By Madelyn Jones
The Northern Light
The U.S. Small Business Administration is providing disaster relief loans — including extending the application deadline for those affected by physical damage — for renters, homeowners, businesses and nonprofits in Skagit and Whatcom counties affected by the December storms and flooding.
Three types of loans are available: business physical disaster loans, economic injury disaster loans and home disaster loans. The loans are low-interest, fixed-rate and long term with no payments due and no interest accrued for the first year.
Funds may be used to repair damage to property or to assist businesses with other financial responsibilities that would otherwise be unable to be paid due to the disaster.
In order to be approved, borrowers must be in a declared disaster area and have good credit and repayment history, among other criteria. Those interested can visit lending.sba.gov/search-disaster/ to find out if they qualify to apply.
Deadlines to submit applications for physical damage passed on June 10, however, SBA offers a 60-day grace period during which time applications will continue to be accepted. Economic injury applications will be accepted through Jan. 7, 2027. Applications may be submitted at no cost at sba.gov/disaster.
Madelyn Jones is a general assignment reporter for The Northern Light, a sister newspaper of La Conner Community News
