SBA Business Assistance Center to Close; Deadline to Apply for Physical Disaster Loans is July 9

SCARBOROUGH, Maine, June 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announces today that due to a steady decrease of activity, the Business Assistance Center in Portland will close Thursday, June 7, 2007 at the close of business.

SBA is also reminding homeowners, renters, non-profit organizations and businesses that one month remains to submit disaster loan applications for damage caused by the severe storms and flooding April 15 – 23, 2007. The deadline to file an application for physical damage is July 9, 2007. Residents and business owners who sustained physical damage in the counties of Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Sagadahoc and York are eligible to apply.

SBA is urging disaster victims to visit the Center below before it closes or visit any other Centers located throughout the disaster areas to obtain one-on-one assistance and information about SBA’s disaster assistance program. SBA is encouraging those victims who received an application to return the completed application as quickly as possible.

   The Centers are located in communities below and open as indicated:                        SBA Business Assistance Center    Cumberland County   University of Southern Maine   68 High Street, Room 218   Portland, ME 04101   Open:  Wednesday and Thursday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.   Closes:  Thursday, June 7 at the close of business                  FEMA/SBA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs)    Cumberland County                     Oxford County   Portland Arts & Tech High School      Oxford County Courthouse   196 Allen Avenue                      26 Western Avenue   Portland, ME 04103                    South Paris, ME 04281   Open:  Monday-Saturday                Open:  Monday-Saturday   Hours:  8 a.m. to 6 p.m.              Hours:  8 a.m. to 6 p.m.    Knox County                           York County   Union Town Office (mobile)            York County Comm. College   567 Common Road                       112 College Drive   Union, ME 04862                       Wells, ME 04090   Open:  Monday, June 4                 Open:  Monday-Saturday    thru Thursday, June 7                Hours:  8 a.m. to 6 p.m.   Hours:  8 a.m. to 6 p.m.    Rockland Court House (mobile)   62 Union Street   Rockland, ME 04841   Open:  Friday, June 8 thru Tuesday, June 12 (closed Sun.)   Hours:  8 a.m. to 6 p.m.                  FEMA/SBA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs)    Lincoln County   Lincoln County Comm. Center   34 Bath Road   Wiscasset, ME 04578   Open:  Monday-Saturday   Hours:  8 a.m. to 6 p.m.    Damariscotta Police Dept. (mobile)   21 School Street   Damariscotta, ME 04537   Open:  Wednesday, June 6 & Thursday, June 7   Hours:  8 a.m. to 6 p.m.   

SBA offers 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 of all sizes and non-profit organizations are available up to $1.5 million to repair damage to real estate, machinery, inventory and equipment. Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are also available to small businesses unable to pay bills or meet operating expenses because of the disaster.

Interest rates can be as low as 2.875 percent for homeowners and renters and 4.000 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based upon each applicant’s financial condition.

Those unable to visit one of the Centers may obtain an application by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing-impaired) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday form 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA website at http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be returned to one of the Centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX. 76155.

The filing deadline to return applications for property damage is July 9, 2007. The deadline to return economic injury applications is February 11, 2008.

For more information about the SBA’s Disaster Loan Programs,

visit our website at http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

U.S. Small Business Administration

CONTACT: Mark Ihenacho of U.S. Small Business Administration,+1-404-347-3771

Web site: http://www.sba.gov/