2015
AUGUST NEWSLETTER
CREDIT
Office pic

Letter from Outreach Director
Teresa Lambarry


Happy Friday to you!

This month we will be discussing with you the very important topic of keeping your credit in good standing at all times. You may think that it was only important to have good credit at the time that you bought your property, but that is not the case.

Your credit, whether it be good or bad, speaks to others about your spending habits and your level of fiscal responsibility.  

Ed Finkel, in the lead article, interviews experts on credit management - housing counseling managers. They give us tips and recommendations for keeping our credit in good standing. Hope you enjoy the newsletter. 

Until next month!


Teresa Lambarry
Board of Directors
Bruce Gottschall
President

Patricia Abrams
Vice-President

Ofelia Navarro
Secretary

Lawrence Grisham
Ex-officio Director

Calvin Holmes
Treasurer

Joy Aruguete
Joel Bookman
Pamela Gecan
Cornelius Griggs
Timothy Hughes
Edward H. Jacob
Rosanna Marquez
Robert McGhee
Guacolda Reyes
William W. Towns
Marva Williams
Jeffrey Wright

Staff

Teresa Lambarry,
Outreach Director
Executive Director Transition Underway
 
CCLT Executive Director Kara Breems, who has held her position since 2010, is moving on to other responsibilities in the Department of Planning and Development at the City of Chicago.

"The five years I've spent at the CCLT have been incredibly rewarding and exciting," said Breems. "Helping 70 families to purchase and stay in their homes has been a highlight of the past five years, as has working with the talented and committed Board of Directors; learning more about the land trust movement; and expanding and deepening the CCLT's post-purchase education programming, including expansion of the newsletter."
 
Assistant Commissioner Irma Morales will be filling in as Interim Executive Director at the CCLT until a new Director is hired.

CCLT'S Homeowner Tip of the Month
Pay your bills!

Pay your mortgage, property taxes, condo or association assessments, all utility bills, and any payments owed to contractors, etc., who do work on your home. (Article 6.1)
 
As a CCLT homeowner, you will also pay a monthly covenant fee to the CCLT, which is currently $25 per month, with a 1-month discount if you pay in-full or authorize automatic withdrawals from your bank account. (Article 5.2)
Next Month's Homeowner's Corner: Share your tips or stories regarding Condo Ownership
Condo Ownership!

I myself am a condo owner and am ecstatic sometimes--and then sometimes, not so much.

A lot of people feel that owning a condo is almost like renting. But I don't agree! You have rights to do whatever you want to in your condo as long as what you want to do is within the guidelines of city code and condo board guidelines. You get to claim your property taxes and interest paid on your loan and get money back instead of paying more income taxes.

Send me your tips and stories to share no later than Monday, September 14, 2015, at 4 p.m.
Upcoming Events

Find out what volunteer opportunities WTTW has for you in August click here.
Your Ward Information
FIND OUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR WARD:
 
Below are links to all the wards where CCLT homeowners are living.
 
If you don't see your ward, or if your ward has changed, please bring it to my attention. Use the link to access your ward newsletter and find out how to engage in your own community.
 
Featured Article:  
Give Yourself Some Credit--by Maintaining (or Rebuilding) It
By Ed Finkel

Good credit is the ticket to the good life.
 
Whether you're applying for a mortgage, a car loan, student loans or even a job, in many cases the corresponding organization will check your credit score and go from there. If you don't measure up, your choices might range from a loan with a sky-high interest rate to nothing at all.
 
"In today's world, there's a lot of people whose finances are not up to par," says Emilio L. Carrasquillo, neighborhood director at the Home Ownership Educational Center in Back of the Yards, a program run by Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago. "It's very important to have good credit. It's more important than before, probably. And yet a lot of people don't have the understanding of credit bureaus and how to maintain good credit."
 
Maintaining good credit provides a number of benefits, says Ruth Contreras-DiDiana, director of Greater Southwest Development Corp. "You can obtain loans and credit at a lower interest rate," she says. Good credit helps you get hired, "especially in jobs that involve anything with finance or money. It's easier to lease or rent property, open a checking account, establish utility service without any downpayment or deposits required, and also pay insurance for auto or housing a much lower rate."
 
Credit Scores 101
Generally speaking, credit scores between 620 and 680 are considered marginally good--one can get a mortgage but probably not with conventional financing--680 to 750 are solid, and anything above 750 is outstanding, says Peter Nelson, pre-purchasing coordinator at Northside Community Development Corp.
 
"You're essentially telling the lending industry what your consumer practices are, with your credit score," he says. "Keeping it in a certain range is important, the higher the better. .... If somebody is 620 to 680, they can still get financing as long as other things are OK--they don't have collections, and they haven't filed for bankruptcy or been in foreclosure in the past."
 
Julio Rodriguez, director of financial education at Northwest Side Housing Center, says even those with reasonably good credit scores could still stand to improve them. He recalls a client with a credit score of about 680 or 690 who wanted to refinance their home from a 4.9 percent interest rate to 3 percent, but they needed a 720 score.
 
"They would have been able to save $150 to $200 per month on the monthly payment," he says. "It really does help to facilitate your experience as a consumer, with how much you have to pay out of pocket. You help yourself in the long run avoid costly fees that you would have to pay with bad credit." Those can include payday lenders, Rodriguez adds, who charge interest of up to 300 percent.
 
How to Maintain Good Credit
The most important building block to maintaining good credit in the first place is to pay your loan installments and credit card bills on time, Contreras-DiDiana says. "If you fall behind, it's reported to the credit bureau, and you see a reduction in score," she says. "The trick then is to pay it off as quickly as possible, or pay the balance off on a monthly basis."
 
Back of the Yards offers financial coaches to help people plan for and achieve their credit goals, Carrasquillo says. To keep credit strong in the first place, homeowners take a look at housing costs, which ideally should be less than one-third of a household's total budget, and work on cutting back elsewhere as needed, whether on utility bills, insurance or other expenditures.
 
Financial coaches also help homeowners build a mix of debt, and hopefully not all revolving debt, Carrasquillo says. Three credit cards is about the right number to show that you're able to pay them off without looking like you're overdrawn, he says, but any such cards should be regularly used. "You need to have some type of activity," he adds. "Without activity, your credit score is going to slowly drop. It's all about understanding how the system works."
 
"It's important to use your card," Contreras-DiDiana agrees. "If it just sits there and isn't used, it's not going to improve your score."
 
Rodriguez suggests a keeping healthy mixture of different types of debt--student loan, car loan, credit cards, etc.--and being proactive about tracking them and paying them off. "It's easy to go into debt. If you don't have the money, you shouldn't use it," he says. "Look at your finances, look at your budget, keep your balances low and make your payments on time."
 
Nelson echoes the thoughts about a healthy mix and paying your credit card on time, although he says that doesn't necessarily have to mean the full amount every time. "Just make at least the minimum payment on time," he says. Having a mix "shows that you are aware of your financial situation and can pay different kinds of debts on time."
 
How to Rebuild Your Credit
When faced with clients who have fallen behind significantly on their payments and need to rebuild credit, Greater Southwest assigns them to a financial coach who helps them put together an organized debt payoff plan, says Contreras-DiDiana says. That person first reviews their credit report to see if, by chance, one of the credit bureaus has made a mistake--and if so, to dispute the error, to which the bureau must reply within 30 days.
 
"If there are outstanding balances owed, the next step is to contact the creditor or the collection agency to try to pay them down," she says. "You can't ignore them. They don't go away. ... Sitting down with a financial coach is extremely important. They can set a budget to do the pay-down. At the end of the day, it really comes down to budget."
 
Rodriguez suggests starting your credit rebuild with a small secured loan debt or secured credit card. Homeowners usually pay a small fee for these, but partly for that reason they're easier to obtain than other types of credit, and with gradual repayment one can begin to re-establish credit credibility.
 
Nelson also suggests a secured credit card tied to a cash deposit or other form of collateral. "If you go over, or you do not pay, or you run into trouble, whatever amount you're delinquent on, the bank will just remove that from the deposit," he says. "Folks can use that as their credit card, and once they're confident they can move on to other credit. You close that account since you have a good score again, and that can help secure another credit card with possibly a higher limit and a lower interest rate."
 
It helps your credit score the most to use about 30 percent of your available credit, Nelson says. A bit higher than that, "It's not really hurting you, but it's not really helping you," he says. "And once it shows up that your ratio is high, it will adversely affect your score because you're not allowing yourself a whole lot of wiggle room. You're maxing it out and have less cushion. Obviously life happens--emergencies happen--so it's important for folks to keep in mind that leaving yourself some cushion and some security is a best practice."

Current CCLT Property Listings

Loop Area
Near West Side Resale Unit
Loop Area
Resale Unit

1345 South Wabash, 60605 
Condos - 1 bedroom 1 bath 
ONLY 2 UNITS LEFT! HURRY!
Special Home Sales Program
  • One-bedroom condominiums for $133,000
  • Beautifully finished with elegant cabinetry and stainless steel appliances
  • Affordable property taxes
  • Premier downtown location close to lakefront, parks restaurants and  public transportation

659 West Randolph, Unit 504 - Junior 1 bedroom/
1 bath

Price:$143,500
To view call Tara Scott at 872.395.3960   
Visit:www.unit504.weebly.com for more pics & info
 
There is a generous walk-in closet and high contemporary cabinetry and granite counters, efficiency front load washer and dryer in the unit
 
The building features a fitness center, 24 hour doorman, dog run, party room, bike storage and pool. Assessments include everything except electric.
 
Walk to work in the Loop or walk to CTA or Metra!
   
Also walk to Whole Foods, Mariano's Jewel and Walmart. Steps to bars and fine dining along Restaurant Row. Divvy station located directly across the street. Plenty of parking is available for rent in the area.
 
Income and other restrictions apply:
*  Mortgage pre-approval by one of CCLT participating lenders
*  CCLT, Homebuyer and Condo training required
 
Buyer must be income qualified at or below 100% AMI:
Household Size
Maximum income
100%
1 person
$53,200
2 persons
$60,800

For more information email Teresa Lambarry @ [email protected] or call her at 312.744.5086.
235 West VanBuren, Unit 1820
Condo 1 bedroom/1 bath 

Price: $152,804
To view please contact:
Nu Van - Phone: 617.595.0478
 
Beautiful condo with great view! 
Located in the Loop close to                         shopping, theaters. Unit includes                 stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and hardwood flooring. New 3-acre park under construction adjacent to property. There is an I-Go car sharing location or walk to work.
 
Income and other restrictions apply:
  • Mortgage pre-approval by one of CCLT's participating lenders
  •  Homebuyer, Condo & CCLT training required
Buyer must be income qualified at or below 100% AMI:
 
Household Size
 
Max income
1 person
 
$53,200
2 persons
 
$60,800
For more information please email Teresa Lambarry at:
or call her at 312.744.5086.