Tennessee businesses and residents affected by the severe storms and straight-line winds on June 25-26, 2023, are eligible to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. To assist businesses and residents affected by the disaster, the SBA opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) at 12 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31 in Shelby County:
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Shelby County
Millington Library
4858 Navy Road
Millington, TN 38053
Opening: Tuesday, Oct. 31, 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Hours: Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Closed: Sunday
Permanently Closes: Thursday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m.
Customer Service Representatives will be available at the DLOC to answer questions about the disaster. loan program and help individuals complete their applications. “Businesses and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets,” said SBA’s Tennessee District Director David Glasgow.
For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.
“Loans up to $500,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property,” said Francisco Sanchez Jr., associate administrator of SBA’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience.
Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase of up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements may include a safe room or storm shelter, sump pump, French drain or retaining wall to help protect property and occupants from future damage.
Interest rates are as low as 4% for businesses, 2.375% for nonprofit organizations, and 2.5% 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 online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at sba.gov/disaster and should apply under SBA declaration # 20034.
Disaster loan information and application forms can also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services) or sending an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications can also 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 Dec. 26, 2023. The deadline to return economic injury applications is July 26, 2024.