Deadline for small biz aid approaching

The deadline to apply for a disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration is this Friday.

The loans are available to homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations in Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Jones, Lenoir, Pamlico and Pitt counties whose property was damaged by the severe storms and flooding that hit those areas on Aug. 12.

The SBA has loans up to $200,000 to repair disaster damaged primary residences. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to replace personal property such as furniture, appliances and clothing. Loans to businesses and non-profit organizations are available up to $2 million to repair damage to real estate, machinery, inventory and equipment.

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are available to small businesses and most private non-profit organizations to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage. The deadline for those applications is May 31.

To get information about all the aid available or for a loan application, call the SBA's Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 and Sunday, Oct. 4. Or e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76155.

Those affected by the disaster may apply for disaster loans from SBA's Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

Additional information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Programs, are at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance