There Is Still Time To Apply For Federal Disaster Relief Loans
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Coleman Tours Burgin
Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman toured the flooding in Burgin with Mayor Joe Monroe in April. The Small Business Administration is reminding anyone impacted by the April 2 storms there is still time to apply for low-interest loans.
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
[email protected]
There is still time for residents of Mercer County and other counties impacted by the April 2 storms to apply for low-interest loans with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“Although the official application deadline has passed, the SBA is still accepting disaster relief applications through a 60-day grace period,” said Harold Nunez, a public information officer with the SBA. “Applicants—whether homeowners, renters, businesses, or non-profits—may still submit their application without needing to explain the delay or run into unacceptance issue.”
The deadline for physical damage expired June 23. The deadline for economic injury is January 26, 2026.
The SBA may accept applications received more than 60 days after the deadline when the agency determines the late filing resulted from causes essentially beyond the applicant’s control. Request assistance with a late application by contacting the SBA Customer Service Center (CSC) via email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 7-1-1).
The SBA provides low-interest loans to cover uninsured damage, including an insurance deductible. Business loans can include damage to inventory, equipment, and machinery. The agency also offers working capital loans to small businesses that had a drop in sales income and are unable to meet monthly expenses.
There is no application fee and no obligation to accept a loan after if approved. Applicants have 60-days to decide to accept and can ask for more time if they need to reevaluate their recovery situation.
There are no prepayment penalties, no accrued interest and no required payments for the first 12 months of the loan.
Disaster loans available include:
• Business Physical Disaster Loans to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches and private universities are also eligible.
• Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) provide working capital to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.
• Home Disaster Loans for homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles.
Applicants must have a credit history acceptable to the SBA and must show the ability to repay all loans.
Mercer residents can apply online using the MySBA Loan Portal at lending.sba.gov.
For more information, including interest rates and loan terms, contact the SBA’s Customer Service Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-800-659-2955. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
