MONROE COUNTY — Some areas of southern Indiana are still cleaning up after major flooding caused damage in June. Now, home and business owners are getting some extra help.
Beginning Friday, the Small Business Administration and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security will open a two Disaster Loan Outreach Center at the Monroe County Convention Center in Bloomington and the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce in Jeffersonville.
Both locations will be open from 8 a.m. Friday through 5 p.m. July 16. They will operate from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and noon-5 p.m. Saturday, and will be closed on Sunday.
The goal is to help those affected apply for loans through the SBA or the Indiana Disaster Relief Fund. An emergency declaration was declared following flooding on June 18-19 for Monroe, Jefferson, Brown, Clark, Greene, Jackson, Jennings, Lawrence, Morgan, Owen, Ripley, Scott and Switzerland counties.
Customer service representatives will answer questions about the disaster loan program and help people complete their applications. People are asked to wear a face mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
People can contact with SBA's Disaster Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 for help completing their loan applications. Requests for SBA disaster loan program information can be obtained by emailing FOCE-Help@sba.gov.
Businesses and private nonprofit organizations can borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets, according to a news release. Loan applications can be downloaded online and returned to the center or mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
Homeowners can apply for loans up to $200,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate and $40,000 to repair or replace damaged personal property.
Interest rates are as low as 2.88% for businesses, 2% for nonprofit organizations and 1.625% for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years.
The deadline to file an application for physical property damage is Sept. 7, 2021, while the deadline to return economic injury applications is April 7, 2022.
