Bad Credit? Lets make a deal

How to make sure the car dealer doesn't win.

By Ted Johnsen

Syracuse, NY: You've probably seen the latest craze in automobile commercials. The ones that say "Bad credit? No problem."

But whats the catch? Gary Thurber works for a credit counseling service in Syracuse, and sees many people getting tricked into buying cars they cant afford. "Typically it's the payment, they forget to look at the interest rate or how long the loan is for," he said.

"If you don't read the rate of interest and term lengths, you will be taken advantage of," said Randy Elder, a finance professor at Syracuse University's Whitman School.

For example, let's take a car valued at $11,490. The bank could charge the customer a 20 percent interest rate. But, to shield the cost of the car, the dealer might suggest a loan paid back over 7 years. That way the monthly payment looks reasonable at $255. However, by the time the car is paid off, the buyer will have spent nearly double its original cost at $21,431.

What to watch out for
Car experts say there are a few of things to watch out for before agreeing to the interest rate and length of the loan. "You need to know what your credit score is," said Evie Hayden, a saleswoman at a local Volvo dealership. She said you can check your credit score for free every six months at annualcreditreport.com. She suggested buyers should also ask their bank what kind of an interest rate they'd be willing to offer, before going to the dealer.

Another thing to watch out for is the length of the loan. Experts say you dont want to take out a loan for more than 5 years, because they say you probably wont even own the car in five years. They say you don't want to be paying for a car you dont even drive anymore.

Have to be prepared
Car experts say to make sure you avoid being taken advantage of, you have to do your homework.

And if you're unsure about whether you can afford that car payment or not, credit counselors have a tip. "Practice. Before you go and buy that new car- if you think you can afford that 250 dollar payment- put that money aside in a savings account for 6 months. That way if you didn't have to touch the money, you know you're probably ready to buy a car, and plus you have a down payment," said Thurber.

And if practice makes perfect, you won't need to worry about missing a payment, and further damaging your credit score.

Syracuse Lacks Professional Sports Teams

Syracuse-April 21, 2008- With spring in full swing and summer just around the corner there are very few professional sports teams available for people to go see in Syracuse.

Going to a Syracuse Sky Chiefs game and enjoying a warm weather day doesn't cost a lot of money. But what if you don't like baseball and want to watch another sport this summer in Syracuse? Well, you can't. The Chiefs and the Crunch are the only professional teams left in town. Last year, the Raging Bullz ceased operations after playing only two home games. The ABA franchise cited poor attendance as the reason.

Fans Let Down

But one former team had the fan support. The Syracuse Salty Dogs drew some of the largest crowds in the league but folded nearly four years ago because of financial problems. Shane Sutliff went to a lot of their games and he was less than happy when they left.
"I was furious about the Salty Dogs," he said. "I was just ticked off."

College Town

Syracuse University athletics are understandably the big dog in town so it's no surprise the two successful professional teams in Syracuse play sports that the university doesn't offer on the division one level. Even the Chiefs have problems drawing many people. So why does Syracuse have trouble keeping professional sports teams? "Probably like a lot of towns where college is a big deal or certainly a big part of the community here, the college sports become the main attraction at least for the sports that do well," Nolan Weidner, writer for The Post-Standard said.
Rochester has 7 professional teams, ranging from basketball to arena football. The Rochester Razorsharks draw about 5,000 fans per home game. So what do these franchises do that future Syracuse teams can copy?
"We went after the soccer moms, and the soccer dads, and the young families that are just experiencing soccer, the music at the games, and the mascots, and we try to make it more family fun," Sam Fantuzzo, VP for the Rochester Rhinos, said.

Ways to Succeed

Sutliff says the playoff-bound Crunch are a model of how a professional team can succeed in Syracuse.
"They started marketing the team from the get-go and not marketing just in the Syracuse area, they nationally marketed the team, all over the place, throughout the whole American Hockey League," he said. And even though the Salty Dogs are long gone, Shane still has his memories. At least that can't be taken away from him.

The Creator's Game

Nedrow NY- It's the fastest growing sport in the country. Though typically associated with east coast private school culture, lacrosse still means as much to some native communities as it did centuries ago. To the Onondaga Nation, lacrosse is a game that transcends its own sport. It's a path to a better future, but more importantly it's a way of life.

"It's part of our religion," said Alf Jacques, the traditional wooden stick maker for the nation. "It's in our blood, it's all encompassing. It's part of everything about who we are."

The Onondagas believe that the Creator is a lacrosse player, and the game is played for his enjoyment.

"It's more than a game to us, it ain't just lacrosse, it's a medicine game," Jeremy Thompson said.

Lacrosse is still played as a medicine game today. The Onondaga men play a traditional game every year to heal the sick. They still use the traditional wooden sticks that Alf makes. Most men have a wooden stick from the time they are born and carry it throughout their entire life.

"When you die you're buried with your stick, you're in the casket with your stick, because you're gonna play lacrosse in the afterlife," Jacques said.

A Path to A Better Future

In the shadows of Syracuse lies a sovereign nation. On the Onondaga Nation there are no written laws, no police, no taxes. Instead the reservation is ridden with poverty, alcoholism and a lack of education.

"Most of the kids around here, all their parents grew up and they might just even graduate from high school and that's good enough for them," Jerome Thompson said. "They come back here and get a job on the res and that's good enough for them, it's easier. You don't have to pay taxes you don't have to do any of that, it's just easier, and their kids do the same thing."

Only a quarter of all Native Americans make it to college, according to a study on the status of Native Americans in Science and Engineering. But, for some lacrosse is a chance to break the detrimental cycle of life on the reservation.

Education is why four men are enshrined on the walls of the nation arena. Neal Powless, Travis Soloman, Gewas Schindler and Marshall Abrams are role models not because they played professional lacrosse but because they graduated from college.

"For me it's opened doors," Powless said.

Lacrosse is opening doors for the Thompson brothers who plan to play and study at Syracuse next year. Their father is an iron worker and didn't know about college when he was younger. Now he wants his boys to go.

"He wants us to go beyond what he did because all he did was graduate from high school, so he wants us to go on and use the game of lacrosse and get an education out of it," Jeremy said.

The Thompson brothers hope that their education at Syracuse helps get their pictures on the wall of the arena. No matter what they know they're getting an education and making their Creator happy by playing his game.

Inflation Hits Close to Home

By Sujata Khandelwal
Central New York-With the economic slowdown leaving few untouched and the United States wrestling with the worst food inflation in seventeen years, low-income residents of central New York are making some tough choices just to put food on the table.

“Taking it one day at a time.”
Single mom, Deborah Wrightson, never thought she would have to make a decision between eating or heating her two-bedroom home. “I have to turn the heat off and my son says ‘Mom, I’m cold,’ and I say I know honey, but it’s expensive,” said Wrightson. Wrightson and her son Anthony are among hundreds of central New Yorkers trying to survive a struggling economy. According to a recent article on MSNBC, overall food prices this year have soared 5 percent as compared with the average 2.5 percent annual rise for the last fifteen years.

Local Organizations
For central New York families, who cannot continue to absorb the rising cost of groceries, there are several organizations lending a helping hand. The Food Bank of Central New York sponsors a food pantry everyday at various locations in the region. Pastor Claire Pietra of Valley Worship Church organizes a food pantry at least once a week. She notices many more people coming to the pantries. “More people are using food pantries as supplemental foods rather than emergency food. Much more people are in a crisis all the time,” she said. The Samaritan Center in downtown Syracuse prepares hot meals everyday, and it, too, is serving many more people than usual.

Feeling the Pinch
Many residents in Syracuse are finding it difficult to even afford simple basic items. Eveanne Davis recently visited a food pantry for the first time. “I stopped buying the eggs, and I don’t buy the milk, and I only buy things I have to buy, the necessities,” she said. Jalica Housely is a widow living on social security. She cannot recall a more difficult time. “This is the hardest for me. It’s very hard for me right now. Like, I said, I manage though,” she said.

Although many in Syracuse continue to struggle, and perhaps wouldn’t survive without food pantries and the good will of volunteer agencies, it’s the help from above that get them through one day at a time.

Think Twice Before You Sign On The Dotted Line

By Megan Eaton

Syracuse, NY-During recent economic struggles, car dealers work to peek the interest of consumers with bad credit. Their commercials promise low prices and guaranteed financing. What they don’t mention are the additional fees and interest that come with buying a car. Fees that people with good credit probably won't get charged.

HIGH RISK FACTOR
Before a customer signs on the dotted line, a car dealer has a bank run their credit score and set an interest rate. Because there can be a higher risk in collecting money from people with bad credit, banks charge them a higher rate. That's something dealers take advantage of. "It's called bumping," said LaMacchia Honda salesman Fredrick Killian.

BUMPING?

Bumping occurs when dealers add on to interest rate set by the bank. For example, if a bank approved a car loan with a twenty-two percent interest rate, the dealer can add on their own three percent.

RED FLAGS
Adding on interest isn't the only thing dealers do to make a profit. "Quoting you more than one price...running your credit right away before they show you the car...adding things on at the end they say you have to have that add on to the price...like rust protection," said Evie Hayden, a salesperson for Alan Bryer Volvo.

Potential buyers may also think it saves them money to extend the length of a car loan. But it can end up costing them much more.

DO THE MATH
For example, if a used car costs 7,990, and the bank approves you for an interest rate of 22 twenty-two percent. Then the car dealer "bumps" up the interest an additional three percent, and a buyer takes out a loan for 84 months, or seven years. The monthly payment would be 202.23 a month. However, seven years later the customer has spent 16987.32. More than double the amount of the car. That's what dealer's call being Upside Down. "It means you owe a lot more than the car is worth," Hayden said.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?
"Do your homework. Make certain they're not taken advantage of. Don't buy unnecessary protections...try to get the best terms just like everyone else," said Syracuse University's finance professor Randy Elder.

That make people with bad credit smart shoppers, who are then less likely to end up further into the black hole of debt.

Running Out of Fuel

Meals on Wheels is experiencing dificulties as high gas prices drive away new volunteers and boost food prices.

Arrianee LeBeau, NCC News

Loyalty in Low Numbers
Syracuse, NY- Three days a week Nann Poole of Fayettville, NY delivers meals to homebound and elderly people in Syracuse. Poole is one many volunteers who use their own cars and pay for their gas to get food out to people in need. “I love the people. Usually they are disabled unfortunately or elderly and it’s hard for them to get out and get their meals on a regular basis, she said.” She said rising gas prices will not keep her from delivering food to some of the neediest people in the community.

Poole and other volunteers said they are usually the only interaction customers have in the day with other people. “I wouldn’t know what to do without them. They’re a big help.” Anne Kicak of Syracuse, NY is on Poole’s delivery route. She has been a Meals on Wheels customer for several years and said she enjoys the time spent with Poole.

But not all volunteers share the same sentiment and are as committed as Poole. Edward Brown, the volunteer coordinator from Meals on Wheels said they are experiencing a decline in new volunteers who say they would like to volunteer but are deterred by the high gas prices.

Daily Mission
Meals on Wheels uses seventy-five volunteers a day to delivery and prepare meals. It delivers about four-hundred hot and cold dinners a day to people throughout Onondaga County. The delivery routes range from ten to forty miles round trip but with gas prices expected to reach $4.00 this summer new volunteers are not stepping up to the plate.

However, Brown said they have always managed to compensate for the lack of new volunteers. Loyal volunteers like Nann Poole as well as staff members have picked up extra routes.

Double Trouble with Gas Prices
But this has been the least of the organization’s worries because high gas prices are now increasing how much they pay for food. “What we’ve found is that the food is dependent on our vendors. And our vendors use trucks to transport. And as their cost go up so do the cost of food, said Mason Kaufman.” Kaufman is the Executive Director of Meals on Wheels and said high gas prices has caused items they use for ingredients to double and triple what they budgeted. Kaufman said shipments are received daily for certain items and they must stick to a strict diet.

Meals on Wheels agreed that it fulfills a need in the community that sets out to feed people who no longer have the capacity to cook for themselves. But with gas and food prices steadily increasing it’s becoming harder to accomplish that mission.

What the Flip?

Amid a national housing slump, it seems some cities in Central New York are seeing more of an up turn than a down. In Syracuse, two men are “flipping out” about this rare case.

By: Marissa Torres, NCC News

Shawn Zachary Designs

Shawn Clarke and his partner Zachary Belil began their house flipping company, Shawn Zachary Designs, more than ten years ago in New York City. In starting the company, they were able to turn their passion for home design into a profit. They soon realized however, how much more expensive it was to continue this business in NYC compared to anywhere else in the country.
“ We were at a point where we could do it here…but if we had to do the same thing in NY it would be impossible…because it would cost us a million dollars for a crappy one bedroom” says Zachary Belil.

What the Flip?

We have all seen or heard of the popular shows like “Flip this House” by A&E or “Flip that House” by TLC, but are these television series truly a reality?
According to Shawn and Zachary, it’s pretty close. While the shows make it look easier, and tend to invest much more money, it is accurate to what their company is all about. Shawn and Zachary find a classic “fixer-upper,” which is reasonably priced, and in an area they feel will be prosperous. They renovate it, re-design it, and re-sell it for a greater price. This is an attractive idea to many people looking for convenience. “They want to come in and they want buy a house and they want move in. They don’t want to buy a house and do everything from top to bottom” says Shawn.

Why Syracuse?



According to various realtors in the area, Syracuse, along with the rest of Central New York, is not following the national housing economic downturn. Jim Giannuzzi from Salt City Mortgage says the past year held a fair to good selling and buying trend. “We are very fortune because we didn’t see inflation effect the price of our houses like a lot of areas did. So it’s really not a bad market around this area” says Giannuzzi.
David Manzano, President of the Board of Realtors, says last year, the median price of a house in Syracuse was 131,000 dollars. Compared to New York City, where Shawn and Zachary began their business, the median price of a home was 440,000 dollars. Here it is much easier for them to get more “bang for their buck.”