HispanicBusiness

The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved close to $200 million in disaster loans to New Jersey homeowners and business owners, the bulk of whom are in Monmouth and Ocean counties, the agency said Tuesday.

The money, however, is unlikely to hit the streets -- and the economy -- quickly. Many borrowers are waiting on new standards from their municipalities that will determine how they need to rebuild.

"The actual amount dispersed is probably much less because (many) people can't start building yet," said R. Gary Colton, a spokesman for the SBA's disaster loan program "But people know they have that amount available to them."

The SBA program offers low-interest loans to residents and business owners whose property was damaged by superstorm Sandy.

As of Tuesday, the SBA had approved $92.1 million in loans to 1,110 borrowers in Ocean County and $58.8 million in loans to 747 borrowers in Monmouth County, accounting for more than three-quarters of the state's total, Colton said.

Still, SBA officials have encouraged residents to sign up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to learn about different types of financial assistance that's available. The deadline to apply for a disaster loan to repair physical damage is Jan. 30. For more information, they can call the program's customer service center at 800-659-2955.

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Distributed by MCT Information Services