Does your Credit Report Reflect Your Character?

Does your credit report reflect your character? Increasingly, Employers are answering, “yes.” According to Business Sense, 42% of US employers said they performed a credit check on employees in 2006 - a jump from 35% in 2004. Invasion of privacy? Perhaps. You don’t have to sign the consent form, and you don’t have to apply for the job.

I remember the first time I was faced with the choice of peeing into a cup or declining the job interview. For me, this was an encroachment on my civil liberties. I compromised my principles, went on the interview, and got the job. As it turned out, I never peed into the cup.

Maybe your credit report doesn’t reflect your character. Maybe it’s invasive for employers to check your credit. Maybe it’s better to get your credit life in order.

Stimulating Economic Stimulus Package of 2008

On Wednesday, 13 Feb, 2008, President Bush signed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. Read it here: Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.

You may have heard that taxpayers will be receiving an ‘income tax rebate.’ The law also contains some temporary relief for home loan borrowers. It applies for Freddie, Fannie, and FHA loans written between 1 July 07 (not a typo…) and 31 December 08. So, get ‘em while you can – if you can.

Supersize that?

A loan for a single family home that is greater than $417,000 does not conform to FHLMC/FNMA (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, respectively) limits, and is called a ‘Jumbo’ loan. Larger loans are considered riskier, and interest rates for them are higher.

The stimulus package temporarily (curiously, 07/01/07 until 12/31/0 sets the limit higher in certain parts of the country. Illinois is not one of them. In Illinois, then, as in most of the country, a Jumbo is still a Jumbo. Check here for Jumbo sizes in other parts of the country. If your location isn’t on this list, then the loan limit for Freddie and Fannie loans is still $417,000 for a single family home.

Retro is in. Long live FHA.

In the good old days, if you didn’t have 20% to plop down on a house, you might get an FHA loan, for which you only needed to plop down about 3%. They also had a different set of requirements, some of them more favorable to borrowers. Then came the heydays of loose money and wacky loans. FHA loans were still available, but with tighter restrictions, more rules, and lower loan size limits, fell out of favor in recent times.

The days of easy loans are gone, and FHA is back in the spotlight. FHA limits have increased to $410,000 (from $271,050) in the Chicagoland area. This limit is good for loans funded by 31 December, 2008. Note that lenders are still figuring out their lending rules for FHA loans greater than $362,790. Click here for FHA limits in other areas.
Coming down the pike: FHA Modernization Act…. Stay tuned.

What Price Art

Check out my essay, “What Price Art?” It appears in FaithHopeandFiction.com, a community of readers and writers who share stories that inspire and entertain.

Enjoy!

Ben Stein on the Question of Recession

Are we in a recession? Why do we care? I’m not saying that I don’t care that many people are hurting financially. I’m just wondering why everyone is worried about a label (recession) that they don’t even understand. Ben Stein is talking about his world in this video:

http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/moneymag/2008/01/21/mom.stein.recession.moneymag 

(Please excuse the commercial. I don’t know how to cleanly link to this. Advice is welcome.) 

You’re probably not concerned about the same things as Ben… but we all have things in our lives that matter more than whether our GDP will be declining this quarter and next…. To misquote an old Bob Dylan song – Do you need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows?

More on Lauren — Being Heard

It occurs to me that Lauren humiliated herself and family because she felt that this was the only way she could express herself — and be heard. Of course, I don’t know if this is true, but it seems to me that people are willing to go to great lengths, and at great personal expense to be heard. And sadly, they still are not. All we can do is express, and hope that someone ‘gets it.’

Lauren’s Moment of Truth

Did Lauren Cleri put herself and her family through this ordeal for the money? She knew the questions before the show began. For Lauren Cleri, this is not about the money. In her own words:”Well, to be honest, I am really not concerned about the money. I just, I feel a lot better about this, everything I need to get off of my chest.” Why did she choose to humiliate herself and family on national TV? I think the outcome of her last question is telling. In response to the question, “Do you think you’re a good person?” Lauren answered “Yes.” With this response she failed the test. So, Lauren really doesn’t think she is a good person, and her subconscious is driving her to prove it - in a very big way. At the same time, she is relieving herself of the burden of hiding her secrets. I hope for Lauren and  her family, the healing can begin.

Feed the Machine

The Military Industrial Complex is failing us. War is supposed to generate demand for weapons to keep our economy strong. Yet, recent economic history has us relying on consumer demand for stuff. With weak demand, we are offered a stimulus package. Give us money to spend on stuff. Not on war bonds like in the 40’s, but on stuff. The refunds we are being issued have been spent.  So, are we talking refunds, really, or are we talking about borrowed money? I think we’re talking borrowed money. So, here, kids. Be good Americans. Take this borrowed money. Go forth and buy some more stuff so our economy gets back on track.

The First Step

A large tree grows from a tiny seed.

A tall building arises from a single brick.

A journey of a thousand miles begins byputting one’s foot down.

- Tao Te Ching