Small businesses devastated by the spring floods are facing a deadline to apply for loans.
"We just couldn't stop the water," said Jill Moran, a property manager for the Rhode Island Property Advisory Company.
One of the condo complexes the company manages was underwater.
"Every unit was completely flooded. The unit owners were displaced for about nine weeks," Moran said.
RIPAC turned to the U.S. Small Business Administration for a loan handed out after the flooding for companies who had economic hardship because of it.
"This particular property actually did have flood coverage, but it had a $50,000 deductible. That's a hardship for an association of 36 units to have to come up with the $50,000 deductible," Moran said.
About $43 million in flood damage-related loans by the SBA have been handed out. Interest rates are 3 or 4 percent.
"Particularly those who have seen a significant amount of economic injury. We're not talking about physical injury in this declaration. That was terminated a while ago. We're talking about economic injury where you had an impact on your business because of the flooding itself," the SBA's Mark Hayward said.
He said the deadline for applications is Dec. 29.
"If you've had lost revenues, you've had the inability to open, you've had significant bills that need to be paid. We can go up to $2 million in assistance from SBA," Hayward said.
The money helped RIPAC, but Moran said the forms were a challenge.
"It's worse than closing on a house," Moran said.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement