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Getting Personal
Getting Personal
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About the author
Christopher Farrell is economics editor of Marketplace Money, a nationally syndicated one-hour weekly personal finance show produced by American Public Media.
On the topic of the reader at odds with the homeowner's association, he might check his homeowner's policy. Some policies contain coverage for "loss assesment" of the type that happened in his situation. This loss assesment coverage provides coverage in the case the association levies an assessment on you for damage to the common property or liability from commonly owned property. As an insurance agent, we reccomend maximizing this coverage if you live in a condominium association or homeowners association.
Dear MPM:
I'm 74 years old and am in a relatively comfortable financial position.
My latest FICO statement shows a pretty high credit rating (774), but certainly not a really high one. It is [comparably] low, the service tells me, because my report does not show any open, currently active major credit card accounts, such as Discover, American Express, VISA, or MasterCard.
Additionally, my house is paid for, as well as my car. I have only one debit/credit card and never allow purchases to go over my bank balance. I maintain a pretty-good backup savings account for Unexpected Big Expenses.
I want to sell my house and move into an Assisted Continuous Living facility. The house needs some fixes to improve salability.
I'd like to raise my rating. Would it be a good idea to take out a tax-deductible loan (or line of credit) to pay for some much-needed house repairs? I am deathly afraid to do this because of the horror stories I have heard about the credit card companies -- how they
--raise rates without warning
--change due dates
--inflict extra charges and penalties
--offer misleading introductory rates
--etc
Do you know of ANY honest money-lender that wouldn't ambush me?
Should I just subside until new legislation is in place?
Thanks.
Maggie Morley
Kensington, CA
mamorley@ix.netcom.com
