the state or NH DRED directly at 603-271-2591 for employers with workforce related concerns. 

According to NH SBDC State Director, Mary Collins, "SBDC's certified business advisors are trained and available to assist New Hampshire companies in completing their disaster loan applications at no cost.  New Hampshire's SBDC business advisors gained firsthand experience in recent years dealing with the state's floods, wind and ice storms and have the knowledge and expertise to assist businesses navigate this application process or simply to offer advice."  SBDC's business advisors are located throughout the state; call 603-862-2200 or visit www.nhsbdc.org for the nearest SBDC location.  

The disaster declaration covers the counties of Carroll and Grafton in New Hampshire, which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA.  Small businesses and most private non-profit organizations in the following neighboring counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Belknap, Coos, Merrimack, Strafford and Sullivan in New Hampshire; Oxford and York in Maine; and Caledonia, Essex, Orange and Windsor in Vermont.

To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 800-621-FEMA (3362), (TTY) 800-462-7585 for the deaf and
hard-of-hearing. Additional information on the loan application process and the locations of Disaster Recovery Centers can be obtained by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at
800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to [email protected].  

Those affected by the disaster may also apply for disaster loans electronically from SBA's website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is November 7, 2011.
The deadline to return economic injury applications is June 7, 2012.

For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at www.sba.gov.

Release Number: 11-714, NH 12811/12812

Contact:  Michael Lampton
Phone:  404-331-0333

SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

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