Small Business Loan and Owner Assistance
Assistance for Small Businesses
Across the United States, multifamily communities are grappling with the COVID-19 outbreak. Social distancing is being put into place, as well as regular deep cleaning of community spaces and changes to daily operations. With April 1 around the corner, many residential rental communities are beginning to assess what assistance may be needed to support residents who have been laid off, furloughed, or are otherwise out of work as a result of this pandemic.
Rental assistance resources are available to renters across the state from unemployment insurance to local private and nonprofit resources. But for owners, this may not be enough to immediately sustain the financial integrity of a multifamily property.
On Monday, March 23, HUD expanded the FHFA mortgage forbearance and eviction moratorium to all Enterprise-backed mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will offer multifamily property owners mortgage forbearance with the condition that they suspend all evictions for renters unable to pay rent due to the impact of coronavirus. The eviction suspensions are in place for the entire duration of time that a property owner remains in forbearance. The forbearance is available to all multifamily properties with an Enterprise-backed multifamily mortgage negatively affected by the national emergency.
Multifamily properties that are not backed by Enterprise securities should contact their mortgage lenders to better understand what options may be available to them.
The United State Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to Washington small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19. The disaster declaration makes SBA assistance available in Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom, Whitman and Yakima counties in Washington.
“Small businesses, private non-profit organizations of any size, small agricultural cooperatives and small aquaculture enterprises that have been financially impacted as a direct result of COVID-19 since January 31, 2020, may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred,” said SBA's Administrator, Jovita Carranza.
“These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. Disaster loans can provide vital economic assistance to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing,” she added.
Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance.
Individuals who are deaf or hard‑of‑hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.