
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, October 16, 1995                   TAG: 9510160083
SECTION: MONEY                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BANK IS BEST BET FOR FUNDING HOME REPAIRS

Q: Last year I bought my first home. I now have a leak in the basement, and the estimates to repair it are from $1,900 to $2,500. I have not paid enough on my home to qualify for a home improvement loan. Are there any agencies that offer low-interest rates to a homeowner for home repairs?

A: Total Action Against Poverty has a winterization program, but a spokeswoman said it has no home-repair program. She knew of no agency in this area with such a program.

Your best bet would be a bank even if you have not built up enough equity in your home to qualify for a home-equity loan.

First Union National Bank of Virginia, for instance, offers a home-improvement loan program without the need for home equity for people who can qualify. The qualification is that you must either live in a low- to moderate-income census tract or your income must be 80 percent or less of the median income in your community.

The limits of the home-improvement program are loans of $3,000 to $25,000 for people who can put up some type of security or loans of $1,500 to $7,500 for people who cannot offer any security, according to Teresa Walker, assistant vice president at First Union.

The interest is standard, but if you make your payments on time for a year, a credit of 2 percent of the interest you have paid will be applied toward reducing the outstanding balance each year.

How to track down best credit card rates

Q: I'm looking to combine the balance from two credit cards to one. I have two cards that offered low rates for the first year, then went up the second year. What company offers the lowest interest on a Visa or MasterCard and does not change the rate on you?

A: Two companies follow credit card rates and sell subscriptions to their services.

One is CardTrak of America Inc., P.O. Box 1700, Frederick, Md. 21702. The phone is (301) 695-4660.

The other is Bankcard Holders of America, 524 Branch Drive, Salem, Va. 24153. The phone is 389-5445 in the Roanoke Valley calling area. Outside the calling area, you would have to include the 540 area code.

All banks change their interest rates in accordance with market conditions.

But one bank that appears on the CardTrak list of low-rate institutions year after year is North Carolina's Wachovia Bank with its "first-year prime" card. The September report said the current interest rate is 8.75 percent, which is good for a year. The card center phone is 1-800-842-3262.

Most low-rate banks accept only those applicants with good credit records.

Deducting decal fee from taxes not allowed

Q: I work at Radford University, and the fee for parking decals has gone up from $25 to $40. Can I deduct that from my taxes?

A: Sorry, you cannot deduct it.

Mary Ann McElmurray, a certified public accountant with the Roanoke firm of Brown, Edwards & Co., said parking fees (like the costs of commuting to the job) are considered personal expenses and therefore cannot be deducted. She said parking fees are not considered to be incurred in a trade or business, so they are not a business expense.

by CNB