BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Economic disaster injury loans are now available to small businesses in Texas.
Nearly 200 Texas counties, including the Brazos Valley, can now apply for loans from the US Small Business Administration.
“It’s important to support small businesses, and when there’s any kind of natural disaster, the need for access to capital becomes even more acute,” said Sushil Kumar of the US Small Business Administration. “SBA works with several other federal agencies to request these economic disaster injury loans.”
The United States Secretary of Agriculture has declared an agricultural disaster affecting 194 small nonfarm businesses in Texas counties, including Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Houston, Leon, Madison, Robertson, Walker and Washington counties.
These loans offset economic losses due to reduced revenue caused by the excessive heat that occurred from May 1 to Sept. 30, 2022, according to the SBA.
The law allows loan terms up to a maximum of 30 years. The SBA will determine an appropriate down payment based on each borrower’s financial situation, which in turn will determine the term of the loan.
Small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses, and most private nonprofits of any size can qualify for disaster economic damage loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating costs that could have been covered if the disaster had not occurred.
Loan Eligibility Limits:
- The applicant’s business must be located in the declared disaster area.
- Only uninsured or otherwise uncompensated catastrophe losses are eligible.
- Economic damages must be a direct result of the declared disaster.
- Nurseries are only eligible for economic damage caused by declared drought disasters.
- By law, agricultural businesses such as farmers and ranchers are not eligible for any type of SBA assistance.
- Applicants who have defaulted on previous SBA loans are not eligible. This includes borrowers who did not maintain flood and/or hazard insurance on previous SBA loans.
- Loan assistance is only available to the extent that the business and its owners are unable to meet the necessary financial obligations due to the disaster. This determination is made by the SBA.
Working capital loans help small businesses, small farming cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes to meet their usual and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are designed to aid in the recovery period after a disaster.
Applicants can apply online at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/, call the SBA Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955, or email [email protected] for more information about assistance in SBA disasters.
Credit requirements:
- Credit History – Applicants must have a credit history acceptable to the SBA.
- Repayment – Applicants must demonstrate the ability to repay the loan.
- Collateral – Collateral is required for all EIDL loans over $25,000. SBA takes real estate as collateral when available. The SBA will not deny a loan for lack of collateral, but the SBA will require the borrower to post available collateral.
Completed applications should be mailed to the US Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The deadline to apply for economic damages is September 13, 2023. You can learn more about how to apply at www.sba.gov.
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