Published: July 14, 2008 11:45 pm         

Small business help: Business Recovery Center opens in Chamber of Commerce

TERRE HAUTE — The United States Small Business Administration opened a temporary Business Recovery Center on Monday in the Chamber of Commerce to provide disaster loan assistance to help businesses affected by the May 30 to June 27 storms, floods and tornadoes.

Despite the agency’s name, it provides for homeowners and renters, as well as business owners.

Recovery centers also were opened in Columbus and Martinsville. The three cities were chosen because they were “areas that showed the highest need” of assistance, said Michael Peacock, SBA public information officer.

The Terre Haute branch is at 630 Wabash Ave., Suite 105 in the Chamber of Commerce. The center will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The SBA will be stationed in the three cities for two weeks.

Applicants must register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be eligible for an SBA loan. The SBA has customer service representatives to present interest rates, explain eligibility and refer non-qualified applicants back to FEMA for possible grant assistance.

The deadline to return applications for property damage is Aug. 11, and the deadline for economic injury loan applications is March 11, 2009.

Up to $2 million may be borrowed for machinery and equipment, inventory and other assets for businesses of any size and for not-for-profit organizations. Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to replace damaged real estate and up to $40,000 for homeowners or renters to replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

In addition, the SBA can provide small businesses and private, not-for-profit organizations with economic injury disaster loans to help with operating costs and other ongoing needs. The SBA also offers mitigation loans, which are used to make improvements that would prevent the same type of disaster damage in the future.

The total loan maximum is $2 million, which could be a combination of property damage and economic injury loans. Interest rates on the loans can be as low as 4 percent for businesses with repayment terms up to 30 years.

Credit requirements to receive a loan include sufficient credit history, ability to repay the loan and any possible collateral to provide to SBA. The company does not decline a loan solely because a lack of collateral, according to a news release.

SBA already has approved 111 loans in Vigo County, totaling $4.1 million. Only two of the 111 loans were business-related, a number Peacock said SBA is striving to increase. These numbers reflect a statewide situation, as the vast majority of the 20 counties that received assistance had similar figures.

Rod Henry, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said SBA is providing a vital service.

“It is important for businesses to have a place to go with questions and concerns,” Henry said in a news release. “Many individuals have suffered a great loss, but we cannot forget the businesses that represent the economic structure of our community.”

Flood victims should not wait until settling with their insurance company before applying for disaster loan assistance, SBA advised in a news release. The association will consider making a loan for the total loss up to the $2 million limit with an applicant who is waiting to settle with their insurance company. To receive coverage, the borrowers must pledge to use their insurance money to repay or reduce their SBA loan, according to a news release.

Peacock said SBA doesn’t want anyone in need to go on without assistance. They want to “make sure that nobody falls through the cracks,” he said, “and to make sure the businesses that are struggling with the recovery process after the flood get all the help they need.”

For more information, call 1-800-659-2955 or e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

DeAntae Prince can be reached at (812) 231-4214 or deantae.prince@tribstar.com.