SBA outlines low-interest disaster loans, deadlines for wildfire survivors in Montebello briefing

A representative of the U.S. Small Business Administration told the Montebello City Council the agency is offering low-interest federal disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofits affected by recent wildfires and strong winds, and that application deadlines have been extended for certain loan categories.

Javier Caldenco, a public information officer with the SBA Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, told the council the deadline for applications for physical-damage loans was extended to March 30, 2025, and that the economic injury disaster loan deadline is Oct. 8, 2025. He outlined the loan limits and terms described by the agency: homeowners may be eligible for loans up to $500,000 to repair or replace a primary residence; homeowners and renters may be eligible for up to $100,000 for personal property; businesses and nonprofits may qualify for physical-damage and economic-injury loans up to $2,000,000 combined.

Caldenco described mitigation assistance that can add up to 20% of verifiable physical damages for improvements to reduce future risk from hazards such as flood, fire, wind or earthquakes. He said interest rates are fixed and, as presented, can be as low as 2.563% for some homeowners and about 4% for businesses; terms can extend up to 30 years and the SBA does not charge an application fee.

The SBA staff also said some loan centers in Los Angeles County have bilingual representatives and that applicants can apply online at lending.sba.gov or visit sba.gov/disaster for more information. Caldenco said the agency had approved more than $1.6 billion and disbursed more than $160 million under the current declaration at the time of the presentation.

Council members thanked the presenter; staff agreed to post the information on the city website and to help promote application information to residents.

The presentation was informational; no council vote was required.