The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced an extension of operations at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center at the Ocracoke Variety Store until Thursday, Nov. 7.
Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The center located at the old PNC Bank at the corner of N.C. 12 and Buxton Back Woods Road in Buxton will be closing as scheduled on Thursday, October 31, as will centers in Beaufort and Wilmington.
The Buxton location will be open Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“I encourage anyone who has not completed their disaster loan application to visit the centers and meet with a Customer Service Representative for one-on-one assistance,” said Kem Fleming, director of Disaster Field Operations Center East.
Hyde County has strongly advised all residents of Ocracoke to apply at the disaster center, even if they do not plan to take out a loan through the SBA.
The application is required to be eligible for other forms of assistance, including grants from state and local sources.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Dec. 16, 2019. The deadline to return economic injury applications is July 16, 2020.
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoan.sba.gov.
Applicants may also obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded at www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be returned to the centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
