Small Business Association Pushing Homeowners & Businesses to Return Disaster

The Small Business Association is urging homeowners, renters and businesses in Virginia who were impacted by the August earthquake and subsequent aftershocks to return their completed loan applications before the March 5, 2012 deadline.  As of the end of January, 107 home and 7 business disaster loans have been approved which total more than $2.3 million.  The counties which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans include Culpeper, Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa, Orange, Spotsylvania and the city of Fredericksburg.  Small businesses and non-profit organizations in surrounding counties are also eligible for the Economic Injury loans.
Those who register with FEMA and receive an application for an SBA loan should resubmit as soon as possible to receive consideration for a loan or referral to FEMA for possible grant assistance that can cover personal property, vehicle repair, moving and storage expenses.  The Director of SBA’s Field Operation center East in Atlanta states, “we are pleased to be able to get these loans approved so residents and businesses in the disaster area can continue to rebuild and resume their normal lives.”
To be considered for any form of disaster assistance, the first step is to call FEMA at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or register online at www.disasterassistance.gov.  The deadline to return the application for physical property damage is March 5, 2012 while the deadline to return applications for economic injury is August 6, 2012.