It
TH affect
many victims. But, without a
phone call th abuse and misery
will contin . Some police d
partments will remove the abuser
from the Mme. This can only
happen if the victim is willing to
� P criminal charg . Urder
Michigan law me ults are
misdemeano .rn t are felonies.
. In addition criminal char �
can be raised uch as; criminal
tr breaking and entering,
and destruction of persoral prop­
erty. If you are threatened with
and/or xuall y , ulted you
bould P criminal charges.
'The other remedi are civil.
You may w nder w t a piece of
paper can do for you. H can a
courtorderprotectyoufromafi 1.
knife or gun. In reality it can not.
ut what it d is how your
detetmination to stop the abuse.
Once you obtain a court order it
tells the abuser; stop. When you
are threatened, verbally or physi­
cally, obtain a temporary restrain­
ing order. This can issued from
a Circuit Court. The court can
issue a temporary restraining or­
der(fRO) without an initial hear­
ing. The court will then hold a
hearing to renew the TRO.
INTII EVENTtheabuseis
continuing you can obtain a tem­
porary injunction and in some
cas a perman nt injunction.
Why do this? Under the pouse
/roornmat abuse statutes you can
obtain an injunction that tells the
,abuser to t p.
The court' order can tell the
abuser not to com near you, your
job, and your house. The order
can stop the person from calling
you, hitting you, and taking your
property. Under the
pouse/roomrnatc abuse tatut
, if the "beater' violat the court's
order and is found guilty, can be •
fined not more then 5 and
jailed for up to days (first of­
fense). The pers n can also be
held in contempt of court.
By WlLLlA REED
If
Why i it that for
omething 0 ba ic
ear g, we can't even
upply ourselves?
, The supermar et and drug store hAve an­
nual gro revenu of 25.5 million and
employs almo t 2 neighborhood residents.
R toration i an excellent example of what
vi ion and defined communi ty development
can complish.
If Blac aero the country would band
gro ed $42.5 million in 1992. And, the peo­
pleyt the Stop Shop and Save in Baltimore
gro ed $66 million and employed 600 peo­
ple in their grocery retailing busin
The experts will tell you th t bd'ore you
tart any business venture you should do
research.
T company on the
II
TH
Many taxpayers masquerade as
self-employed contractors when they
should b cl ified as employees.
,The IRS clai that th e taxpayers
are responsible for 20 billion a year
in unpaid and under-reported taxes,
since they're on their own in repon­
ing income.
As a ontractor you h uld work
under a written agreement which can
be terminated by either party. Also,
bill your lients using your own in­
voice and tationery.
As a contractor you h uldn't a -
cept fri nge ben fi Is.
Refinancing WheQ Your
Home Has Lost Value
If you could only refinan e your
mortgage, you could lower your
monthly payment. But instead of ap­
preciating, the value of your home
has been heading south. Lenders
won't refinance a mortgage that ex­
ceeds the home' current appraised
value.
To determine if refinancing i
po sible, first, find out, what th
lender say your home is worth. Ask
for an appraisal which may cost
around $300. If the appraisal deter­
mines that your house has depreci­
ated in valu, your refinancing
options will depend on th izc of
your initial down payment and how
much your house has fallen in value.
Lenders gen rally insi t that your q­
uity-th value of your house minus
what you ull ow quals at I � t
20 percent of your home' valu '.
To refinan e try \ 0 ack to th
bank that granted you the riginal
loan. The bank may be m r I mcnt
in its requirement.
Re'building Your Credit
If you are one of millions of
Americans who e credit raung h
uffered are ult of hard economic
tim ,don't d pair. With paticn ,
ther ali thin you an do t r build
your credit. .
Fi t. Y u hav t develop a r al­
I tic bud et and uck to it. You ne d
r
rate, you have the right to add a
taternent explaining the situation.
Remember, you an also negotiate
wi th your creditors. Some may re­
move debts (rom your file in e -
change for full or partial payment, or
they may update to how no late pay­
ments.
You can add po itive histories to
If you are a self-employed inde- your file with accounts which have
pendent contra tor, there are way Dot been reported by the creditors but
you can protect yourself. If possible, which you have paid on time. Send
you should have multiple clients, and the information with copies of sup­
you hould dvertise your ervices. porting documents to all three of the
Incorporating your bu iJq�iII' ���
help fend off the IRS. Or, 'f r---------------------------�-�-:::-:-�---:-----.----------....-.----..
cho e not to incorp rate, you can tlIe'
with the IRS for an employee identi­
fication numb r.
large credi t bureaus - TRW, Trans
Union and Equifax.
Also, send information which
how stability in your life- tyle­
steady employment, long-term resi­
dence and savings and checking ac­
counts.
If your reports shows late pay-,
ments, repossessions, liens or even a
bankruptcy, there are thing you can
do to get a new start. If you are mar­
ried and your financial problems are
due to your spouse, get credi t in your
own name. A wife should always
have some credit in her own name.
If you don't have a credit card,
apply for a secured card, one where
you deposit money and are given a
card in exchange.
Or, try another option, open a
passbook savings account with
money you have saved, then ask the
bank to give you a loan agains t the
money. '
CHARLES
ROSS
YOUR
PERSONAL
FINANCE
Charles Ross is host of the nation­
ally syndicated radio show, Your
Personal Finance, and author of
Your Commonsense Guide to Per­
sonal Financial Planning.
To find the home of
your dreams, you need to
know where to look.
Check the chimney.
racks can send your
investment up in smoke.
Peek in the attic.
Old insulation can drive
energy bills through the root.
(
Consider what's inside.
An old /umace could cost
an unexpected chiU through
your houseJwld.
Examine gutters,
R placing an old
syst m can increase
financial drainage.
Set what's Oil top.
Old or weathered shi"lfles
---- can spring more leaks
in your cash _pool.
I P ct foundation.
racks or hol open th
d orto unwanted guests ..
rutiniz financ .
B sur yo r monthly
payment fits the bill.
, Check windows, '
Replacement costs .
can spoil your view.
mortga program with fix d and variabl rate. Plus
you'll find information on flexibl financing choic like
FHA and VA
for you mak th bi d i ion, call1..soo. 735-
1196, or top by any First of Am rica-South ast Michigan
bran h offi for a Hom Ii ht Hom buy r' Handbook.
With v rything you n to know about buying a hom ,
it' th first, pla you hould look
b for tiling on your dream hou
on
h u
In ptir n
ur
Q FIRSfoF AMRICA,
A bank for life"
Equal Ho in Lend r. � Member FDI . TDD available at ( ) 2 9-4 14, 0.