These are excerpts from recent articles in the Press: “U.S. Small Business Administration has a team of 60 representatives in San Diego County to take applications from people who suffered property losses in this week’s wildfires”.
“An SBA representative visited Mark Davis’ burned-out home on Aguamiel Road in Rancho Bernardo yesterday morning, less than a day after the architect applied for a low-interest loan at the nearby disaster assistance center inside the Rancho Bernardo Glassman Recreation Center. Davis said he hasn’t decided whether to take out an SBA loan or tap his savings if his homeowners insurance policy doesn’t cover his losses.
“I would prefer not to get more debt, but I’d like to avoid dipping into what we’ve put aside for retirement,†said Davis, who had lived in the four-bedroom hillside home with his family for 28 years.
With credit access tightening in response to the subprime mortgage crisis, the SBA’s disaster loan program, offering 30-year, fixed interest rates well below market levels, could prove critical to recovery for many wildfire victims.”
What is the SBA’s charter? I wonder how many of these loans went to people who suffered losses in Katrina.
Why aren’t they paying more attention to small businesses that are regularly in disaster mode???