SBA outlines disaster loan options for wildfire survivors in Los Angeles and contiguous counties

A public information officer from the U.S. Small Business Administration told the Baldwin Park City Council on Wednesday that the SBA, working with FEMA, is offering low-interest disaster loans to survivors of the January wildfires that affected Los Angeles County and contiguous counties.

Natalie Longwell, public information officer for the SBA Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, told the council the program covers Los Angeles County and the contiguous counties of Ventura, Kern, Orange and San Bernardino. She said homeowners may apply for disaster loans up to $500,000 to repair primary residences and up to $100,000 to replace damaged contents; businesses and nonprofits may borrow up to $2,000,000 to repair or replace buildings, equipment and other assets. Small businesses and nonprofits may also apply for economic injury disaster loans to cover working-capital losses.

Longwell provided interest-rate ranges she said are available to eligible borrowers: as low as about 4% for businesses, about 3.625% for nonprofits and about 2.563% for homeowners and renters, with terms up to 30 years. She said interest does not begin to accrue and payments are not due until 12 months from the first loan disbursement and that there is no cost to apply and no obligation to accept a loan if approved.

Longwell said applicants can apply online at lending.sba.gov or by email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. She also recommended visiting a disaster-recovery center for in-person help and listed two centers within Los Angeles County: 540 Woodberry Road in Altadena and UCLA Research Park West, 1850 West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. She said both centers are open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Longwell provided this information during the public-comment and information portion of the council meeting.