GULF SHORES, Alabama - June 14, 2010 - Real estate agent Mike Reynolds had two desirable beachfront condos in escrow when the tide of crude from the Deepwater Horizon gusher washed over his business and left it looking about as appetizing as an oiled crab.

"I lost $20,000 in commission," Reynolds said. "The guy called and said he'd never be able to make any money off of them. He walked away from a $10,000 earnest-money check."

Just a few miles east of Reynolds' Gulf Shores condos, restaurant owner Matt Shipp has seen his Orange Beach business plummet by 90%, even before thick masses of oily seaweed painted the white sand beach Saturday. He put in a claim for $35,000 in lost business for May, and after more than 40 days of phone calls and faxes, got approved for $18,000. When will he get the money, he asked BP's adjuster, the fourth one to whom he had been passed.

"He said, 'I don't know,' " Shipp said. "I said, 'Who will send it to me?' He said, 'I don't know.' I said, 'Is it a check? A bank transfer?' He said, 'I don't know.’ As of today, I still don't have the funds; and that's only May. What about June? It's been even worse in June."

Across the gulf, residents already shell-shocked by the tar balls, oil soup and dead sea life washing up on their beaches are getting hit with a second wave: the sudden collapse of their livelihoods, and the equally intimidating challenge of getting BP to pay for it.