h
m i on 0 the 1 t vi ble
pi they 1 home i really theirs.
How much house can you afford?
To irxi out h w much bous you can afford you need to think like
a banker. Th y are primarily concern d with your bility to jepay the
mortga e loan on chedule. To determin thi, figure out what your
monthly mortga co will be a percent e of your monthly g
incom.
Lend will allow you to devote up to 2 percent of your income to
cov r th co of principal and int rest payments on the mortgage
property tax and homeowners i urance. Monthly debt payments on
it ms like credit cards and car loans hould not exceed 5 percent of your
gro monthly income.
K ep in mind that th are guideli and various mortgage pro-
ram will differcnt p rc ntag . But if you e th guidelin
you WIll have a better id a about how much ho you can afford.
Just remem er 28 and 5.
Choosing the right neighborhood?
The oldest saying in real estate is that the three mo t important factors
in buyin property are location location, and, location. Ultimately,
where you buy your hom will determine the quality of your life while
you liv th re, and how fast your home Increase in value.
Wh n hopping neighb rh od .Iook at basic ervices like police and
fire departmen ho pital , a post office and th like. In addition to
locanng shopping areas like malls, supermarkets and department tores
inquire about public chool and playgrounds if you have chiidren. Be
alert for potential problems like rising property taxes, high crime rates,
vacant buildings and decreasing rome prices. '
How will you get acces to thi information? Ask your real estate
agent.'
Youf.dec\ .
taxe ,where
non I f cilitie
. Choosing a real e tate agent
When buying a home, having a good real estate agent i invaluable.
A good agent will know the community where you plan to buy and will
ave you time by showing you houses that fit your budget and your
need ,
Y ur agent hould keep in touch with you and send you regular
reports on houses for ale. Make ure the agent works full-time, and can
IV y u referral from recent clients. Keep inmind that the agent works
for the eller, but a good professional hould be able to satisfy both seller
and bu cr.
Tell the agent exactly what you are looking for in a house: the price,
ize, location, and conveniences desired. A good agent will help you
find financing, a lawyer and a firm to inspect the house.
When house hopping, take along a camera to take pictures and a pad
to Jot d w n note 0 you can compare the house you have een.
Negotiating the deal
When you finally find a house you like, you will have to determine
how much to offer the eller. A major 'actor in getting the best deal is
knov In why the house i on the market. Your real e tate agent will
know v hy the ellers are moving.
If the cll rs are simple trading up to move into another house, then
th . may n t be willin to take les than th asking price. On the other
hand. if they, re moving out of tate and have already purchased another
hou 'C. r if the house has been on the market for a long time, the sellers
rn: y be more flexible.
In any case, you hould offer to pay less than the top price you can
fford. Thi will give you ome room to negotiate when the eller makes
a c unteroffer. Most real estate sells wit hi n 5 percent of the asking price.
Charles Ross is ho t of the nationally syndicated radio how, Your
Per onal Finance, and author of The Best of Your Personal Finance
and th newly published, your Commonsense Guide to Personal Finan­
cial Planning.
I
or
DETR IT-The traveling Black
Expo USA returns to the Motor City
bringing the African American Busi­
t th torcfront for Detroiters.
Bla k Exp USA i a travelling
Expo iti n which was tarted in New
York City five years ago by Jerry
Roebu k. It w primarily d igned
to bring Afncan Ameri an business
owners and consumers together for
the purpo e of patronizing on an­
other.
It h in evolved into the larg-
e t national busine and educational
expo ition in hI, tory. There re buy­
ing clhnz, and educational emi­
n that 'in orm and enli hten and
niany p ople attend the e emina to
l�� Ip improve the quality of their
II1ICS.
Many national and local busi­
ne e are participating in Black
Expo. The Detroit sponsors includ­
ing health care providers in an elabo­
rate health care pavilion giving
check-up. '
Black Expo USA will also offers
entertainment. The entertainment
tage will operate 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
each day. Th re will be fashion
hows, children'S dance cont ts, co­
medians and martial arts demon tra­
tion .
Among the exhibitors are busi­
n es with ervices, design jewelers,
financial planning office upplies
MVP hoe, cook book , and
McDonald' .
This year a pecial travel package
will be available for the urrounding
areas. Etteruael Charter Bu and
Travel will provide transportation
from Flint Saginaw, Pontia , Ann
Arbor, Yp ilanti, Grand Rapid ,
In the beginning]
t federal in-
come w w teinstituted only
to be challenged by few intelli-
gent iooividua who gued
convincingly, that the Supreme
Court ruled the ct v 01 ion 0 th
U.S. Constitution.
SlOp right there! The Cong
had ome major decision to m e.
Slx>uld it drop thi whole idea of
taking away hard-earned money
fromcitizensordevi eamethod for
making uch a practice legal?
Well, you guessed it! Cong
amended the U.S. Constitution to
W U pay ribu
o phy ician,
corporate tead r
permi t fede i m Ue -
tion ( nd. 17, 1913). And, th
collection continu year � r y
In 1913, the impo ed
w 1 percent for corporatio d
1 to 7 percent for individu . How­
ever, with the $3,000 ded tion al­
lowed (more than mo t w e
came of t time), th [ority
of the popul 'on did not y
There been much tivity
through the y concerning the
law. 'lbe dependency exemp­
tion in 1917, the Revenu Act of
1981, the Internal Revenue Code of
1954, Economic Recovery Act of
19 1, d the T Reform Act of
1986 are just min cule percent­
age of ctivi ty in this arena.
��.�''II! WA-lbo 'veJ$jcy of mngton sold all of i
MjCtoSO bares � the city 0 Seat1Ie i n't far behind. The University
and city are dlve& � tI10 computer sofiwalC company has
begun �petatiIl8t gain, �. th Africa.
A $pO; n for cmsoft aid the company hasn't received any
�ac fOx operating pJCmaturely in the country and says that the
or "lcmw that e're t� including the African ationa!
o,J1gta$."
n fit predicted worldwide can for a lifting of auctions by the
C; �orle Prince, head of a 1aS force on Soutbem Africa wi th the
Chnteb Council of Gteat eanle, said Mic.rosoft is Onding the wrong
age.
THERE ARE COUNTLESS
codes and regulations wi thin the tax
Ha buying a hom r r finan in th u
m d lik m thing OUl
Y ElliOTT ESE. V
In th beginning, referred to
in thi article, do n t mean li ht,
rath r it m the b innin of
this m ive enterpri we call
collection. For th purp e of thi
article, we will re er to th m dern­
day fed ral incom t .
Prior to the 17th Amendment of
th Constitution, enacted in 1913,
which legally impo ed thi long­
standing tax collection fi co we
see today, there w no other u­
preme law that provided for the
continual e traction of funds from
individual .
The year 1861 brought us our
first federal locome tax individuals.
Thi impo ition of tax collection
w used to finance the Civil War
(1861-1864). However, afte the
northern victory of the Civil War,
JUUUS V. COMBS
philanthropic and civic groups.
Combs and his wife, Alice, are
members of WSU's Anthony Wayne
Society, having given generously to
the School of Medicine and the uni­
versity over the years. Combs also
was instrumental in developing new
initiatives and programs to increase
School Medicine alumni member­
ship and giving levels.
In 1964, Comb, a practicing gy­
necologist, established and organ­
ized Vi ncent and Combs, an
obstetrics and gynecology practice,
which became one of the fi rst profes­
sional ervice corporations in Michi­
gan. Today it i a multi-specialty
group practice with 10 phy icians on
staff with offices in Detroit, South­
field and Detroit Riverview Hospital.
In addition to the practice, Combs
in a WSU clinical assistant profe or
of ob tetrics and gynecology.
�i��ets for the event are $45 each
or $3(>0 for a table of eight. For res­
ervanons or more information call
Donna Morrison in WSU's Develop­
ment Office at 577-6483.
•
rl
..
TAKE THE
I ITIATIVE
, .
ANDYOUCA
OWN YOUR
OWN HOME "
a in ,"What' th
Black Expo is committed to
strengthening Black busine sand
giving them the economic empower­
ment to build a stronger Black com­
munity.
For additional information call
(313) 358-4277.
WSU honors 122 Black graduates
D ROI. MI- The Firs t African American Graduate Convocation
at Wayne State University May 1 was meant "to recognize the culture
of African Am ricans", according to Lawrence Stewart, a Detroit gradu­
ate who organized the ceremony with other tudents.
The event honored the achievements of 122 Black graduates of th
Univ rsity. About 800 people at oded th ceremony to listen to speak­
ers such as Malcolm X Academy Principal Clifford Watson and Michael
Cros ,director of h male r ponsibility program at the Detroit Urban
League
"A lot of peo Ie of our heritage feel we have been tripped of our
pride and digni ty" aid Kathy Barton, a graduate who held down a job
in Flint whil commuting three day a week to earn her m ter's degree
in social work. "Programs like this empower us."
u
n id a y u'll Iik .
Th Initiative M rtga ™ r m
Fir t of Am rl a Bank. .
With flexibl t rm and
rat ,it' a w y t h lp P pi in
D tr it, Highland Park, Hamtr m k or
wn
paym nt can b
mortgag and if y u'r int r t din r Finan -
th p nnt n
ju t
Loom sub�(( 10 red. opprosa!
Mtmbu FDIC Equal Hom,n Ltnd r Gl
Dr. Julius V. Comb, chairman
and chief executive officer of United
American Health Care (UAHC), w
honored at Wayne State University's
11 th annual Corporate Leadership
Awards program Thursday, May 13,
in the McGregor Memorial Confcr­
ence Center.
"The purpose of the Corporate
erslU 'g i to
recognize significant contributio
and outstanding accomplishments
Wayne State alumni have made in the
worlds of business and industry,"
says Arthur Johnson, WSU's senior
vice pre ident for university rela­
tions. '
Combs earned bachelor of science
(1953) and medical (i 958) degrees
from Way ne State.
UAHC, organized in 1984, pro­
vides consulting, marketing and ad­
ministrative services to health
maintenance organizations, as well
as third-party administrators in De­
troit, Cleveland and New York. The
hea'th care firm is in final negotia­
tions to provide services to several
Bast Coast and southern cities.
As UAHC's top executive,
Combs has worked to position the
270-employee company to expand
operations competitively in the
Medicaid health care sector when ex­
pected health care reform plans call
for large firms with skill in managing
health care at reasonable cost.
A STORY ABOUT UAHC in
Crain's Detroit Business described
the company as the "only publicly
owned health care company in the
country specializing in managed­
care health care for Medicaid ... "
Listed in Who's Who Among
Black Americans, Dun's Regional
Business Directory and the Refer­
ence Book of Corporate M anage­
ments, Combs is a member of
numerous busin and prot ional
organizations, and is active in several
Lansing, Toledo, Kalamazoo, Mon­
roe, and Benton Harbor.
, The rate per person include
round trip transportation, lunch, ad­
mis ion, gift and information pack­
age plus tax. For reservations call
(313) 557-7400.