Business Credit Cards: Good for Business?

When someone is business credit card shopping it pays to shop around. This is because the credit cards are managed by the credit card company and not the institution. The financial institution may have their name on it, but that’s just branding. I spent 15 years as a branch manager working with businesses. At no point in my career could I call the credit card company with which we were affiliated to ask them for concessions for a business client. Once in a while I could get a late fee waived, but as far as personal guarantees, interest rates or credit lines, I had no say in that. Rates and lines of credit are determined through a matrix that combines the credit rating of the business owner with their ability to pay from the business’s income.

Yes, they are looking at the personal credit rating of the owner, not the business. I could not tell you how many times I have had business owners, even those who are just getting their business started, tell me they want a business credit card based on their business without having to give a personal guarantee. Sure, Microsoft or Ford Motor Co would not have to qualify based on their personal credit rating. But these are sophisticated and dynamic multi billion dollar businesses. A sole proprietor or small S Corp owner in a business with a gross annual revenue of less than a million dollars who applies for a credit card would absolutely be judged for credit based on their personal credit scores. These constitute the majority of small businesses in the country. (In a 2007 economic census, there were 6,049,655 businesses in our country. Five and a half million of those had less than 20 employees.)

Small banks and credit unions contract with large card issuers from Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Card Member Services, etc. These institutions are referred to by the card issuing companies as “Member Banks” or “Member Institutions.” The card issuers work with their member institutions to negotiate underwriting criteria, terms and rates for the new branded card. As a general rule, your branch manager, that manager’s regional manager, and most likely the district or retail VP in charge cannot change the terms of a business credit card.

Financial institutions can change issuers and negotiate a better overall card program if they are not happy with the deal they have from their present issuer. Today there are fewer issuers due to consolidation in the business. Bank One was a major card issuer with member banks all over the U.S. Now, they are part of Chase. MBNA issued millions of cards nationwide for years and now is part of FIA that is owned by Bank of America. With fewer issuers, it is hard to get a good deal and harder to negotiate because of narrow competition. Due to the volume of credit cards issued by credit union card programs, CU’s can often negotiate some very good deals for their members.

The small business owner’s best bet is to shop on the Web or shop their credit union for the best deal. There are a variety of low cost card issuers with which credit unions work; often offering smaller fees and slightly better rates. As credit unions are not for profit businesses without shareholders clamoring for higher profits, they can negotiate good deals for their members. Small business owners will not be able to avoid the personal guarantee requirement, but they can look for a card that best suits their business’s needs.

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Our next free financial workshops:

Credit Myths and Repair Workshop  Free - Open to the public

Wednesday Jan. 23rd at 6:30 PM at the Meriwest Credit Union Main Office 

5615 Chesbro Ave

San Jose CA 95123

Please RSVP with gmeyer@meriwest.com  or call at 408-365-6328

Tax Law Changes and Updates for 2013 - Open to the public

Saturday Feb. 9^th at 10 AM at the Meriwest Credit Union Main Office

5615 Chesbro Ave

San Jose CA 95123

Please RSVP with gmeyer@meriwest.com or call at 408-365-6328

 

Setting Financial Goals...And Reaching Them!

Are your financial goals set in concrete or can they be blown away as easily as a dandelion? 

Achieving your dreams and creating the financial future you want always begins with one important first step: a goal. Whether you're looking to help your child set goals so she achieves academically or have your own financial or self-improvement goals for the New Year, there IS a science to setting and meeting them.

A 2010 study in Applied Psychology followed college students who went through a multi-step goal setting program. Those who followed it completely showed significant improvement in their grades compared to those who did not.

While New Year's resolutions are notoriously short-lived, a clear process will put any objective you've set for yourself within reach. No matter what you have in mind, you can apply these steps to whatever goals are important to you, and the whole process should take less than 90 minutes.

1. Take a few minutes to write about the financial future you'd like to achieve. It's okay to start with a vague idea, but include as many specific details as possible.

2. Looking at the financial future you've envisioned for yourself, pick six specific and attainable financial goals that could help you achieve that future.

3. Number your goals according to their order of importance.

4. Look at each goal and write a paragraph about how achieving that specific step will benefit you.

5. For each financial goal, break it into smaller more manageable steps.

6. Identify obstacles that may get in the way and come up for a strategy for overcoming them should you need to do so.

7. Write about your commitment to reaching these ultimate financial goals.

That's it. Sound easy? Perhaps. But by taking the step of committing your goals to paper and working through these steps, you've laid the groundwork for success.

A goal is simply a dream with a deadline....may all your dreams come true!

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Reality Based Budgets for Teens and College Students – Jan. 16^th

Our next Financial Education Workshop will be Reality Based Budgets for Teens and College Students. It is a post college simulation of renting an apartment, buying a car, and developing a spending and savings plan. It is a fun and interactive session for the whole family and really opens the door to discussions about managing money. If this is something you or a member of your family needs, please feel free to join us. These workshops are open to the public.

Reality Based Budgets

6:30pm January 16^th at our Chesbro Main Office Location

5615 Chesbro Ave, San Jose CA 95123

Please RSVP with Gmeyer@meriwest.com.

Consolidating Debt with Personal Loans - Good idea?

The New Year is nearly here. A lot of us are thinking about our finances and how we can improve them in 2013. Personal loans play an important role for those who are trying to get out of debt quickly. Properly used, they can be an easy way to paying off high interest credit card debt. If they are used improperly, they are a fast ticket to a lower credit score.

Let’s keep in mind that bill consolidation, from the standpoint of a credit union, means eliminating debt, building credit scores, and creating a consumer solution that can be easily managed based on the member’s income. Depending upon the extent of the member’s debt, we will often ask that they close several of their outstanding credit cards. Why? It will do no good to consolidate their debt and have them run it back up. We will take a look at their credit and income to determine what credit can be retained by the member and what they would need to close in order to receive the loan or line of credit for the bill consolidation.

Often, CU’s will recommend a member gets credit counseling prior to their consolidation. Credit Counselors teach the member how to budget, to use their online banking to manage their finances, and help them understand the consequences of extensive debt and its effect on their credit scores. It can also be helpful if the credit union offers workshops on these subjects as Meriwest Credit Union does. For more info on personal lines of credit, click here.

Any bill consolidation should offer you a lower rate of interest than that which you are currently paying and a more affordable payment. Currently, for someone with a 740 FICO score, we can offer 15% on a personal bill consolidation loan or 10.50% on a personal line of credit. Please keep in mind the line of credit is adjustable and when rates go up, which they will, this rate could rise rather quickly.

One of the dangers of bill consolidation is irresponsible borrowers. A person can get a consolidation loan, consolidate their debts into a more reasonable and affordable alternative and then go out and acquire more debt. This completely defeats the purpose of bill consolidation and puts them on the fast track to a low credit score or worse.

We must also consider that closing out a credit card account can lower your credit score. Closing out cards that we have had for a long time will negatively effect our credit. When those credit lines are removed we lose the available line as part of our balance ratio calculation (for more info on this, see our blog “Your Fico Score, Mystery No More”) and we lose the history of managing that credit after a few months. Opening a new line can offset some of the FICO points lost to closing a line.

Don’t want to close the line of credit? You have some options. You can cut the card in half and simply not use it thus leaving the account open. If you are a disciplined person, you can lock your credit cards in a drawer and avoid using them; out of sight, out of mind.

Homeowners have another option available to them; the Home Equity Line of Credit or HELOC. The HELOC is line of credit based on your home’s equity. Typically, it has a lower rate than unsecured personal loans and may offer tax advantages for some homeowners. It is handy for home improvement, bill consolidation, and a myriad of other uses. As a matter of fact, Equity Lines of Credit are worthy of their own blog! We will have one for you on that next year.

Alternatives: There are offers from credit card vendors to transfer balances at a lower rate. They encourage borrowers to use a credit card check to pay off debt at other vendors and transfer that debt to their card. Consumers need to be mindful that the low interest rate offered on these is usually a teaser and may go up in time. Some cards may offer a lowered rate for the life of the transferred debt. These can be a pretty good deal provided the borrower is responsible and does not incur further debt during the pay off period. But don’t miss a payment! You could be subject to penalty interest and see your preferred low rate rise well above 18%.

Some things to consider before combining balances on another credit card:

-          Do you have adequate credit limit for the transfer?

-          Is the Introductory rate a temporary Teaser Rate or fixed for the term of payoff?

-          Is there a fee for the balance transfer? (this increases your cost of borrowing.)

Finally, before considering any consolidation, can you buckle down and get out of debt on your own without help? Can you rearrange your budget, be disciplined in your spending, and commit your spare dollars to paying off your debt? If one eats out for lunch everyday, it can cost over $35 a week. Bringing a lunch from home can save $100 a month. That money can go a long way toward paying off debt. On any credit card or loan, you can make larger payments and any amount you pay over your monthly interest gets credited against your principle, thus reducing the amount of interest you will pay the next month. Keep that cycle up and you will pay off your debts a lot faster.

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Reality Based Budgets for Teens and College Students – Jan. 16^th

Our next Financial Education Workshop will be Reality Based Budgets for Teens and College Students. It is a post college simulation of renting an apartment, buying a car, and developing a spending and savings plan. It is a fun and interactive session for the whole family and really opens the door to discussions about managing money. If this is something you or a member of your family needs, please feel free to join us. These workshops are open to the public.

Reality Based Budgets

6:30pm January 16^th at our Chesbro Main Office Location

5615 Chesbro Ave, San Jose CA 95123

Please RSVP with Gmeyer@meriwest.com.

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Hungry for more information on Money Management? Check out Len Penzo’s Financial Blog. Len provides excellent financial insights with a sense of humor.

Managing Holiday Credit Card Debt

Imagine yourself at a department store. You are approaching the check out. How are you going to pay for this purchase? Are you using your debit card because you planned your holiday spending? Or are you using your credit cards because your only plan is to spend and eventually pay it back?

When it comes down to holiday spending, we have a choice.

Choice #1: We can go into the holidays financially blind and spend to our heart’s content and put our heads in the sand and deal with it in the New Year. This is the way a lot of people approach the holidays and they pay for it monetarily and emotionally. Not only that, but their credit scores take a hit as their credit card balances rise. Their monthly costs go up because the minimum payments on their cards increase due to larger balances. This reduces their spending power until they pay off some of that holiday debt!

Choice #2: Go into the holidays with a spending plan that let’s you buy thoughtful gifts for your family and friends but does not allow you to break the bank. That is really the best course of action. A plan is always better than winging it and winging it with money is never a good idea. To make this action effective, you have to save before the holidays come. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking to a savings account.

Next year in January, you may want to open a “Christmas or Holiday Club” account for your holiday savings if your bank or credit union still offers that. The old club accounts had money automatically transferred from your checking account and was cashed in before the holidays and paid out to the accountholder to pay for gifts. Lacking a “Christmas Club” type of account? Open a savings especially for your holiday spending and set up an automatic transfer from your checking account each month. The automatic transfer happens without any action on your part. Just remember to enter it in your check register or monitor your online banking so you don’t overdraw your checking. When the holidays are here, draw the funds from your savings and spend it to your heart’s content.

If you must use credit to pay for your gift giving, let’s consider some things that might save us some money. Let’s assume you plan to pay this newly incurred balance off in six months. How much do you plan to spend on gifts? That’s the starting point. Take that amount and divide it by six and add that to your current monthly payment on that card. Can you afford that payment monthly for the next six months? Then you may have the right amount to spend on gifts. Is it too high? You need to adjust your spending plan, not your time horizon for pay off! Remember, extending the pay off time for any balance adds more interest to your debt. Paying interest is like renting money. Who benefits when you pay interest? Certainly not me or you. The bank does! If this sounds like a good idea, you use way too much credit and need an intervention!

But, if you really like making that monthly payment and the cost is no object for you, then you might be more inclined to take Choice #1.

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Our next financial education workshop will be “Real World Budgets for Teens” and will be presented at our Chesbro Main Office on January 16^th at 6:30pm. Real World Budgets takes a teen and their parents thru a post college simulation of managing money, a job, and the payments that come with independence. I hope you can join us.

Please RSVP with Greg Meyer at gmeyer@meriwest.com or 408-365-6328.

Click here for a list of all of our financial education offerings.

Check us out on Facebook! WWW.Facebook.com/MeriwestCreditUnion

Alternative Credit Scores

Over 70 million adults in the U.S. do not have a credit score or have a very limited credit history. Individuals and families living with limited credit files are forced to take advantage of alternative financial sources to cash their checks or get temporary short term loans aka Pay Day Loans. Users of alternative financial sources generally pay very high costs in relation to the usual transactions you might perform at your credit union. Cashing a paycheck could cost $3 - $15. A two week $200 payday loan could cost as much as $45 if paid on time. If the loan cannot be paid off right away, it has to be renewed. In California, that means the loan principle and interest has to be paid and a new loan created. How many times will a person have to pay $45 to maintain and renew the loan until they can afford to pay it off completely?

Several companies have created alternative credit scoring products based on the analysis of non-traditional data, including rental and bill payment history, insurance payments, debit-card use and public records. They are trying to use this data to predict the payment history of people who don’t have access to traditional credit products that can be tracked through a FICO score.

That is basically what a credit reporting bureau does for people with their credit. It reports the usage of the various forms of credit a person has and tracks the payments made and balances carried. Through a computer algorithm it creates a number that can predict, with fair certainty, the future payment history of an applicant. Those with FICO scores over 740 are more likely to make their payments on time and manage their outstanding balances better than someone with a score of less than 740.

Why do some people want to use alternative credit data? There is a profit motive as vendors can sell more products and services if there is a universe of more qualified buyers. It could also help families struggling with traditional credit by showing their propensity to pay their rent, utility bills, auto insurance, and other regular payments. By using alternative data, lenders stand to reach a large group of potential borrowers about whom they currently have little or no information. For these consumers, alternative credit scores strengthen lenders’ ability to:

-         Reliably rank order risk;

-         Efficiently evaluate applicants for credit or design offers for credit;

-         Increase approval rates while controlling for acceptable levels of risk

Meriwest works exclusively with Experian Credit Bureau. Experian offers various forms of credit reports. We use three specifically:

-         For all auto lending, direct lending to our members and through the Credit Union Direct Lending (CUDL) Network we use the FICO Auto 2 score. This is provided by Experian, and is a variation of the basic FICO score – more heavily weighted to the existence and performance on previous auto loans compared to the traditional FICO score.  This is similar to the “Auto Industry Option Scores” listed below.

-         For our other consumer loans, we use a custom score from Experian called a “Fast Start” score.  It is based on credit and personal characteristics such as their time on the job, how long they have been a member, and other data.

-         We also look at the Experian BK (Bankruptcy) score.  This is a predictor of the applicants likelihood of filing (or needing to file) bankruptcy, and is used as a risk measurement in our analysis.

We don’t use alternative scores, but do tend to look at our borrowers differently than a traditional bank. In a traditional commercial bank, credit score lending is King. If they are looking for a FICO score of 740 or above and that’s where you score, your application has a preliminary approval pending review of debt and income. If your FICO Score comes in less than 740, your application will be declined due to credit. They will take no further action on your behalf outside of sending you the decline letter.

Credit unions, in general, take a more holistic view of their borrowers. Sure, the FICO score is an important part of the loan qualification. Credit Unions would like to see a 740 FICO Score just like the big banks. But if you miss the score by this much (thumb and forefinger showing an inch), you may still qualify for a loan at a credit union. Why? They look at the whole person, not just their credit score. They look at how long you have been employed in the same business or the same employer. How long have you lived in the area? Or at the same home? How long have you been a member of the Credit Union? Have you borrowed from them before? All of these questions go into making the credit decisions. I am not saying that everyone with a less than 740 FICO Score gets a loan. But, if someone misses the target score by ten or twenty points, it is not the end of the loan. Credit Unions can take these questions into consideration and possibly make the loan for them at a slightly higher rate. This is called, Risk Based Pricing. If there is increased risk in lending to someone, say a 720 vs. a 740 FICO Score, we can price our interest rate a little higher accordingly to offset the risk.

Here is a run down of the more common credit scores and alternatives to credit scores:

FICO Score: Created by the Fair Isaac Corporation, FICO is the best-known credit scoring system in the United States. It is a way of measuring an individual's creditworthiness. A FICO score is a quantification of a variety of factors in an individual's background, including a history of default, the current amount of debt, and the length of time that the individual has made purchases on credit. A FICO score ranges between 300 and 850. The higher the score, the more likely that individual will pay their bills in a timely manner.

Vantage Score: A consumer credit rating product developed by three credit rating agencies - Equifax, TransUnion and Experian - as an alternative to the FICO Score. VantageScore uses a different rating scale (501 to 990) than FICO (300 to 850), and is branded as a score that provides lending institutions and banks information related to sub-prime financing. The score is calculated through a weighted average of a consumer's available credit, recent credit, payment history, credit utilization, depth of credit and credit balances.

Auto Industry Option Scores: Auto lenders are unlike other kinds of creditors. Many other creditors look at the entire credit picture to make a decision. However, some auto lenders base their decision solely on how previous auto loans were managed. So, even if your credit scores are bad, if you never missed a car or truck payment or sent one in late, your Auto Industry scores will most likely be higher than the standard FICO scores.

Veritas (by Digital Risk): Most recent alternative; used for home mortgage credit analysis. It Integrates borrower credit characteristics with property and local real estate market data along with proprietary behavioral prediction models. 

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Our next Credit Myths workshop is this Wednesday the 5th of December

Credit Myths and Repair

6:30pm    Wednesday    December 5th 

Meriwest Credit Union Main Office

5615 Chesbro Ave, San Jose CA 95123

Click here to RSVP!

Your FICO Score-Mystery no More!

 

Is your FICO score a mystery to you? Don’t feel bad, most American consumers don’t know their FICO score much less how it is determined. Generally, your FICO score can vary from 300 at the lowest to a high of 900. People ask me, “Hey, Credit Union Guy, what’s a good credit score?” Today, a good score would be in the neighborhood of 740. At this level you can access good rates on car loans, home financing, and credit cards. Go below 740 and you may find yourself paying higher rates of interest on your loans and credit cards.

“What is a FICO?” FICO is an acronym for the Fair Isaac Company; the company that invented the calculations that result in a measurement of credit risk. The score is determined by an algorithm. In a sense, it is a highly complex algebra problem that takes into account your payment history, the ratio of your loan and card balances vs. your available balances, the length of your credit history, your credit request inquiries and the types of credit you are managing. The formula for exactly how the score is calculated is proprietary information and owned by Fair Isaac.

“Why does the FICO score exist?” In the old days of lending, loan managers looked at the physical credit report for a person and made a judgment call on the risk involved with making a loan to that person. Back then, two loan underwriters might look at the same report and have very different opinions on the applicant’s payment history. Credit Scoring took the judgment call out of the process. A person either scored well or they didn’t. Another reason for FICO score is volume. As our population grew and more people started using banks and credit unions, the loan volume increased significantly. In order to speed the loan process, the FICO score was used. Loan processors can input a minimum of data and get a score for a credit decision rather than reviewing the entire credit report.

Here is an approximate breakdown of how it is determined:

·   35 percent of the score is based on your payment history. This makes sense since one of the primary reasons a lender wants to see the score is to find out if (and how timely) you pay your bills. The score is affected by how many bills have been paid late, how many were sent out for collection, any bankruptcies, etc. When these things happened also comes into play. The more recent, the worse it will be for your overall score.

·   30 percent of the score is based on outstanding debt. How much do you owe on car or home loans? How many credit cards do you have that are at their credit limits? The more cards you have that have maxed out lines, the lower your score will be. The rule of thumb is to keep your card balances at 30% or less of their limits.

·   15 percent of the score is based on the length of time you've had credit. The longer you've had established credit, the better it is for your overall credit score. Why? Because more information about your past payment history gives a more accurate prediction of your future actions.

·   10 percent of the score is based on the number of inquiries on your report. If you've applied for a lot of credit cards or loans, you will have a lot of inquiries on your credit report. These are bad for your score because they indicate that you may be in some kind of financial trouble or may be taking on a lot of debt (even if you haven't used the cards or gotten the loans). The more recent these inquiries are the worse for your credit score. FICO scores only count inquiries from the past year.

·   10 percent of the score is based on the types of credit you have. The number of loans and available credit from credit cards you have makes a difference; installment loans vs. revolving lines of credit. There is no magic number or combination of types of accounts that you shouldn't have. These actually come more into play if there isn't as much other information on your credit report on which to base the credit decision.

Questions? Ask the Meriwest Credit Union Guy at gmeyer@meriwest.com.

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The next Meriwest Credit Union Financial Education Workshop will be our Reality Based Budgets Workshop for teens and college students on Wednesday, Nov. 28th at our Monta Loma Financial Center in Mountain View. This workshop takes through a post college money management simulation where they are given a salary, rent, car payments, and other bills and build their living budget. 

Our Monta Loma Financial Center is located at the corner of Rengstorff and Middlefield  Road in the Monta Loma Shopping Center. The program begins at 6pm. We hope you can join us. Please RSVP at our Events Link.

 

Working on your Home?

You have waited a long time. You worked your way through a recession. Perhaps you have watched your home lose value and slowly regain some it back as our economy has shown signs of improvement. The time has come for you to do some work on your house that has been put off too long.

Renovating the bathrooms and the kitchen in your home can give you some good bang for your buck when it comes to increasing the value of your home. How do we pay for it? One of the best ways is to use your home’s equity to finance that improvement. A Home Equity Line of Credit can be your ticket to a new kitchen. You may be able to deduct the interest on your taxes (check with your tax consultant). 

Here at Meriwest Credit Union, lines up to $250,000 have no application fees nor do they have any third party fees like title costs. Also, interest rates are at their lowest point in years, meaning you can save a lot of money in interest charges. Check our Home Equity Line of Credit Page or contact your local Meriwest Credit Union Financial Services Representative for details. Now let's talk about unlicensed contractors.

Beware of Unlicensed Contractors

It is about this time of year when someone with a pickup truck and a smile may knock on your door, mention something about your house that may need work, and they'll offer to do it at a cost that seems almost too good to be true.

Frequently, they'll tell you they were working in the area anyway, which is part of why the job will be so cheap. But it pays to do a bit of research. Here's why:

Liability. Legitimate businesses carry two kinds of insurance that protects both themselves and you, the customer...

• Liability insurance. If the contractor or his employees cause damage to your property, or a neighbor's property, they will generally carry insurance or have posted a bond to ensure that they can make good on any damages. Sure, you can file a lawsuit and maybe win a judgment. But having a judgment and collecting on it are two different things. A licensed contractor will generally have enough insurance coverage to ensure you will be made whole in case of any kind of claim.
• Workers compensation. Unlicensed contractors typically don't provide workers compensation coverage to their workers. Most states require this coverage, which covers any medical costs incurred by workers injured on the job, as well as some disability benefits. If a worker gets injured on the job, and this insurance isn't in place, that worker could sue both the employer and you, the property owner, for damages.

Jail time. It's true: In some jurisdictions, using unlicensed contractors not only jeopardizes your own finances - it's actually a crime.

Scams. Most unlicensed contractors mean to actually do the work. But one common scam goes like this: The scammer will begin work, then asks you for money "to go buy some of the materials they need." Then you give the contractor the money, and you never see them again. Or there may be an injury, for which you as the property owner are expected to provide compensation. The injury could be legit... or it could be part of the scam.

Worse yet, unscrupulous contractors could begin work, tear your roof open, for example, and then demand much more money than agreed upon to close the roof. Had you used a legitimate contractor, you would have recourse to your state licensing boards for unethical work or breaches of contract. Legitimate contractors don't want to lose their license, so they will work very hard to satisfy you as a customer and prevent racking up a track record of complaints.

How to Avoid Them

·        The simplest thing to do is ask for their license number. If they can't give it to you, or claim to be "working under someone else's license," then don't let them touch a thing.

·        Also, ensure the contractor gets a permit for any construction projects or anything that involves digging. Legitimate contractors will normally arrange for the permits themselves.

o       If they ask you to get the permit, consider that a red flag. It may be they are no longer welcome at the permit office - or they don't have the cash to get a permit. Either way, it doesn't bode well. 

·        Ask for references in your area. If the contractor has a good reputation and has provided good value and service to his customers, the contractor will be happy to share his or her references with you. No references? No Job!

·        Don’t forget to check social media like Yelp or traditional rating agencies like the Better Business Bureau. Look for a contractor with good Yelp ratings and no complaints filed at the BBB. That will make your decision a lot easier!

The Bottom Line

Using licensed contractors is a smart move in many ways: It encourages and supports the legitimate, law-abiding businesses in your community. You can generally expect a better quality of work. It encourages employment in your community, as unlicensed contractors are more prone to hire illegal workers. And it protects you against unwanted liability when things don't go as planned. You could be liable if an unlicensed contractor or one of his workers is injured on your property. Licensed, legitimate contractors will have Workman’s Compensation Insurance for him and his crew. In this case, you would not be liable for injuries incurred in the performance of the work on your property. 

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Meriwest Pre-Owned Auto Sale 

November 10-11, 2012

Last Auto Sale of the Year! Sale Hours: Saturday, November 10: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturday, November 11: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Location: Meriwest Credit Union 5615 Chesbro Avenue San Jose, CA 95123 Take Advantage of this Event! Rates as low as 1.24% APR offered to qualified members** Over 200 quality pre-owned vehicles Trade-ins welcome Up to 100% financing available on all vehicles for qualified buyers*** Loan officials on-site