How to Boost Your FICO Score, Part 1

Knowledge truly is power

Fair Isaac Corporation uses a trade secret algorithm to construct your FICO score. However, the broad parameters of credit score construction are now known and consist of five components, with their approximate percentage contribution to the final FICO number. Read More >>

How Your Credit Score Is Derived

The national median FICO score is about 720

Credit reports contain information on how much you owe, what kind of loans you have, your payment habits, and serious matters such as court judgments, collection agency efforts, and bankruptcies. Read More >>

Elder Abuse: Sexual

The real motive is power and control

Sexual abuse is any sexual contact without consent of both people. Sexual abuse may also include indecent exposure, sexual harassment, incest, and unwanted viewing of pornography. State laws may differ in the details, but all jurisdictions hold that only persons with mental capacity can give consent to sexual conduct. Severe mental illness or dementia would preclude consent in most cases. Read More >>

Elder Abuse: Physical and Emotional

Recognize the telltale signs

Caregiver stress may indeed be real, but this does not negate the criminal nature of the offense. After all, society would not tolerate similar actions against children or pets. The victim’s rights and care should be paramount, not the caregiver’s. Read More >>

Elder Abuse: Financial Exploitation

Watch for telltale signs

Financial exploitation is the second most common form of elder abuse. Exploitation is theft, pure and simple. Theft by strangers includes lottery scams, telemarketing and sweepstakes fraud, identity theft, and other con games. But theft by those who aren’t strangers is more subtle, hidden, and insidious. Read More >>

Elder Abuse: Neglect

Help is just a phone call away

The most common form of elder abuse is neglect. Your state’s criminal statutes likely prohibit a pattern of conduct that deprives someone of some necessity for physical or mental health. We all need food, water, shelter, appropriate heating or cooling, and medical services to maintain health. Caregivers who consistently fail to deliver these things are abusers. Read More >>

Elder Abuse: An Overview

First, what is it?

Last year, I was privileged to attend a training course on elder abuse with some of Colorado Springs’ finest. Under a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, 50 or so police officers, detectives, and I spent two days of intense immersion into the social crisis of elder abuse. The statistics were grim; the videos horrific. We left with an increased awareness and recognition of the tactics that abusers use to victimize those over 60 years of age. My next several blogs will convey some of what I learned. Read More >>

Reverse Mortgages: Final Thoughts

Targeted marketing is worthy of suspicion

This final posting on reverse mortgages is more of an editorial. One last drawback to them is the aggressive and often misleading advertising targeting seniors. The promotional copy is often designed to tap into our most primitive emotions—fear and greed—to get you to sign on. Read More >>

Reverse Mortgages: The Cons

Let’s talk dollars

By far the biggest downside of reverse mortgages is the high cost imposed on the senior. Front-load fees, closing costs, and mortgage insurance may eat up 7% to 10% of the home’s value. Recent federal law has eased this burden somewhat, capping origination fees at 2% for the first $200,000 and 1% on any amount over that, with a total cap of $6,000. Read More >>

Reverse Mortgages: The Basics

View it as a last resort

Federally insured reverse mortgages, also called home equity conversion mortgages, have been available since 1990. Aggressive marketing, the deflation of the housing bubble, and last year’s stock market crash have all contributed to a surge of interest. Applications are expected to exceed 120,000 for 2009. Read More >>