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Loans available for Minnesota businesses and residents affected by civil unrest

By Samantha HoangLong
Published  August 5, 2020 11:27am CDT
Death of George Floyd
FOX 9

(FOX 9) - Minnesota businesses and residents affected by the civil unrest on May 27 through June 8, 2020, can now apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Administrator Jovita Carranza made the loans available in response to a letter from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on July 31, requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA, according to the Tuesday morning announcement.

 “The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people of Minnesota with the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist businesses of all sizes, homeowners and renters with federal disaster loans,” Carranza said. “Getting businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA.”

The low-interest loans are available to businesses, nonprofits, homeowners, and renters in Hennepin County and the adjacent counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne and Wright in Minnesota.

There are three types of disaster loans available:

  • Business Physical Disaster Loans – Up to $2 million loans for businesses 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, private universities, etc., are also eligible.
  • Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) – Working capital loans 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 – Up to $200,000 loans for homeowners or up to $40,000 for renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles.

SBA has opened a Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center to help loan applicants. The center is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Business owners and residents can call (572) 422-6078 or (571) 422-6871 to schedule an appointment for immediate one-on-one assistance in completing their applications. Questions can also be emailed to FOCE-Help@sba.gov. These services are only available for the Minnesota disaster declaration, not for COVID-19 related assistance.

Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements may include a safe room, signage, facility hardening such as fencing and non-combustible materials, and electronic security measures to help protect property and occupants from future damage caused by a similar disaster.

Interest rates are as low as 3 percent for businesses, 2.75 percent for nonprofit organizations, and 1.25 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amount and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Oct. 2, 2020 and for economic injury is May 3, 2021. Additional details/requirements for the loans can be found here.