Program update March 16, 2012 - Payday Lending Ordinance; Austin RISE Week

Understanding the CREDIT ACCESS BUSINESS ORDINANCE (Ordinance against predatory lending practices) and How to File a Complaint

As of January 1, 2012, the Credit Access Business Ordinance is in effect to protect consumers from certain predatory lending practices. Credit access businesses typically offer payday and auto title loans. 

The entire ordinance can be read here: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/edims/document.cfm?id=157368

Sections of the ordinance that would most affect our clients would be:

-      A credit access business cannot offer a payday loan that exceeds 20% of the consumer’s gross monthly income.

-      For motor vehicle title loans, the loan may not exceed the lesser of:

o   (1) three percent (3%) of the consumer's gross annual income; or

o   (2) seventy percent (70%) of the retail value of the motor vehicle.

-      There are now restrictions on the number of times a client can renew/extend their loan:

o   All loan payment extensions may not be payable in more than four installments. Proceeds from each installment must be used to repay at least 25% of the principal amount of the extension of the loan. An extension of consumer credit that provides for repayment in installments may not be refinanced or renewed.

o   Lump sump payments of consumer credit may not be refinanced or renewed more than 3 times. The minimum payment due to refinance or renew an extension of consumer credit must reduce by at least 25% of the principal amount of the extension of consumer credit so that the extension of credit is paid in full after a maximum of three renewals or refinances.

o   An extension of consumer credit that is made to a consumer within seven business days after a previous extension of consumer credit has been paid by the consumer will constitute a refinancing or renewal.

-      If a client requests an extension of consumer credit, the credit access business (lender) must provide a referral list with consumer credit counseling services available through non-profit agencies.

If your client or someone you know has a payday or auto title loan and you feel that a credit access business has violated this ordinance, please file a complaint.

TO FILE A COMPLAINT:
Please contact the city by phone, email or in writing at:
City of Austin
Telecommunications & Regulatory Affairs - Credit Access Business Program
P.O. Box 1088
Austin, Texas 78767
Telephone: 512-974-2999
Email:  tarainfo@austintexas.gov

Austin RISE Week 2012: March 26-30, 2012

RISE Week offers entrepreneurs a combination of interactive learning sessions, inspiring keynotes, unique competitions, funding opportunities and celebratory networking events. The online platform makes it easy to navigate the choices and manage your busy schedule.

There are TONS of amazing opportunities for small business owners, self-employed, and non-profits (social entrepreneurs) and all FREE**!!!

**You will be asked to provide credit card information for any event you RSVP for, but it will only be charged if you no-show or cancel within 24 hours of the event. If you attend the event or cancel with more than 24 hours notice your credit card will not be charged.

Check out all the events here:

https://www.riseglobal.org/sessions/day/2012/03/26

All Financial coaching clients who indicated that they are self employed received this information as well, but if one of your clients is self employed, remind them of this great opportunity!

Program Update March 7, 2012

THANK YOU

There aren’t enough words to say how much we appreciate all of you. 

We called on you to post your availability on My Volunteer Page, and the next day, we had full availability again! Many of the clients on the list have appointments scheduled and we are continuing to schedule the rest of them, as well as new clients.  Your availability has made all the difference in our scheduling process.

We asked for your feedback regarding client follow-up and you had some great ideas!  We have a volunteer dedicated to conducting follow-up this spring and he will incorporate some of your ideas into the plan.  We are currently participating in a national demonstration, which is why we are particularly interested in getting responses from all participants who are willing to give it. Your ideas will help make that happen!

We asked for your comments regarding a new scheduling system and your concerns and comments let us know that we are on the right track - we can all agree that My Volunteer Page is not ideal for scheduling!  We will have training for Appointment-plus soon (see below).  For now, I would like to address a couple of the concerns you had:

• Concern:  I'm concerned that clients would not utilize the system. Perhaps allowing coaches to directly schedule appointments with clients would be more helpful.
• Solution:  Clients will be able to self-schedule online, but that is not the only way appointments can be scheduled.  Staff and volunteers can also schedule appointments if the client is not comfortable or unable to do it themselves.

• Concern:  I think it would be important that coach contact info is not given out.
• Solution:  Clients will be able to schedule an appointment directly with their existing coach without having access to any of the coach’s contact information.  All notifications and reminders that clients receive will come from my email address.

APPOINTMENT PLUS DEMONSTRATIONS

We will hold three 30-minute demonstrations on how to set up and use Appointment-Plus.  They will all be virtual, so you can join the presentation from anywhere you have a computer with internet access and a phone.  The demonstration is optional.  You will receive a user guide, which has all the Appointment-plus setup information in it, but if you would like to see the process, feel free to join us at one of the following demonstrations. Sign up for a session on My Volunteer Page.

Tuesday, March 20, 10-10:30 am

Wednesday, March 21, 12-12:30 pm (this will replace our monthly continuing education gathering)

Thursday, March 22, 5:30-6 pm

Thank you again!

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching update January 4, 2012

Happy 2012 everyone!  It’s going to be a great year!

We need your help on Saturdays 9am to 1 pm

During tax season, we ask for some additional support from Financial Coaching volunteers.  We need volunteers to be at the reception desk at the Community Financial Center to greet and direct clients and volunteers, give Financial Coaches their clients’ files, collect the files at the end of the sessions, and answer basic questions where possible.  If you are available one or two Saturdays a month between January 14 and April 14, we would greatly appreciate your help.  You will get all the information you need to do this work and will have the support of the Community Financial Center staff and volunteers.  Please email me if you would be interested in helping out on Saturdays.

Savings Bonds and incentives for clients

Clients of the Community Tax Centers who allocate a portion of their refund to purchasing a savings bond are eligible to receive a $25 HEB gift card thanks to grants from Opportunity Texas and the City of Austin. For more information on savings bonds and how clients can claim their $25 gift card, please click here.

Don't forget, the nine Community Tax Centers open between January 13 and January 30.  See the full schedule on the Community Tax Center web page.

Employer sites no longer available

Over the last year and a half, in partnership with United Way, we have offered financial coaching to the employees at select employer sites (such as Dresser Wayne, LifeWorks and SafePlace). That project has come to an end, and we will only have Financial Coaching sessions at the Community Financial Center.  Thank you to those of you who participated (and those who offered to participate) in helping interested employees. Through this project, we were able to help 90 employees. Any employees who want to continue meeting will be directed to the Community Financial Center.

Thank you for all you do!

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator

Financial Coaching Update December 16

Hello Financial Coaches,

I have some updates before we wrap up the year.

FINANCIAL STABILITY PROGRAMS RECEIVE AWARD

The Housing Authority of the City of Austin held an awards ceremony where they recognized outstanding clients of the Family Self Sufficiency Program as well as an outstanding partner organization.  The partner organization was chosen by FSS members (clients), which many of you have worked with. 

Foundation Communities was honored with the outstanding partner organization award.  The most striking part of the ceremony was when Becky Summerset, one of the FSS Program Coordinators, announce the award.  She said that not only had Foundation Communities Financial Stability Programs fulfilled the needs of their members, but changed their lives.  

I can not thank all of you enough for being such wonderful coaches, this honor is for you.  Please know that you are changing lives.

2012 IS UPON US

As the end of the year approaches, I invite you to sign up for a few things on MyVolunteerPage for 2012.

• Sign up to see new clients.  As the Community Tax Centers start to open on January 13, thousands of people will see information about all of our Financial Programs, and many of them will request appointments with Financial Coaches.
• Sign up for training opportunities.  The Continuing Education Gathering will be January 18, 12-1 pm.  We will be discussing all of the Financial Stability programs available during tax season, including new saving incentives!  A refresher course will be offered on January 24, 10 am-12 pm and January 26, 5-7 pm (you will only need to attend one).  Join us if you would like to brush up on your coaching skills and resources before meeting with a client in the New Year.

With that, I leave you for the Holidays.  I hope that 2012 comes to a close with joy and fulfillment for all of you.

Best Regards,

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator

Program Update December 7, 2011

Hello Financial Coaches,

I hope you're enjoying the holiday season and the chilly weather so far!  Please read below to find information about our featured resource and updates to MyVolunteerPage for 2012.

And don't forget that we need volunteers to serve as FAFSA preparers in 2012. For more information, please contact Courtney Salcedo at Courtney.Salcedo@foundcom.org or by phone at 512-610-7385.

FEATURED RESOURCE – THE CITY OF AUSTIN CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE DISCOUNT PROGRAM

Periodically, we would like to feature a resource that many clients may not be taking advantage of.  It will be highlighted at the top of our Volunteer Resource Web Page.  Right now, our featured resource is the City of Austin Customer Assistance Discount Program.  Clients may qualify for about $49 in monthly discounts off their City of Austin utility bill through the Customer Assistance Program.  A household will qualify if someone in the household currently participates in any of the following assistance programs:

• Medicaid program type 3, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24 or 51
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Travis County Hospital District Medical Assistance Program (MAP)
• Travis County Energy Assistance Programs:  CEAP or FEMA
• State paid Medicare Parts A and B (QMB, SLMB, or QI)

To apply, clients must fill out the Enrollment Card available in the Financial Coaching office and mail it in along with copies of documentation that shows someone in the household is participating in one of the programs listed above.  Copies can be made in the Financial Coaching office.

MYVOLUNTEERPAGE IN 2012

The “I am available” and “I have an appointment” schedules for the spring of 2012 are now posted on MyVolunteerPage.  You will notice a difference - the activities are not split up by hour any more.  To sign up for available days and times:

• Log in to MyVolunteerPage
• Go to the Sign-Up tab
• Choose “Financial Coaching – I am available – COMMUNITY FINANCIAL CENTER”
• You will see ALL the days and times that you can sign up 
• Filter by day of the week or by time simply by un-checking any days or times you do not want to sign up for at the top of the page
• Click on the Filter Shifts button
• You will now see a filtered list of days and times
• Check any specific days and times that you would be available to meet with a new client, and you will be added to our list of available coaches that we will look at when we get an appointment request from a client.

Thanks everyone for making 2011 a great year for Financial Coaching, we're in the home stretch!

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching update - November 3, 2011

Hello Financial Coaches,

I hope you're enjoying the cool weather!  We have some program updates to share with you as well as some great new resources that you can share with clients.  

PROGRAM CHANGES

Income limit simplified!  The income limit for both the Community Tax Center and Financial Coaching is now $50,000 a year, regardless of the number of people in the household.

New credit authorization form.  Please note the new credit authorization form on our Volunteer Resource Page (in the credit section).  Our contract with our credit report provider has changed and now we have to be a HUD Certified Credit Counseling Agency in order to pull credit reports without impacting the client's score.  The new authorization form informs clients of the impact on their score and the alternative for getting their credit report, annualcreditreport.com.  It is impossible to tell any one client how many points they will lose because of this inquiry, but for most people, it will be less than 5 points.  You can read more about how inquiries affect credit scores on the MyFico web site.

NEW RESOURCES

Volunteer Resource Page updated!  We added new resources and organized the Volunteer Resource Page.  One new resource you will find is Assurance Wireless, the free cell phone service for people receiving public benefits.  

Great budgeting tips.One of our volunteers shared this post on One Cobble at a Time.  It's a simple, yet thorough way to think about budgeting, from creating to tracking.  Maybe you will find some helpful tidbits to share with your clients.  I will be emailing the link to all our clients as well. 

I hope you find this information helpful.  Thank you so much for all you do for our clients, our program and our community.  

Sincerely,

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator

Continuing Education - Credit recap and October 19 session

We had a great discussion last month on the different things we had heard about credit, but didn't have any concrete sources.  I was able to find further information on some of the points we talked about, but if anyone has further experience or resources that we can reference, please share by commenting on this post!  Below is a recap of what we discussed:

I heard that different types of bankruptcy stay on your credit report for different lengths of time – either seven or ten years. 

During our discussion, multiple people had heard this information.  Short of scouring through the text of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I found a bankruptcy blog by a Texas law firm.  In short, the FCRA does not distinguish between the types of bankruptcy and it states that bankruptcy information cannot be reported after 10 years from date of filing.  However, credit reporting agencies will often choose to report Chapter 13 bankruptcy for only 7 years.  See the Texas Bankruptcy Blog for more information. 

I heard that medical collections are not considered when purchasing a home.

All collections negatively affect credit scores, including medical collections.  However, I have also heard that medical collections are not seen as negatively as other collections, but I do not have any documentation to back that up.  There is an article in the Union Plus about medical debt.

We have a few volunteers who are realtors or work for lenders.  I invite you to share your experience in working with people who have medical collections and are trying to buy a home.

We also discussed student loans and how they affect credit.  

Again, all collections negatively affect credit scores, including student loans.  The important thing here is that borrowers continue to work with their lender or guarantor (if the loan is in default).  A great resource for information about student loans is the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation. 

October Continuing Education gathering 

The next gathering will be on Wednesday, October 19, 12-1 pm at the Community Financial Center.  Bring your lunch and learn about 2-1-1 Texas, the program of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission that is committed to helping Texans connect with the services they need. Bridgette Kern, a representative from 2-1-1 will be giving an overview of 2-1-1 and the services they provide. She will also demonstrate how to use 2-1-1’s online database. Sign up on MyVolunteerPage.

Thanks everyone for participating and I hope to see you on the 19th!

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator