Declaration lets homowners receive help with rebuilding

Stephen Curran

Friday, March 4, 2005 | 9:46 a.m.

Office to open

A U.S. Small Business Administration disaster office will open Tuesday in the Buffalo Conference Room at Mesquite City Hall, 10 E. Mesquite Blvd. The office will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through April 1. For more information, write to SBA, P.O Box 419004, Sacramento, Calif., or call (800) 488-5323.

Applications for property damage must be returned to SBA by May 2, 2005.

But the declaration, which came almost two months after the floods tore through communities near the Muddy and Virgin rivers, falls short of the presidential authorization that would allow homeowners to apply for federal grants to rebuild their property and make improvements to prevent or minimize similar damage in the future, Marty Bahamonde, a FEMA spokesman said.

Starting Tuesday, homeowners can begin the application process for the SBA loans, which offer 2.9 percent interest rates for homeowners and 4 percent rates for small businesses. Homeowners can apply for up to $200,000 for repairs to real estate, to be repaid over a period dictated by an SBA review of applicants' finances, Rick Jenkins, an SBA spokesman, said.

A separate set of loans for up to $1.5 million is also available for businesses and nonprofit organizations to repair or replace damaged buildings, machinery and equipment, according to the SBA.

The SBA spokesman said he did not know how many Nevadans were expected to flock to Mesquite, but said that roughly half of applicants don't make the cut. Like any loan application, officials look over past credit history and personal cashflow to determine an applicant's ability to repay the loan.

Also like any creditor, the SBA occassionally must foreclose on debtors who fail to make payments, a move the agency tries to avoid with flexible terms.

"If you can't afford (to repay) the loan on your cashflow, we will not make the loan," he said. "We don't want to foreclose on the property. That's not how we do it. We try to work with every borrower."

The SBA can expect at least one person in line. Bud Webber, an Overton drilling contractor, saw the Muddy river cause an estimated $350,000 damage to his two-story home and has spent more than $50,000 of his own money to try and rebuild the structure.

Webber has flood insurance but is still waiting to hear their decision, he said. Meanwhile he has found himself deeply in debt, having to return to Salt Lake City trying to "drum up some work" from his old clients. Next week, he plans to head to Las Vegas for another contracting job.

He plans to apply for a federal loan, but said he doesn't hold out any more hope for the government than he does his insurance company.

"Now I've spent all my money on the house, I'll be standing in line to borrow money," Webber said. "I definitely am. I can't imagine not. This is really hurting me. Hopefully we don't die of starvation before then."

The SBA is frequently dispatched to disaster areas to provide relief for homeowners and small businesspeople who may not qualify for federal grants. The declaration of northeast Clark County came as the agency declared four Arizona and two Utah counties disaster areas, Jenkins said.

Two Utah counties, Kane and Washington, and six in Arizona and two American Indian nations were also pending a FEMA declaration.

Gov. Kenny Guinn in January requested the presidential declaration after the winter storms caused the Muddy and Virgin rivers to rise, washing through more than 80 homes in nearby Mesquite and Overton in the process, Bahamonde said.

An estimated $10 million to $15 million worth of property was damaged.

A final decision on whether the area will receive a FEMA declaration, which Bahamonde said had been delayed by scores of requests nationwide, is expected "within the next few days."

"There is a huge backlog of disaster requests throughout the nation," Bahamonde said. "That process took some time because of the large amount of requests throughout the country."

It's a process that's left Webber hoping for only a tiny share of the federal money, even though he said he may have money left over once his insurance money finally arrives.

"I'd apply for anything they have," he said. "That's only a drop in the bucket for what I need. By the time it's over I may have more money than I need, but I'm dying on the vine here."