HOUSTON – Recovering after a storm or natural disaster and be financially disabling. FEMA grants for Houstonians, even after Harvey were typically less than $3,000.
RELATED: Q&A with Houston storm attorney on insurance claims after last week’s tornadoes, thunderstorms
Thursday, one week after the deadly derecho storm that hit our area, the government is setting up officers where storm victims can come in and apply for a loan with two appealing factors:
1) A low-interest rate of 2.66%
2) You’ll have a full year at zero interest before you have to start making payments.
“We’re here to help every part of the community recover,” said native Houstonian Francisco Sanchez, also associate administrator for the Small Business Administration (SBA).
“The last thing people want to talk, think about sometimes is a loan. You have just taken an impact. You’ve just taken some losses. The last thing you want to think about is taking on additional net debt. But the reality is, recovery can be expensive. So let me tell you what I mean by low-interest, long-term loans for individuals. That’s homeowners and renters. You can get up to $500,000, to repair your structure for physical damage, up to $100,000 for personal contents. And so furniture, clothes, your vehicle. We saw many vehicles that were impacted by this disaster,” Sanchez said.
Where and how to apply
Two SBA recovery centers opened Thursday in Houston and more will be opening soon
1) Business Recovery Center @ University of Houston – Downtown
Marilyn Davies College of Business | Room B106, 1st Floor
320 North Main St., Houston, TX 77002
Parking is underneath the Marilyn Davies College of Business in the Shea Street Building
Mondays – Fridays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Closed Monday, May 27 in Observance of Memorial Day
2) Business Recovery Center @ Trini Mendenhall Community Center
1414 Wirt Rd., Houston, TX 77055
Mondays – Fridays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Closed Monday, May 27 in Observance of Memorial Day
*** IF YOU CAN’T GET TO EITHER IN PERSON **
VIRTUAL BUSINESS RECOVERY CENTER | OPEN Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. | FOCWAssistance@sba.gov | (916) 932-8925
Something Sanchez says most people may not know is that 80% of disaster lending through the SBA goes to homeowners and renters, and about 20% goes to businesses.
“This is the important point for homeowners and renters, individuals that interest rate for this disaster is as low as 2.66% for over 30 years. For businesses that’s as low as 4% over 30 years. And so that is how we’re surging in access to capital that people need to recover,” Sanchez said.
“When I toured this community a couple of days ago, I saw people already lining up debris. I saw trees already being put on the curb. I saw contractors at work. If you are a homeowner or a business or an individual that has already put your credit card down to pay for that to jumpstart your recovery or you have already incurred expenses, you can still come to SBA for a loan at that 2.66% over 30 years to reduce the interest that you’re paying, or to give you the capital that you need to be able to recover.” Sanchez said.
Business impacts for SBA loans stretch beyond physical damage
“I’ve heard from many businesses that have not been physically impacted, but they are seeing a loss of revenue. Either the power was out. They couldn’t access their business. Their employees were impacted, so they couldn’t open. Customers aren’t coming back yet for any number of reasons. If your business has a lack of revenue, Small Business Administration can offer you an economic injury disaster loan that will help you cover those general operating costs to help you get back on your feet,” Sanchez said.
With all loans, business or personal, Sanchez said you don’t have to make a payment for 12 months and 0% interest.
“So that gives you a year to be able to do what matters most. And that is you can focus on your own personal recovery. And SBA will be here a year later to continue to work with you, to get that loan going.”
Future-proofing is encouraged and different than what SBA used to cover
A recent change also allows you to use money you borrow to protect yourself from future disasters. In the past that only could be used to protect against wind damage or tornadoes. Now you can use it to shore up your home or business to protect against other natural disasters.
“Because of the changes we’ve made at the Small Business Administration, because of the lessons we learned here in Houston and Harris County in Texas, you can now use the mitigation feature to mitigate against any type of disaster that you might face in this community. So if you were impacted, you should think about not just mitigating against a tornado or a wind. You can now use those funds to mitigate against flooding, hurricanes or even ice storms,” Sanchez said.