T he P ortland O bserver • F ebruary 16, 1994
P r o p e r ty T a x D e fe r r a l
A v a ila b le To S e n io rs
The co m p assionate side o f
state governm ent can be found in
its com m itm ent to senior citizens,
and in the case o f property taxes,
helping low and m oderate-incom e
sen io rs to rem ain in their houses
through the property tax deferral
program .
The prem ise o f the program
is sim ple: No low or m oderate-
incom e sen io r citizen in O regon
should lose their house because
they can ’t pay their property taxes.
U n d er th e D e p a rtm e n t o f
R ev en u e’s sen io r deferral pro
gram , q u alified senior citizens
can d efer paym ent o f property
taxes to their estate. State gov
ernm ent pays the taxes to your
cou n ty , m aintains the account,
and only ch arg es 6% sim ple in
terest which is also deferred.
The elem ents of the program
are ju st as easy:
•
You need to be 62 years
old.
•
You m u st liv e on the
property and have a deed or a
recorded sales contract.
•
A person only has to file
once unless they rem arry or are a
surviving spouse.
•
Your household incom e
m ust be less than $ 19,500 for the
year before you apply, and once
on the program you need an a d
ju sted gross incom e o f $ 2 4 ,— or
less to p articip ate.
•
You can com e in and out
o f the program depending on how
your incom e goes up and down.
•
A p p licatio n s form s are
a v a ila b le fro m y o u r c o u n ty
assesso r’s office. Taxes are owned
when the taxpayer getting the d e
fe rral d ies, sells the pro p erty ,
changes ow nership, or cease to
live perm anently on the property.
A surviving spouse how ever,
can continue to d efer past and
future taxes if they are at least 59
1/2 and file a new application. If
they are not yet 59 1/2, they m ust
w ait and rcfile when they reach
62 to have fuuire taxes deferred.
The senior deferral program
has helped hundreds o f thousands
o f O regonians since its inception
in 1964. In an average year, the
D epartm ent o f R evenue receives
ab o u t 2 ,0 0 0 a p p lic a n ts. 1,823
people applied in the last filing
p e rio d ; 1,652 w ere ap p ro v ed ,
along with 170 surviving spouses.
The program is also fin an
cially self-su fficien t. In the last
three years, the departm ent c o l
lected enough in repaym ents from
its 12,000 accounts to avoid u s
ing its state budget funds to pay
the taxes.
The need for this program is
strong.
S enior O regonians are m ore
likely to live on fixed incom es,
and the ab ility to pay property
taxes is p o ten tially critica l in a r
eas that have experienced sky
rocketing property values in re
cent years.
As a resu lt, the senior d e fe r
ral program can not only help
people rem ain in their hom es, but
can pro v id e som ething ju s t as
valuable.
I t’s called peace o f m ind, and
i t ’s part o f the successful and
ongoing partnership between state
g o v ern m en t and the people o f
O regon.
P age B7
C h e c k Your C re d it R e c o rd B e fo re
A p p ly in g For A M o rtg a g e
by S teve C arter , D irector
S pecial S ervices , C entury 21
N orthwest R egion
You feel it’s time to start looking
for that perfect house, but before you
start talking to mortgage lenders,
you’d better review your credit record.
It will reveal virtually every loan and
credit card debt you’ve accumulated.
Few people have a spotless credit
history, but taking time now to clean
up or explain any negative marks can
significantly enhance your chance of
getting mortgage in the future.
Your record during the past 12
months will be inspected much more
closely than of previous years, but any
negative information remains on your
record for seven to ten years. Also,
lenders may be more interested in the
timeliness of your mortgage and rent
payments than your experience with
other debts.
Home buyers should not allow
themselves to be caught off guard
when applying fora mortgage. If you
feel your credit record needs modifi
cation, obtain a copy of it at least two
months before seeing a lender. If you
have been refused credit, federal laws
states you are entitled to a free copy of
the information the credit bureau pro-
it against you.
Your mortgage lender will also
look at your credit record to review
your monthly bills. These debts, in
cluding auto and credit card payment,
together with your potential mort
gage payment, will be compared to
our income and against generally ac
cepted deb-income ratios to deter
mine if you can comfortably afford
your monthly obligations.
Cleaning your credit record of
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SAFETY
Take Care of Your Vehicle
If You Care for Your Life
News USA
(NU) - This is a puzzler about a
near-fatal automobile accident. Can
you diagnose what m ight have been
done to prevent it?
Louis G., a sound technician, driv
ing home after a long day’s work,
slipped his favorite cassette in the
tape deck. His attention was dis
tracted just long enough to drift off
the pavement onto the shoulder. He
hit a rough spot and his van bounced
out o f control. Because Louis’ seat
belt was unfastened, his head hit the
ceiling.
Before he could regain control he
hit a concrete overpass abutment. The
impact totaled his van and nearly
killed Louis.
The accident was attributed to
“driver inattention."
QUESTION: "W hat besides "in
attention " m ight have contributed to
the accident?
ANSWER: Mechanical evaluation
of the wreckage might have revealed
an important contributing factor: The
vehicle had weak shock absorbers
and loose steering linkage.
Many accidents caused by exces
sive speed, driving under the influence,
brake failure or some other single fac
tor, more accurately might be attributed
to a combination of conditions. In Louis'
case, a mechanical defect.
A more “forgiving" vehicle is one
which the integrity of all mechanical
systems helps the driver avoid, rather
than create, an emergency.
Louis’s van lacked ride control.
Weak shock absorbers caused exag
gerated bouncing when he hit the
bump on the shoulder. Further, loose
steering linkage may have been a fac
tor in his drifting too far to the right.
W hether your vehicle is equipped
with shock absorbers or struts (part
o f the suspension system with a
shock absorber built in), says the
Car Care Council, these components
play a vital safety role of any car,
truck or van. In addition to allowing
loss of control on a rough surface,
weak shocks and struts allow a ve
hicle to lose contact with the road,
can cause roll or sway on turns, front-
end dive when braking, and rear-end
squat when accelerating. They’ll also
allow the rear end to bottom out (with
a thump) on bumps.
Beyond safety, the Council cites
additional benefits o f replacing worn
ride control components. These are
improved ride and reduced wear on
tires, steering and suspension com
ponents.
Additional signs o f worn shocks
and struts are revealed in an under
car inspection, the most common
being fluid leaking from the part.
Other symptoms, along with more
information on ride control, are in
cluded in a new pamphlet available
without charge from the Car Care
C o u n c il. Send a b u sin e ss-siz e ,
stamped, self-addressed envelope to
the Car Care Council. Department
RC, One Grande Lake Drive, Port
Clinton, OH 43452.
Tidbits, Tips and Brochures
Today, as you approach Battle
jour on the South Coast of Labra-
the village and its spectacular
tline look much as they did in the
3s. For more information on La
lor, write to Destination Labrador,
Humphrey Road, Bruno Plaza,
radorCity, labrador. NF, Canada,
/ 2J8. O rcall 1-800-563-6353.
• Lengthy exposure to loud noise
or even music can cause serious per
manent hearing loss, which afflicts
one out of every 10 people. For more
information on hearing and hearing
disorders, call the Hearing HelpLine
a, 1-800-EAR-W ELL. Or write Bet
ter Hearing Institute, P.O. Box 1840,
W ashington. DC 20013.
errors, explaining delinquent periods
in your past and making an effort to
pay all bills in a timely fashion takes
time and perseverance, but in the long
run can mean easier home purchases.
For more information contact
Steve Carter, Director Special Ser
vices, Century 21 Northwest Region
at (206)248-2100, 18000 Interna
tional Boulevard, Suite 1021, SeaTac,
WA 98188.
503/335-0189
Like A Good Neighbor - State Farm Is There.®
Home: (503) 697-9822
Black History Month
vided your prospective lender. Also,
copies of your credit history are avail
able for a nominal fee from credit-
reporting companies such as Trans
Union Corp., TRW or Equifax Credit
Information Services.
Once you acquire a copy of your
credit record, check it for inaccura
cies. If you disagree with any infor
mation in the report, a formal dispute
can be filed with the credit reporting
agency. The agency is then required
to check the information with the
lender or credit grantor. If the credit
grantor cannot verify the data, the
reporting agency will then change or
delete it from your record.
If this process does not resolve
your dispute, you can write to the
lender or credit grantor to correct
inaccuracies, but his can be difficult.
You can also submit a brief statement
of why you believe the information to
be incorrect. By law, the reporting
agency is required to include this
information with your credit report.
A written explanation can also
be submitted for any delinquencies
caused because of death, serious ill
ness, or brief unemployment. If you
haven’t made a long-standing habit
of late payments lenders may not hold
Upcoming
Council
Informals
Tuesday, F ebruary 15, 1994
9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Location: Blue
Room, The Mayor’s Office City Hall,
1220 SW 5th Avenue. Agenda: 9:30
- 11:00 am - City’s Rail Program.
Purpose: To update Council on sta
tus of City rail activities, particularly
the South/North corridor light rail
projecL Contact: Julia Pomeroy, Com
missioner Blumenauer’s Office, 823-
3605 11:00 -1 1 :30 am - Airport Way
Bond Refinancing. Purpose: To con
sider restructuring of bond covenants
to reflect current approach to funding
urban renewal indebtedness and refi
nancing to take advantage of low
interest rates. Contact: Ken Rust,
Debt Manager, 823-6955
T hursday, F ebruary 17, 1994
2:10- 4:00 pm - Pay for Performance
Program. Location: Blue Room, The
Mayor’s Office. Purpose: The Bu
reau of Personnel will make recom
mendations regarding this employee
program. C ontact: Kirk Berger, In
terim Director, Bureau of Personnel,
823-3506
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