Tenants displaced by this summer’s fire at The Cooper can apply for low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
However, some residents say they are reluctant to submit applications.
Applications for the disaster-related loans of up to $100,000 are open to residents of The Cooper whose personal property was damaged by the historic six-alarm fire that displaced more than 800 people on June 23.
SBA spokesperson Africa Rosas urged renters to consider the loans as an alternative to credit card debt. The loan payments are deferred for 12 months with interest rates as low as 2.813%.
“Some renters may feel that the only way to recover their belongings is through credit card debt that has high interest,” she said. “But with these loans, they can get the money and forget about it for a whole year.”
Some former tenants impacted by the fire told the Fort Worth Report they hadn’t applied for a loan and weren’t planning to because it’s “just not worth it.”
“You don’t want to pay for something you already paid, then have to pay interest on top of it,” Layana George said. “It would be nice if there is some type of compensation.”
Multiple former tenants shared complaints about the loan process, including a denial because of credit history and unfiled taxes, in a private Facebook group for those impacted by the fire.
Rosas said the SBA doesn’t automatically reject applications because of low credit scores.
“What we don’t want is to give a loan to somebody that cannot repay and put them in a worse situation,” she said.
Some may qualify for other SBA loans if the fire impacted their businesses. Such a loan has a starting interest rate of 3.6255%.
“Perhaps there are some residents that had a business that they were operating from their apartment. If that’s the case, they can be eligible for up to $2 million for working capital,” Rosas said.
Cooper residents have until Sept. 15 to apply for physical damage loans and April 17 for the business-related economic injury loans.
Residents can apply online at sba.gov/disaster or visit the Disaster Loan Outreach Center at 1100 Hemphill St.
Isaiah Rodriguez is a reporting intern for the Fort Worth Report. He is part of the University of North Texas Scripps Howard Fund Emerging Journalists Program. Contact him at isaiah.rodriguez@fortworthreport.org.
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