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HOW TO GET GOOD CREDIT
Most people seek financing to purchase real property. Your credit rating
is an important factor in securing financing. The following are some suggestions
for establishing good credit.
1) Pay your bills on time. Paying bills even a few days past their due
dates is a concern for creditors.
2) Maintain a checking and savings account. This is a plus for your credit
rating.
3) Limit the number of your credit cards. If you have more than four credit
cards, you will have points subtracted from your credit score.
4) Keep your debt-to-income ratio under 20 percent. The higher the ratio
the more you are perceived as a credit risk.
5) Watch the balance on your credit card. Maintaining high credit card
balances that are close to your credit limits does not enhance your credit.
6) Limit the number of additional credit requests you make. Four or more
inquiries in a year will count against you.
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TIPS ON PROTECTING YOUR GOOD NAME
Identity theft is a growing concern. We have discussed this before. (See
Volume 5, Issue 1, Jan-
March 2000 and Volume 6, Issue 3, July-Sept. 2001). The following are
some additional suggestions to protect your identity:
A. Minimize the personal information you have on your checks. Use your
work phone number rather than your home number. Use a work address or
P.O. Box instead of your home address.
B. Never imprint your Social Security number on your checks. You are giving
thieves a road map, if you do so. Don=t carry your Social Security card
with you.
C. Print only the initial of your first name (instead of your entire first
name) and your last name on your checks. If someone steals and signs your
checks, it may not match your full signature card which is on file at
your financial institution.
D. Do not disclose personal information to strangers over the Internet,
telephone or mail.
E. Shred all documents containing valuable personal information before
discarding them in the trash.
F. Keep important personal information in a safe place stored in a safety
deposit box or a home safe.
There are three major credit bureaus, Equifax (1-888-766-0008), Experian
(1-888-397-3742) and TransUnion (1-800-680-7289).
If you become a victim of identity theft, call any one of the above mentioned
credit bureaus and an alert will automatically be sent to the other two
agencies for you. You also should file a police report and contact your
financial institutions and the Federal Trade Commission at 877-438-4338.
To report a stolen Social Security card, call the Social Security Administration
at 800-772-1213; and if you find that someone has changed your address
with the post office, call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 800-275-8777.
Be diligent and protect your identity.
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Three men are found in the wilderness by civilized cannibals. The men
are led to a gravesite next to the water. The chief says, “We will
kill you as a coward, or we will let you die honorable deaths for your
homelands. You choose the weapon. Either way, your skins will be used
to make our canoes.”
The first man, a soldier at heart, asks for a handgun. With this, he
recites the pledge and shoots himself. He is carried off. The next man
asks for a sword. A warrior at heart, he uses a Japanese katana to commit
seppuku as a Japanese man. The last man asks for a fork. “A fork?
Asks the chief?” But it’s his dying wish, so they hand him
the fork. He stabs himself repeatedly in the chest, and yells, “I
HOPE YOUR CANOE SINKS!!”
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TIPS FOR LANDLORDS
(PART III)
WHY CAN’T I JUST LOCK THE BUGGAH OUT?“
We are occasionally asked by landlords whether they can simply lock the
tenant out if the tenant has not paid its rent. This is permitted in other
states. This question is often asked after we have explained the court
procedures required under Hawaii law to regain possession of the property.
These procedures often test the patience of landlords and add to their
frustrations. Our answer is always “No”.
Under Hawaii law, if the landlord locks out the tenant, the landlord
does so at its own risk. The landlord may be required to pay the tenant
two months of rent and the tenant=s attorney=s fees and court costs and
possibly other damages.
Hawaii Revised Statutes ' 521-63(c) provides as follows:
AIf the landlord removes or excludes the tenant from the premises overnight
without cause
or without court order so authorizing, the tenant may recover possession
or terminate the rental agreement and, in either
case, recover an amount equal to two months rent or free occupancy for
two months, and the cost of suit including reasonable attorney=s fees....
The court may also order any injunctive or other relief it deems proper.@
An appellate court has upheld the court=s authority to award the tenant
these amount in Kaiama v. Aguilar, 67 Haw 549.
Patience is not only a virtue, but it can also be considerably cheaper
in the long run.
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I’M MARRIED! - REALLY?
It is not uncommon for unmarried people to live together. Some states
recognize such cohabitation as Acommon law marriage@. The exact requirements
varies from state to state, but the parties must be legally able to marry,
must have expressed the present intent to marry and typically must have
lived together. Depending upon the state, the intent to marry may be demonstrated
by something as simple as telling neighbors that you are married.
Hawaii does not have common law marriages. Hawaii though, like many other
states, will recognize a valid marriage entered into in another state.
Thus, a valid common law marriage in another state, which recognizes common
law marriages, will be considered to be a valid marriage in Hawaii.
The following states recognize common law marriage: Alabama, Colorado,
District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and
Utah.
It is important that if you lived with someone in any of the above states,
that you disclose that information to your attorney or the person assisting
you with your estate planning or your real estate transaction. Your plans
may be affected if you satisfied the requirements of common law marriage
elsewhere.
*****************************************************************
FROM THE DESK OF HAROLD CHU...
I received so many inquires since our last newsletter I thought I would
answer some of the more frequently asked questions.
I did not suffer a heart attack. I could have elected to not have the
surgery, but given my family=s history and the fact that I had few symptoms,
my doctors encouraged me to have the surgery to maximize the possibility
of success and to minimize the potential of damage to my heart.
Surgery was actually painless - thanks to the anesthesiologist. The hardest
part of the entire process was the boredom in waiting for your body to
heal.
I am now back at work full time and have been for several months.
Again, I want to express my appreciation for the many cards, well wishes
and expressions of support. They meant a lot to me.
*****
Those of you who have visited our Website will note that our newsletters
are also posted to our Website. We are also continuing to upgrade the
Links & Resources section to provide you useful research tools.
CHANGES
Some of you may not have noticed some minor changes to our firm. We have
a new mailing address. We are in the same location, but the new mailing
address is:
1001 Bishop St., Ste. 1570
American Savings Bank Tower
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
We also have a new e-mail service. This is part of our growing commitment
to local vendors, whom we find often provide faster and better service
than their mainland counterparts.
Our new e-mail address is : hchulaw@lava.net
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A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF TENANCY IN COMMON
In a tenancy in common, each owner can sell, give away, or will away
his interest as that owner sees fit. When you own property as tenants
in common and one of the owners dies, that deceased owner’s share
will go to the heirs of the decedent. The new owner becomes a new tenant
in common with the other remaining owner or owners.
In tenancy in common, the owners have fractional ownership of the property.
A person who owns a fractional interest in the property can mortgage just
their interest. People who own fractional interest in real property should
understand that it is often difficult to sell just that fractional interest,
especially if you have to do it within a limited time frame.
For estate tax purposes, the market value of fractional interest may be
discounted because a person who has a fractional interest does not have
full control over the entire property. Discounts vary from 16% to 67%
with the typical “safe” discount being 15%.
We recommend that people who own real property as tenants in common have
a written agreement setting forth their understanding with respect to
the property. This is to minimize possible later disputes.
Tenancy in common has its purpose and its role. Like all tenancies, the
owner’s intent and goal should be discussed before choosing a particular
tenancy. You may wish to check our prior article on tenancy. This can
be found in our Website at www.attorneyhawaii.com under the Newsletters
section (Volume 5 Issue 2; April-June, 2000).
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HUMOR
EVER WONDER…..
Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?
When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?
Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?
Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?
Why is “abbreviated” such a long word?
Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?
Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?
Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?
You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why
don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid
made with real lemons?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
???Only in America...... can a pizza get to your house faster than an
ambulance.
???Only in America...... do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille
lettering.
???Only in America...... do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries,
and a diet coke.
???Only in America...... do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns
in packages of eight.
???Only in America...... do banks leave both doors open and then chain
the pens to the counters.
???Only in America...... do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in
the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
???Only in America...... do we use the word 'politics' to describe the
process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics” meaning
'bloodsucking creatures'.
???Only in America...... do drugstores make the sick walk all the way
to the back of the store to get their
prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
???Only in America...... do we use answering machines to screen calls
and then have call waiting so we won't miss
a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.
Attorney:
Harold Chu
hchulaw@lava.net
Publisher/Editor:
Cora Anderson
canders@lava.net
Secretaries:
Cora Anderson
canders@lava.net
Printer:
NewTech Imaging
Phone: (808) 523-7544
Fax:: (808) 526-1231
E-mail: hchulaw@lava.net
http://www.attorneyhawaii.com
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