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Landlord Association newsletter library |
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Landlord Association newsletter library |
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| Volume
7 Number 8 May/June 2003 |
LIBRARY |
contents
From
The President
March Minutes
Rental Property
Insurance Survival
Why can't we be friends
From the workshop of
Tom Chou
Resources for Landlords
Credit
score secrets
St. Louis Metropolitan
Fatherhood programs
Neighborhood Etiquette
Next
Meeting, Agenda and Lunch 
contents From the President -Patty Hofer Dear Members & Friends; Are you all surviving the May storms and tornados? The magnificent Missouri display of redbuds and dogwoods this year made any bad weather now worth it. I am always amazed that the natural wealth of the state's native ornamental trees is continually denigrated by homeowners and professionals in favor of store bought hussies like Bradford pears that do not come close to serviceberry, redbud, dogwood and cedar trees. Many thanks to Thomas Chau for taking notes at the March meeting. Those minutes will follow this column. The fifth annual LANDLORD CONFERENCEhas been rescheduled for Saturday, June 21, 2003from 9 am until 4:45 pm at Forest Park Community College. The fee is $35 per person which includes lunch. Register with a credit card by telephoning 314.644.9175. The guest speaker will be Robert Shemin, who will talk about "How to operate as a landlord in the simplest, most efficient, most organized way possible." Jim Magnus, Thomas Chau, and Patty Hofer from C/HH will be presenters. Kenneth A Mezines from Mass Mutual Financial Group will be our guest speaker for the May 19thC/HH meeting. Mr Mezines is a native St Louisan who has been involved in the financial field for nineteen years. He holds the professional designations of CFP (Certified Financial Planner) and LUTCF (Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow). Some of Ken's talking points will include: How to sell real estate and incur no capital gains, how to find needed money or cash flow to purchase properties, how to reduce your taxes on rental income and how to increase rent and cash flow without being bombarded with taxes. Please plan to come for this $$$ saving presentation. What You Really Need To Know About Mold And Your Legal Liabilities In Missouri, a one day seminar will be held Wednesday, July 23rd at the St Louis Marriott Pavilion Downtown from 9 am until 4:30 pm. The registration fee is $299. Telephone 715.833.3940 Everyone is asking about rental property insurance. Our representatives in Jefferson City have been discussing the issue on behalf of homeowners, but "landlords" do not get the same sympathy. We will have to wait until the session ends (May 16) to determine if any progress has been made. Meanwhile we are publishing comments from a Metro East Landlords Association member, George Skidis, Jr. The insurance industry response to a St Louis Post- Dispatch query (5 Mar 03) was "No legislative or regulatory action is called for; insurance rates have been too low to cover recent catastrophic claims. Consumers who are canceled should shop around." I recently got a telephone call from a former resident who is looking for housing for medical and pharmacy students who will be doing post grad work in St Louis. The students have young families and good credit. Please telephone me (352-9140) for a contact number if you have any vacancies. Reminder: We will not have a general meeting in July. Hope to see you at the May meeting or at the lunch gatherings. Carondelet Holly Hills Landlords Association - March 2003 Minutes New members are continuing to send their membership applications and dues. The Landlords' conference is rescheduled for June 21, 2003. Jennifer Smith with the St Louis Botanical Garden and Bryan Kolde, our Neighborhood Stabilization Officer were the guest speakers on Monday, March 17, 2003. Treasurer, Mary DeMierre announced a current operating budget of $1,752.17. Jim Magnus gave updates on legislation and state senate bills that would affect landlords. Note: Please contact Jim Magnus to get a brief summary of the city and senate bills that will impact a landlord the most financially. **HB 278 Historic rehab tax credit. **SB441Allow counties to abate a portion of property taxes for certain purposes (lead abatement). **SB92 Regulate the prevention and screening of lead poisoning. No action taken, trying to get this bill withdrawn so all parties can work out their differences. Jan Quartuccio asked why property insurance companies frequently run credit reports upon the renewal of each insurance policy. This lowers a property owner's credit score significantly if they own multiple properties. The main purpsoe of the credit report is to determine how over extended on credit a policyholder is. Jim Magnus pointed out that there is a direct correlation of the property loss to the extension of a person's credit. Insurance companies' stance is that poor credit, maxing out on credit cards and past-dues on payments, translates to the likelihood that you are to burn down your property for an insurance claim. Jennifer Smith, an educator from the Missouri Botanical Garden, delivered a presentation on low maintenance plants and grass free landscaping for busy property owners. The first step is to assess the soil on your property. Determine if te ground is clay, sand, rock or dirt. If there is more clay the soil will retain more water during rains and dry out much quicker during the warmest days. If there is more sand and rocks then the water will drain slower. The second step is to determine he climatic zone you are in for planting and gardening. Residents of St Louis city are in Zone 6 and those in the county are in Zone 5. This will help you determine the right types of plants for your region. You can look on the placards or instructions that come with your plant selections to determine if it is suited to you particular zone. The last step is to determine if the plants will be in direct sun, part sun, shade or moist areas. The first three steps are vital to growing good and healthy plants. Start with a clean slate by eradicating all weeds with an herbicide such as Roundup or any other type of herbicide found at your local hardware or plant and gardening center. Vary the concentration depending on the weed growth. Wait the recommended number of days as instructed on the herbicide label before planting. Next lay some landscaped fabric (preferably non-woven fabric to allow water to drain) over the soil. Covers made from plastics do a great job at retaining moisture, however, they do not allow water to reach the plant readily and they are more likely to be punctured from sticks and twigs. After carefully spacing and planting the recommended depth, put down a layer of mulch around your plants. The purpose of mulch is to keep the weeds down and retain moisture. A new concept in mulching is applying rubber mulch, however, leaves and twigs tend to get mixed into the rubber mulch and make it harder to separate. Another downside to rubber mulch is that it does not decompose and is harder to rake. The recommended mulch is dark shredded birch bark. It looks more natural, decomposes and is easier to work with. Trees, shrubs and perennial plants break up the monotony in the landscape. They provide shade, ground cover, give your property curb appeal and increase the value of a property upon resale. Therefore in the placement of plants, you must pay particular attention to spacing between plants so they do not compete for water in the soil. Another aspect is to determine the eventual height your plants will grow. This consideration will balance your landscape and prevent plants from dwarfing your principal residence and hiding he property behind a wall of green leaves. Ground covers are ideal for those who do not like to mow grass, and they curb weed growth. They also keep the ground moist and the area around your property cool during summer months. Native plants common to Missouri do not have to be watered as frequently, do not require fertilizer and are low maintenance alternatives to grass. Other low maintenance plants may be referenced in the handouts Ms Smith brought, "Small Space Gardening", and "Natives in the Landscape". For a personal copy of these helpful guides, C/HHLA members can contact Patty Hofer at (314)352-9140. New members can apply for membership to the C/HHLA to receive the newsletter and the guides mentioned above. Bryan Kolde, our Neighborhood Stabilization Officer (NSO), gave us some instruction on what to do if you spot abandoned or illegally parked vehicles that pose a nuisance to the community. Vehicles that pose a safety hazard are more likely to be tagged and towed. Another factor to determine if a vehicle qualifies for towing is thyme number of outstanding tickets. Four outstanding tickets are enough for the city to tow the vehicle from the premises. Please call Brian at (314) 772-3484 should you have any concerns or you spot a vehicle that poses a safety hazard to your tenants or others and you would like some assistance in removing it. Please be mindful of any dumping done in the alleys and dumpsters. Communicate to your tenants and others that illegal dumping of bulk trash items can result in a court summons, possible fines and/or jail time. You may dispose of bulk items free each month at the city's transfer stations by showing proof of residency by displaying either a current driver's license with a city address, or paid property tax receipt. A limit of no more than 3 items per household/building may be placed out each month. Items may be disposed at one of the two City Refuse Transfer Stations at 4100 S First Street or 201 N Humbolt Avenue. The hour are Monday - Friday 9:00 4:00pm. You may contact the Citizens' Service Bureau at (314)622-4800 to report any bulk pick up that is missed. Respectfully Submitted by Thomas Chau XXXX RENTAL PROPERTY INSURANCE SURVIVAL While there is a growing concern by landlords nationwide to be able to find or avoid cancellation of affordable property insurance, insurance companies are desperately trying to find the magic formula to become profitable and keep the cream of their business. To do so they've started several strategies that you should be aware of, include credit scoring, insurance to value risk assessment, claims cancellation, loss bureau indexing, increased deductibles, and withdrawal from specific markets. Credit Scoring: Each company will determine how to pursue credit scoring. A simplified overview is as follows: A company such as Choice Point is retained to run credit scores. The agent has Internet access and runs the score before quoting a price. In auto and homeowner's insurance the rule of thumb is the lower the score the higher the price. This negatively impacts the poor, charging them more. Many lower income families now drive uninsured vehicles. This is in violation of state and local laws in many areas. Something similar is coming for rental property insurance. The credit score break down is along these lines. A credit score under 500 or 550 is uninsurable. 551 to 600 is high risk. 601 to 650 is marginal. 651 to 700 is good business. 701 to 750 is great business and 751 and up is the best preferred client that can be found. Many, if not all, insurance companies are now competing for only the preferred business. Insurance to Value risk assessment: You paid $12,000 for the property and spent $6.000 making it rentable. The insurance company hires the Insurance Services Organization or some other source to determine the replacement cost of your building. The determination is made by considering the square footage, type of construction, heating, plumbing and interior finishes. The cost calculator now claims your building with a current market value of $30,000 will cost $100.000 to rebuild. They charge your premium accordingly. Don't worry. Your policy is probably an "Actual Cash Value" policy. This means the insurance company only has to pay you $30,000 for a total loss. If you are fortunate enough to have a "Replacement Cost Policy", they will still only pay you $30.000, until you rebuild on the exact same location, and prove you spent the money. Claims Cancellation: Each company determines their own policy on this. After submitting one to three claims in a one to five year period, you're non-renewed or canceled by the insurance company. In the recent past having multiple lines of coverage (i.e. auto. home & life) with the same agent gave you some leverage if a loss occurred. This may not be the case anymore, especially if your tenant or some other entity deliberately set the fire or caused the damage. Loss Reporting Bureaus: With larger insurers, every claim you submit is documented by a national data base such as CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting and Evaluation), PILR (Property Insurance Loss Register) or some other acronym. What can you do to keep the insurance you have? You might consider raising your deductibles as high as you can afford to. Handle everything up to and slightly over that amount yourself. Another option would be to raise your deductible to half of what you can afford but only turn in claims over your cut off point. Example: You can afford a loss of $5,000. or so. Raise your deductible to $2,500 but only turn a claim in if it is $5,000 or more. Then, when a covered loss occurs, the out of pocket costs to you are less. Avoid turning in claims whenever possible. Work it out with the tenant or fix it yourself. If you call the 1-800 number, or claims department, with a coverage question, you could be indexed. Ask your agent, or even better an agent you have no current coverage with, a "hypothetical" question and see what he or she says. You could also ask a Public Insurance Adjuster. Check with your state department of insurance to determine if a government backed FAIR Plan is in place. FAIR stands for Fair Access to Insurance Requirements. Also referred to as the insurance pool, this is a market of last resort. If forced to go there, you'll probably have your property insurance in this less than fortunate market for at least five years. Actually, more like five years after your most recently submitted claim. Your cost of insurance in the FAIR Plan will be 20% to 50% higher than the premium you would pay with a real insurance company. Look very hard before accepting this non standard market as a place to insure your property. Are you trying to avoid cancellation of all of your properties? With the advice of your attorney, you might try the following three steps in combination with one another. First, consider holding title to your property in various trusts, LLC's or other entities with different names. As a double benefit, multiple entities of ownership are also considered great asset protection plans by many investors. Second, insure each property with a different agent or company (Drawbacks: you'll not be eligible for any multiple policy discounts and may not be able to purchase a liability umbrella policy to cover all units at same time). Third, your business cards should identify you as the property manager for a separate and legitimate management company. All three of these steps need to be done properly and legally. Any attempt at fraud will result in denial of your claim, or rescission (voiding) of your insurance policy. Work this out with competent legal representation before your first loss occurs. Then when a loss does occur you may get lucky. I repeat may get lucky. Nothing is ever truly perfect. Hopefully only the property involved in the loss will be canceled. Perhaps only the property which was damaged, and the entity which owns it, will be reported to CLUE or PILR. They could also index the name of your management company, but you can always open a new one. As property manager, your name may or may not end up in the data base. The company's insurance adjuster only has so many blanks they can fill in. I have often wondered if long names get indexed entirely or not at all. Is your property owned by "The 1957 Chevy Bel Air 2 Door Coupe And 4 Door Sedan In Two Tone Blue With Tuck And Roll Black Leather Upholstery Revocable Inter Vivos Land Trust dated 23 March 2003" in care of Jumbo Properties, 123 Any Street. Big Town, Illinois? Or is it owned by John the Landlord, Incorporated care of your home address? If you have a management company, make sure it has its own liability insurance. In addition, I highly recommend you obtain a "Commercial Liability Umbrella" of at least $1,000,000.00 to cover all of the properties managed by your company. A Personal Liability Umbrella frequently either does not cover rental properties, or covers only up to a stated number of rental dwellings. When a covered loss occurs, give serious consideration to hiring a Licensed and Bonded "Public Insurance Adjuster", to handle the matter for you. Your agent and the insurance company's adjuster will tell you almost anything to get you to cancel your contract with a Public Insurance Adjuster. They will even tell you that they will cancel one or all of your insurance policies if you don't drop the Public Adjuster's contract. In today's market the odds are they will probably cancel you anyway. When hiring a Public Insurance Adjuster you should receive the maximum claim benefit/adjustment to which you are legally entitled. An insurance claim payment can be increased 10 to 50% by a competent Public Insurance Adjuster. Most Public Adjusters charge 10% of the total loss as their fee for this service. As a recent example my client was offered around $75,000 for fire and water damage to his four family building. When all was said and done, my company collected over $100,000 for him. Our fee was over 10,000 and he was over $20,000 better off due to our services. George N. Skidis, Jr. is a Public Insurance Adjuster in Illinois and Missouri (618-520-8999). Pleasenote that due to legal issues involved, there may be differences in insurance laws in various states and regions of the country. George will be one of the instructors at the upcoming MrLandlord.com Convention. ****************************************** "The fellow that agrees with everything you say is either a fool or he is getting ready to skin you." Kim Hubbard XXXX Why can't we be friends? A few upfront questions can help you get along with your electrical contractor Unlike fine wine, house wiring, outlets and switches don't get better with age. In fact, the older the wiring, the more chances there are for potentially serious electrical hazards. If your home was built more than 60 years ago, you should call a licensed electrical contractor to inspect your home's wiring and wiring devices. This inspection is particularly important if you've added appliances that use a lot of electricity, such as a clothes dryer, central air conditioner, dishwasher or large entertainment systems. Outdoor outlets, especially around swimming pools and other areas of water, should be inspected and upgraded to include ground-fault circuit interrupters. If serious problems are found, such as wires with broken or brittle insulation, outlets worn out from years of use or a service panel that hasn't been upgraded to carry the larger loads of modern electric appliances, have the problems corrected by a trained, licensed electrician. Only 20 to 30 years ago appliances were much simpler and much less powerful. In those days 30- and 60-amp services were the norm. Today, that will barely run an electric dryer, at 30 amps, or a self cleaning oven at 50 amps minimum. Even today's hair dryers can use 1,800 watts, which is more than 15 amps. It's not hard to see that one 15- amp hair dryer on a 15-amp circuit doesn't leave much power for anything else. As years go by our electrical needs change, and to safeguard ourselves and our families we must avoid overloading wiring. Overloaded circuits should be divided and more powerful appliances should be put on separate circuits. Kitchen wiring should be updated and additional outlets should be installed to eliminate use of extension cords. Electrical services should be inspected with regards to condition and adequacy and the appropriate course of action should be taken. All this can, and should, be done by a licensed electrician. And what's the best way to get quality electrical work at a good price? The best answers to that question can come directly from the source — your neighborhood electricians. Electrical contractors and electricians say you can save yourself time and aggravation by knowing how they work. Start by asking a few questions: Ask about the kind of work the electrician does. Electrical contractors tend to specialize. Some only do new construction or remodeling work. Some do only minor repairs, such as installing a new light fixture or replacing an outlet or switch. So tell the electrician about the job you have in mind first. Ask if a permit is required. In many places, especially within towns or other incorporated areas, a permit is required when an electrician needs to run a new circuit or extend an existing one. It's usually not needed for simple repairs, such as replacing an outlet or light fixture. A permit provides you with protection, because a government inspector will come to your home to check and approve the electrician's work before the job is completed. The electrical contractor should always obtain the permit under his name, not yours, and post the permit on the job site. Ask if the electrician is a certified, licensed electrical contractor. Electricians are highly trained professionals. Their certification and state license are proof they have mastered their trade and that their work meets local electrical codes. For insurance reasons, it's always best to hire a licensed electrician, especially when a permit is required. Ask if the electrician carries insurance and worker's compensation. The last thing you want when you hire an electrical contractor is to be sued if a worker is injured while working in your home. Before you hire a contractor for a large project, ask to see proof of current insurance and a state license. For a typical remodeling job, an electrician should carry a minimum of $500,000 in liability insurance and worker's compensation coverage. For a small job, ask for an estimate over the phone. Electrical contractors don't mind coming out to give you an estimate, but on a small job they may lose money just driving to your home. Instead, the electrician may give you his minimum charge, or a fixed price for the job you have described. On larger jobs,, ask for an hourly rate. The average rate for a licensed electrician around the country varies widely. Expect to pay more if a helper is needed on the job. You should also call two or three contractors and ask them to come to your home to give you an estimate. And always ask for references. Ask the electrician to purchase all materials. You may think you'll save money by buying the materials yourself, but it's better for the electrician to make all the purchases. If the electrician buys the materials, he's responsible for warranty issues, defective products and broken or missing parts. For example, if you bought a light fixture and the electrician finds a part missing during installation, it's up to you to go back to the store and get the missing part. Meanwhile, the electrician sits around and charges you by the hour. If the electrician buys the fixture and a part is missing, it's his responsibility — and his time — to get the part. Ask who is responsible for any repairs caused by the job. To install a new circuit in your home, an electrician may need to drill or cut holes in walls. The repair work is generally not done by the electrician. The same is true if you're having landscaping lights installed outside and the contractor needs to dig trenches in the lawn and uproot shrubbery. The final question is how to pay for the services. On small jobs, the contractor expects payment when the job is completed. On larger jobs, the contractor will typically ask for 10 to 30 percent of the total job before work begins, with additional payments due upon completion of certain stages. For your protection, do not make the final payment until you've received a waiver stating that all suppliers and other workers on the job have been paid by the electrical contractor. Without this waiver, you may be responsible for these charges if the electrician doesn't pay them. And when consumers are asked what is the best way to find a qualified electrical contractor, word of mouth is often the No. 1 answer. Next best, they say, is pay a visit to your local wholesale electrical supply house and tell them about your project and ask for references. The Yellow Pages is another good source. For major projects, think twice before calling someone who advertises on a local bulletin board or neighborhood newspaper because they may not be certified and licensed. For more information on hiring and working with electrical contractors visit the following Web sites: www.leviton.com, the Web site of Leviton Institute, which works to educate consumers about electrical wiring devices and systems and to promote the safe use of electrical devices in the home; and www. electrical- contractor.net, an online resource for licensed electrical. contractors, electricians and electrical suppliers as well as consumers. XXXX FROM THE WORKSHOP OF DAN CHAU 1. Stain wood more smoothly and uniformly by wrapping you staining rag around a household sponge before applying stain. 2. When painting baseboards in a carpeted area, slip an old plastic Venetian blind slat between baseboard and carpet with curved side up. 3. To prevent leftover caulk from drying out in the tube, use a wire connector. The threads allow you to screw it on securely and you can use different sizes depending on how far down the tube the nozzle has been cut. 4. Save coffee cans or oatmeal boxes, remove the ends and nail horizontally along the overhead joists in your shop. It's a great way to store dowels, moldings, tubing, etc. 5. To keep your expensive paint brushes like new wash them with a shampoo and conditioner in one. The shampoo cleans and the conditioner keeps bristles ultra soft. 6. Keep the spray tube from your WD-40 can from getting lost by taping an empty Bic brand pen tube onto the side of the WD-40 can. Then slip in the spray tube and replace the pen cap. 7. Transfer your wood glue into an empty mustard bottle. It dispenses easily and is designed to allow very little air to reach the contents, even when you leave the top open. XXXX Clip and post on your refrigerator ____________________________________________ RESOURCES for Landlords Advertising Rental Units http://www.mstl.org/relocating/for-rent.htmlMetropolis - nonprofit that promotes city living, donations appreciated Socialserve.com - user friendly free and resource for you to list and fill your rental vacancies. 314.802.5433 Tenant Screening http://www.northcs.com/norser/ NORTHLAND SERVICE 800.905.8774 Credit Reports & More 618.344.1600 Credit Verification Services 314.772.4500 Apartment Tenant Screening 636.946.9200 www.google.com www.mrlandlord.com http://www.stlouiscity.com/assess/lookup.cfm - finding previous landlords Forms www.gmaprinting.com - EPA lead paint forms mrlandlord.com - forms for all circumstances New Resource for Tenants and Landlords Socialserve.com is an affordable housing data base and website launched on 2/5/03 for the St. Louis community. It was developed to provide individuals and families with easy access to good quality information on affordable rental units. In its first few weeks of operation in St. Louis, the site included postings of 425 available units, 50% of which were rented in less than two weeks' time. Residents of the City of St. Louis performed 3,750 housing searches on the site in the first month alone. More than just a website, Socialserve.com is a tool for establishing mutually beneficial collaboration among community organizations and individuals involved in affordable housing—landlords, Realtors, neighborhood associations, housing authorities, and public officials. Importantly, it is a free and user- friendly resource for you to list and fill your rental vacancies! XXXX The Credit Score Secret By Kristin Baird Rattini How Lenders Really Rate You Susan Sperry, a public relations manager from Decatur, Georgia, always assumed she had a decent credit record. So last summer, when interest rates plummeted, she decided to refinance her mortgage. "I went to a broker, and he said, Thanks, but no thanks.' My credit score was too low," recalls Sperry. "I was very much surprised." What's a credit score, you ask? If the term is unfamiliar to you, you're not alone. In today's tough economic times, your credit score carries more weight than ever. Yet most Americans don't know their credit score from their driver's license number, let alone how it's calculated. For decades, credit-reporting agencies kept the existence of this number secret. That changed as the freer flow of information over the Internet led consumers and legislators to start pressuring agencies to make this information public. Fortunately, it's now much easier to obtain your score, learn how it was calculated and use that information to improve it. Do You Rate 300 or 850? If you've ever applied for a mortgage or car loan, you've probably seen your credit report. This document lists all the positive and negative information in your credit file. A credit score crunches all this data into a three-digit number. "It's a numeric snapshot of the information in a report," says Tom Quinn, director of Fair, Isaac & Company in San Rafael, California, which pioneered credit scores in the late 1950s. Each time you apply for a loan or credit, the lender contacts one or more of the three major credit- reporting agencies in the United States: TransUnion in Chester, Pennsylvania, Experian in Costa Mesa, California; and Equifax in Atlanta, Georgia. "The lender pulls your report, and at that instant, the score is calculated," says Quinn. "Lenders look at it to evaluate whether to provide credit and on what terms." Credit scores range from a low of 300 to a high of 850. Sperry's broker said her three scores averaged 620: good enough for some lenders but not for him. Another broker might have extended credit but charged more for it. A low score can add two to three points to a mortgage interest rate and 10 percent or more to an auto-loan rate. Credit scores are based on five kinds of information. Length of credit history, types of credit used (credit cards, installment loans, mortgages) and amount of new credit applied for in the past year or two account for about 35 percent of a score. Amount owed, or level of indebtedness, accounts for 30 percent. Payment history alone accounts for 35 percent. "Its no surprise that how people paid bills in the past is considered very predictive of how they'll pay in the future," Quinn says. Lenders look at recent information most closely, but a credit score is based on all the information in a file, which means old debts can come back to haunt you—as they did Sperry. After she was rejected, Sperry learned that her credit report contained information on three late payments she had made—on a car loan, credit card bill and store charge card— while briefly unemployed almost seven years before. It also said she was near her $4,000 limit on the one credit card she carried. "The irony is that I don't have many cards on purpose," she says. "So even though my total debt wasn't out of line, I was near my limit" Aware that the old late-payment information would drop out of her file after seven years, Sperry decided to wait four months until it did and reapply for refinancing then. In the meantime. she concentrated on paying down her balance. The strategy worked. When she reapplied to refinance four months later, one of her scores jumped almost 40 points and another increased 80 points. How to Check Your Score Scores can vary among reporting agencies, which may use slightly different formulas to compute them and/or may have different information on file. Lenders may contact one or more agencies. Scores are individual, so couples need to know how each spouse's scores may affect a credit application. Says Quinn, "If one has a bad credit history, a lender may say to the other, Why don't you apply on your own?" Scores also fluctuate when new information is added to a credit report. If an entry is wrong, a score can suffer. "You need to be watchful," says Pat Epperson, an education specialist at the nonprofit Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Forth Worth Texas. "You need to request your reports from all three agencies every year and make sure they're accurate." If you never seen your report and don't know what your credit score is, it might be wise to find out You can get information from these agencies: TransUnion, Consumer Disclosure, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022; 800-888-4213; www.transunioncom. Experian, P.O. Box 2002, Alien, TX 75013-2104; 888-397-3742; www.experian.com Equifax, P.O. Box 105873, Atlanta, GA 30348; 800-685-1111; www.equifax.com or www.myfico.com Charges vary by state of residence to a cap of $9 to $13. Beware of other companies offering free reports. They may be lenders trying to offer loans. What Lenders Like to See If you find an error in a report, write a letter to that agency and attach copies of any papers corroborating the facts. If the agency can't confirm the disputed entry, it will be removed from your report. If a creditor claims it's accurate, it stays in, but you can add a statement presenting your side of the story. Just knowing your score and the contents of your credit report can increase your negotiating power with lenders. Knowing how to address their concerns and emphasize positive information in your file can enhance their sense of your credit worthiness. But while this may help convince a lender to grant a loan, you'll probably pay higher rates and fees if you have a low score. A better long-term strategy is to work to improve it. "Your credit score is like your cholesterol number," says Jan Davis, executive vice president of TransUnion. "It's a measure of financial health. If you know what it is, you can change your behavior to make yourself more healthy." When you get your report, the credit-reporting agency will tell you your score and list four things affecting it and what you can do in each case to improve it. Here are some basic tips: Pay bills on time. Lenders want to see that you're financially responsible. Pay down credit card balances. High balances indicate you're over extended and may miss payments. Close inactive credit card accounts. Lenders fear that too many open lines of credit can lead to overspending. Don't open a lot of new accounts in a short period of time. It tells lenders you could run up high debts too quickly. You won't be able to change your credit score overnight. It takes time to establish a record of positive behavior and have your score reflect that. But by breaking bad habits and forming good ones—especially in the two crucial areas of payment history and amount owed—you can improve your score and reap financial benefits. Sperry can attest to that. As a result of working hard (to pay down her credit card balance, when she reapplied to refinance her mortgage, her application, was approved, and she was able to lock in a fixed rate of 6 ½ percent—a savings of $250 a month over her old mortgage. "Not paying attention to my credit report and credit score could have cost me so much in the long run," she says. "I now realize it's extremely important to know your score and how what you're doing can impact it." FC Factors that Affect Your Credit Score Factor Weight Good Bad Payment History 35% On Time Late Amount Owed 30% Little Limit Credit History 15% Solid Erratic New Credit 10% Few Several Types of Credit 10% Loans Cards Kristin Baird Rattini, a freelance writer, often reports on consumer issues. " Knowing your score gives you negotiating power." 48 Family Circle 7/16/02 www.familycircle.com **** St Louis Metropolitan Fatherhood Programs: Strengthening Families Through Involved Fathers; the fourth annual Fatherhood Conferen ce will be held Wed, June 4, 2003 from 8:30 am - 8 pm in the JC Penney Auditorium at UMSL. Registration is $35 Contact Lisa Usery or Debby Brauch at 314.621.2737 ****** Thinking about Christmas Now will Pay Off! As spring sunshine finally arrives it's hard to think about Christmas, but now might be the very best time of the year to do just that. A Christmas Club from St Anthony Credit Union can save on large bill and large headaches next January! All it takes is a $10 deposit to open an account. With regular weekly deposits, your Christmas Club will grow. The more you deposit, the less you'll have to worry about next Christmas! Stop by your local bank or credit union today to open your Christmas Club Savings account. ****** Don't anger the landlord when changing the look of the apartment In nearly every state across the country there are tenants and there are landlords. Whether you rent a three-bedroom duplex in a high-rise or a bedroom in someone's house, there are certain dos and don'ts when it comes to decorating the space. Here are some handy tips to get you by: * Do ask your landlord his or her opinion. Find out if improvements are even an option and what exactly can be done. Some landlords and buildings have strict restrictions that must be followed or you could lose your security deposit and even be sued. * Don't assume that if you like it, your landlord will also. Try to stay away from dark or loud paint colors that will be difficult to paint over. And be considerate with holes you make into the walls, which will have to be patched later. * Do use fabrics, posters and furnishings to represent your personal style, Removable items are best for apartment living. * Don't wallpaper or make structural changes. It is very time-consuming process to remove wallpaper. Most landlords would prefer you don't use it at all. Consider instead removable borders that can easily be torn off when you move. *Don't cut holes in walls or install permanent structures like moldings without prior permission. * Do ask your landlord to make repairs. This way you won't be responsible if something goes wrong. * Don't hammer, saw or drill during late hours, disturbing your landlord and neighbors. You might end up getting yourself evicted. Source: Metro ******* Common Strength "It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office" --H. L. Mencken *******
The Articles contained in this news letter and on the stlouislandlord.com web site are included for the informational, educational and occasional amusement value the might provide. Articles are not included to represent the definitive answer to any situation. They are not intended to provide legal advice. And they are not intended to represent the views of any board member or general member of the Carondelet/Holly Hills Landlords' Association. Read, Enjoy. Use what you can and leave the rest. If you have any questions, comments or story ideas Please contact Patty at 314-352-9140
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