For the past two weeks, 68-year-old Marine veteran Charles Mireles has been cleaning up all the mess left behind by storms that tore through San Antonio.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Mireles kept busy with his neighbor, Joe, clearing debris after the storm ripped apart a tree on his property. His home was largely spared, but the fallen tree damaged the chain-link fence surrounding the property.<\/p>\n
He stressed that hiring someone to take care of the mess isn’t cheap.<\/p>\n
“I’ve called the other tree guys to come and do it,” Mireles said. “They said, ‘Well, give us $4,000, give us $5,000.’ I’m like, dude, really? I mean, I used to do this for a living.”<\/p>\n
With the fence still damaged and Mireles living on a fixed income, the cost of fully recovering remains a concern.<\/p>\n
“If there’s any federal assistance, that would be awesome,” Mireles said.<\/p>\n
That’s where the U.S. Small Business Administration comes into play.<\/p>\n
The SBA announced that low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to Texas homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofit organizations that suffered physical or economic losses from the severe storms and tornadoes on Aug. 28. The disaster declaration was issued following a request from Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 9.<\/p>\n
The declaration covers Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson counties.<\/p>\n
Homeowners can apply for loans of up to $500,000 to repair or replace their primary residence. Homeowners and renters can also borrow up to $100,000 to repair or replace personal property, including clothing, furniture, vehicles and appliances.<\/p>\n
Businesses and private nonprofits can apply for up to $2 million to repair or replace storm-damaged real estate, machinery, equipment, inventory and other business assets.<\/p>\n
According to the SBA, some borrowers may also qualify for an increase of up to 20% of their verified physical damage to make improvements aimed at reducing damage from future disasters.<\/p>\n
Interest rates are as low as 3% for homeowners and renters, 4% for businesses and 3.625% for nonprofits, with loan terms of up to 30 years.<\/p>\n
Mireles said the program has his attention, although he wants to learn more before applying.<\/p>\n
“I’m interested,” Mireles said. “Being on a fixed income, I can’t even afford to fix all this. I’ll be in the grave by the time I get it paid off.”<\/p>\n
Beginning Sept. 15, storm victims can get in-person help with the application process.<\/p>\n
The SBA is opening a Disaster Loan Outreach Center at Las Palmas Library, located at 515 Castroville Road in San Antonio. SBA representatives will be available to answer questions, explain the disaster loan program and help people complete applications.<\/p>\n
The center opens Tuesday at noon. Its regular hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday.<\/p>\n