13 C.F.R. Subpart B—Home Disaster Loans
Title 13 - Business Credit and Assistance
(a) You are eligible to apply for a home disaster loan if you: (1) Own and occupy your primary residence and have suffered a physical loss to your primary residence, personal property, or both; or (2) Do not own your primary residence, but have suffered a physical loss to your personal property. Family members sharing a residence are eligible if they are not dependents of the owners of the residence. (b) Losses may be claimed only by the owners of the property at the time of the disaster, and all such losses will be verified by SBA. SBA will consider beneficial ownership as well as legal title (for real or personal property) in determining who suffered the loss. You are not eligible for a home disaster loan if: (a) You have been convicted, during the past year, of a felony during and in connection with a riot or civil disorder or other declared disaster; (b) You acquired voluntarily more than a 50 percent ownership interest in the damaged property after the disaster, and no contract of sale existed at the time of the disaster; (c) Your damaged property can be repaired or replaced with the proceeds of insurance, gifts or other compensation, including condemnation awards (with one exception), these amounts must either be deducted from the amount of the claimed losses or, if received after SBA has approved and disbursed a loan, must be paid to SBA as principal payments on your loan. You must notify SBA of any such recoveries collected after receiving an SBA disaster loan. The one exception applies to amounts received under the Individuals and Household Program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency solely to meet an emergency need pending processing of an SBA loan. In such an event, you must repay the financial assistance with SBA loan proceeds if it was used for purposes also eligible for an SBA loan; (d) SBA determines that you assumed the risk (for example, by not maintaining flood insurance as required by an earlier SBA disaster loan when the current loss is also due to flood); (e) Your damaged property is a secondary home (although if you rented the property out before the disaster and the property would not constitute a “residence” under the provisions of Section 280A of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 280A), you may be eligible for a physical disaster business loan); (f) Your damaged property is the type of vehicle normally used for recreational purposes, such as motorhomes, aircraft, and boats; (g) Your damaged property consists of cash or securities; (h) The replacement value of your damaged personal property is extraordinarily high and not easily verified, such as the value of antiques, artworks, or hobby collections; (i) You or other principal owners of the damaged property are presently incarcerated, or on probation or parole following conviction for a serious criminal offense; (j) Your only interest in the damaged property is in the form of a security interest, mortgage, or deed of trust; (k) The damaged building, including contents, was newly constructed or substantially improved on or after February 9, 1989, and (without a significant business justification) is located seaward of mean high tide or entirely in or over water; or (l) You voluntarily decide to relocate outside the business area in which the disaster has occurred, and there are no special or unusual circumstances leading to your decision (business area means the municipality which provides general governmental services to your damaged home or, if not located in a municipality, the county or equivalent political entity in which your damaged home is located). [61 FR 3304, Jan. 31, 1996, as amended at 67 FR 64519, Oct. 21, 2002] SBA may approve a loan if you intend to relocate outside the business area in which the disaster has occurred if your relocation is caused by such special or unusual circumstances as: (a) Demonstrable risk that the business area will suffer future disasters; (b) A change in employment status (such as loss of job, transfer, lack of adequate job opportunities within the business area or scheduled retirement within 18 months after the disaster occurs); (c) Medical reasons; or (d) Special family considerations which necessitate a move outside of the business area. If you must relocate inside or outside the business area because local authorities will not allow you to repair your damaged property, SBA considers this to be a total loss and a mandatory relocation. In this case, your loan would be an amount that SBA considers sufficient to replace your residence at your new location, plus funds to cover losses of personal property and eligible refinancing. If you can obtain credit elsewhere, your interest rate is set by a statutory formula, but will not exceed 8 percent per annum. If you cannot obtain credit elsewhere, your interest rate is one-half the statutory rate, but will not exceed 4 percent per annum. Credit elsewhere means that, with your cash flow and disposable assets, SBA believes you could obtain financing from non-federal sources on reasonable terms. If you cannot obtain credit elsewhere, you also may be able to borrow from SBA to refinance existing recorded liens against your damaged real property. Under prior legislation, some SBA disaster loans had split interest rates. On any such loan, repayments of principal are applied first to that portion of the loan with the lowest interest rate. (a) For all disasters occurring on or after October 26, 1993, there are limits on how much money you can borrow for particular purposes: (1) $40,000 for repair or replacement of household and personal effects; (2) $200,000 for repair or replacement of a primary residence (including upgrading in order to meet minimum standards of safety and decency or current building code requirements). Repair or replacement of landscaping and/or recreational facilities cannot exceed $5,000; (3) $200,000 for eligible refinancing purposes; and (4) 20 percent of the loan amount (not including refinancing) up to a maximum of $48,000 for mitigation (see §123.107). (b) You may not use loan proceeds to repay any debts on personal property, secured or unsecured, unless you incurred those debts as a direct result of the disaster. (c) SBA determines the loan maturity and repayment terms based on your needs and your ability to pay. Generally, you will pay equal monthly installments of principal and interest, beginning five months from the date of the loan, as shown on the Note securing the loan. SBA will consider other payment terms if you have seasonal or fluctuating income, and SBA may allow installment payments of varying amounts over the first two years of the loan. The maximum maturity for a home disaster loan is 30 years. There is no penalty for prepayment of home disaster loans. (a) If your home (primary residence) is totally destroyed or substantially damaged, and you do not have credit elsewhere, SBA may allow you to borrow money to refinance recorded liens or encumbrances on your home. Your home is totally destroyed or substantially damaged if it has suffered uninsured or otherwise uncompensated damage which, at the time of the disaster, is either: (1) 40 percent or more of the home's market value or replacement cost at the time of the disaster, including land value, whichever is less; or (2) 50 percent or more of its market value or replacement cost at the time of the disaster, not including land value, whichever is less. (b) Your home disaster loan for refinancing existing liens or encumbrances cannot exceed an amount equal to the lesser of $200,000, or the physical damage to your primary residence after reductions for any insurance or other recovery. For mitigation measures implemented after a disaster has occurred, you can borrow the lesser of the cost of the mitigation measure, or up to 20 percent of the amount of your approved home disaster loan to repair or replace your damaged primary residence and personal property. [67 FR 62337, Oct. 7, 2002]
Title 13: Business Credit and Assistance
PART 123—DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM
Subpart B—Home Disaster Loans
§ 123.100 Am I eligible to apply for a home disaster loan?
§ 123.101 When am I not eligible for a home disaster loan?
§ 123.102 What circumstances would justify my relocating?
§ 123.103 What happens if I am forced to move from my home?
§ 123.104 What interest rate will I pay on my home disaster loan?
§ 123.105 How much can I borrow with a home disaster loan and what limits apply on use of funds and repayment terms?
§ 123.106 What is eligible refinancing?
§ 123.107 How much can I borrow for post-disaster mitigation for my home?
