The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current, October 19, 2011, Page Page 11, Image 11

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    The INDEPENDENT, October 19, 2011
Page 11
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a column of information
about Vernonia schools. This column
was provided by Superintendent Dr.
Ken Cox.
We are looking for input from the community concerning the
New Spencer Park that will replace our existing school buildings.
There will be a Town Hall Meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria im-
mediately following the Board Meeting this Thursday (October
20th). Our design team will share with you some of the different
options that they have come up with and you will have the oppor-
tunity to ask questions and give input. If you can’t make the meet-
ing you can still give your input by filling out an online survey that
you will find on our district home page. We hope to see you at the
Town Hall!
New donations announced at the
roof capping on October 6, 2011
ODFW set nets in Vernonia Lake on October 3 and pulled them on October 4 to study the sta-
tus of the fishery. They found 486 Bluegill, 109 Black Crappie, 40 brown Bullhead catfish, and
five Yellow perch. Trout were not counted as they are stocked, not naturally reproducing.
They checked the health, size and ages of the fish in order to make the determination that
Vernonia Lake is a healthy fishery.
Reverse mortgages are not right for all
by Jason Alderman, www.prac
ticalmoneyskills.com
You can scarcely turn on the
TV without seeing ads for re-
verse mortgages. They’re tout-
ed as a great tool for cash-
strapped seniors to tap their
home equity to pay off bills
while remaining in their homes
with no monthly mortgage pay-
ments. Although that may be
true for some people, these
complicated and costly loans
aren’t right for everyone, so it
pays to do your homework.
Here’s a primer on reverse
mortgages and precautions
you need to take:
Reverse mortgages let
homeowners age 62 or older
borrow against their home eq-
uity without having to make
monthly payments (as with refi-
nance loans). The loan needn’t
be repaid until you move out
permanently, sell the property
or die. In addition, seniors
wishing to downsize or relocate
may make a large down pay-
ment on a new home and then
use a reverse mortgage to fi-
nance the rest.
The vast majority of these
mortgages are made through
the Federal Housing Adminis-
tration’s Home Equity Conver-
sion Mortgage (HECM) pro-
gram. Common features in-
clude:
• All parties on the loan must
be at least age 62.
• The home (current or fu-
ture) must be your principal
residence.
• You must own the home
outright or be able to pay it off
with proceeds from the loan.
• The allowable loan amount
is based on your home’s ap-
praised value, your age, inter-
est rate and type (fixed or vari-
able), mortgage insurance and
applicable fees. Generally, the
older you are and the more
valuable your home, the
greater the available loan.
• The repayment amount
never exceeds the home’s final
sale value, so you (or your
heirs) are never liable for more
than you originally borrowed.
• You can take the money as
a lump sum, a line of credit,
fixed monthly payments or any
combination.
Reverse mortgages can be
very expensive. Lenders may
charge a loan origination fee of
up to $6,000. In addition, you
must pay upfront and then for
ongoing mortgage insurance
premiums (MIPs). HECM Stan-
dard loans have an upfront MIP
of 2 percent of the home’s
value. HECM Saver loans have
a far lower 0.01 percent upfront
MIP (although the allowable
loan amount may be up to 18
percent less). Both versions
also charge an additional 1.25
percent MIP of the outstanding
balance annually, as well as a
loan origination fee of up to
$6,000 and various other
charges.
A few other potential down-
sides with reverse mortgages:
• You are responsible for
homeowner’s fees, property
taxes, insurance and repairs
for the life of the loan. If you
don’t pay them, you risk can-
cellation or foreclosure.
• They aren’t cost-effective if
you plan to move in a few
years.
• Some couples put only the
older spouse on the loan in
order to secure a higher bal-
ance, but this can backfire: If
that person dies first, the sur-
vivor could be bound to pay off
the loan – a real problem if the
home’s value is “underwater.”
• The longer you carry a re-
verse mortgage, the more your
home equity – and thus, your
estate – will decrease.
Because reverse mortgages
are so complicated, potential
borrowers are required to con-
sult a Department of Housing
and
Urban
Development
(HUD)-approved counselor be-
fore being allowed to apply. Be-
fore you even get to that stage,
do your research. Helpful sites
include those sponsored by
HUD (www.hud.gov) and
AARP (www.aarp.org).
The Vernonia School District
held a roof-capping celebration
on Texas Ave., above the new
school, on October 6.
During the celebration, an-
nouncements were made of
donations to the school project
of 260 solar panels from Solar-
World USA, and $75,000 from
P&C Construction and their
contractors.
Earlier at a breakfast held
for Vernonia businesses, a re-
minder was given that Gordon
Smith of Vernonia Sentry has
challenged Vernonia business-
es to give to the new school
campaign and has agreed to
match up to $10,000 in dona-
tions.
ODOT looks at U.S. 30 safety
ODOT recently conducted a
safety audit along a small
stretch of U.S. 30 west of
Scappoose to identify and pri-
oritize transportation safety
concerns and recommend so-
lutions. Between 2005 and
2009 60 crashes occurred in
this section between Berg
Road and Milard Road.
Safety risks found included
speed, intersection visibility,
turning movements and drivers
running off the road in this sec-
tion. ODOT is proposing solu-
tions to increase visibility, im-
prove turning movements and
install rumble strips along the
highway alerting drivers who
drift out of their lane.
ODOT will present a series
of recommendations from the
Road Safety Audit conducted
along U.S. 30 to the 17-mem-
ber U.S. 30 Safety Working
Group at 6 p.m., Oct. 20 ,at the
Village Inn, 535 S. Columbia
River Highway, St. Helens.
For more information visit:
www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/
REGION1/US30_Safety/index.
shtml .
Vernonia
Veterinary
Clinic
Formerly Midway Veterinary Clinic
Monday, Wednesday & Saturday
700 Weed Avenue
Vernonia