OCEAN PINES, Md.- In an effort to make applying for low interest loans for the U.S. Small Business Administration as easy as possible in Worcester County, the SBA has opened a disaster loan outreach center. The center opened on Friday, and is located at the Ocean Pines Library. SBA officials are on hand to help people with their loan applications.
Many people in Worcester County are still repairing damage from Hurricane Sandy, and the low-interest loans are meant to help with costs that are not covered by insurance.
"Homeowners can get up to $200,000 and renters up to $40,000 to replace their damaged property. Our interest rates are 1.68 percent. It's pretty darn good. You can't get that kind of money elsewhere," said SBA Public Affairs Specialist, Karen Knapsik.
According to SBA officials, the amount of people that have applied for loans is far less than they anticipated. They hope that if people have questions or concerns, they visit the outreach center. Those who took the time to apply already said it was a very quick process.
The process was very easy. The gentleman that helped me through the electronic application was great and it's no hassle," said Eric Waterman of Ocean City.
The center will be closed on Sunday, but will reopen again Monday morning until Thursday evening. The hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
You can also visit www.sba.gov/disaster or call 1-800-659-2955 to apply for the loans.
