To better understand and meet our members’ needs, Salal is working with Raddon Financial Group, national financial-industry experts, to conduct a member survey. Information gathered from anonymous member responses will help us prioritize our projects, analyze our current situation, and determine future direction.

In mid-March, we will begin mailing and emailing survey questions to randomly selected members. Those who don’t receive a survey can still participate via our website. We’ll provide more information as we get closer to the date; please check salalcu.org for more details.

Share your vision for your credit union! We value the opinion of every member, and we hope you’ll share your ideas with us.

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Please understand that clicking hyperlinks or URLs in this blog may mean you’ll  leave Salal Credit Union’s site. Please be advised that Salal Credit Union provides this link as a courtesy to you; however, we are unable to endorse or guarantee the content accuracy of these third party websites. We hope you visit us again soon!

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You’ve heard about Home Equity Loans, HELOCs, 2^nd mortgages, and so on, but maybe you’re unsure what those loans are and why you might want one. Here’s a quick introduction to Home Equity loans and Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC):

What is a “second mortgage”?

Home equity loans and lines of credit are both examples of second mortgages. Both give you, the home owner, an opportunity to use some of the equity you’ve built up as you’ve made your mortgage payments. The amount you can borrow for a second mortgage is partly based on the equity you have in your home.

“Equity” is the difference between your home’s current value and the amount you have left to pay on your mortgage. Let’s say you bought a home for $100,000; subtracting your down payment and the monthly payments you’ve made so far, you now owe $70,000. Assuming your home’s value is still $100,000, you have built $30,000 in equity. Many homeowners borrow against that equity to make improvements on their home or when they need cash for other reasons.

The difference between a home equity loan and a home equity line of credit

When you are approved for a home equity loan, you receive the entire amount of the loan at one time. The loan term may be for 5, 10, or 15 years. Home equity loans are often at a fixed rate, meaning the interest rate stays the same for the life of the loan. Your house is security for the loan. These loans can make borrowers eligible for a tax rebate, so it’s a good idea to let your tax preparer know you have a home equity loan.

A home equity line of credit (HELOC), on the other hand, operates more like a credit card: there’s a maximum amount you can borrow, but you can take out less than that amount. The loans are often variable rate, set to follow the movement of the market. The benefit of a home equity line of credit is that you are paying interest only for what you use at any given time. You can pay back as you go or draw more on your line of credit when the need arises.

How much can I borrow?

The amount you can borrow with a home equity loan or HELOC is based on several factors. You’ll want to have a shiny, bright credit score to get the lowest possible rate. And underwriters will take a look at your income and financial obligations (debt). But 2^nd mortgages are also based on your “LTV” or loan to value ratio.

LTV is the amount you still owe on your mortgage divided by the appraised value of your property. In the example above, we said you purchased your home for $100,000. However, that may not be the “appraised value” of your property any more. If you’ve made improvements or your area is a popular one for purchases, the value of your home could be more than $100,000. On the other hand, in challenging financial times, home values may drop. You can get an unofficial estimate of the value of your home on zillow.com (use the “zestimate” tool). You can also look at the value of your tax assessment, but understand that home values change, so you may get a very different number when your home is formally appraised.

For our example, let’s say your home is appraised at $100,000, and you owe $70,000 on your mortgage. LTV for your home is 70,000/100,000, or 70%. Lenders may offer loans for “up to 85% of LTV.” Because your LTV is lower than 85%, you represent a lower risk to the lender, and that may qualify you for a higher loan amount and a lower interest rate. Provided you have a good credit score, an appropriate income, and you meet other eligibility requirements, you should be eligible to borrow up to $30,000.

Now that you know what second mortgages are, why would you want one?

Second mortgages are a good way to have the cash you need when you need it, often at a lower interest rate than using, for example, a credit card. At some institutions, similar loans may be referred to as “Home Improvement Loans” because borrowers use their home’s equity to increase their home’s value: a home owner might use the money to put in energy efficient windows, for example, replace an old appliance, or remodel the kitchen. Major home improvements can be expensive, so having a low-interest source of cash can help you keep costs under control.

How do I apply for a home equity loan or HELOC?

Applying is easy with Salal CU—you can even apply online! To make your application as efficient as possible, you’ll want to know the following information:

• Your home’s current value
• The amount remaining on your mortgage
• Your monthly income

Documents you’ll be asked to provide:

• Current mortgage statements (all pages, for all properties)
• A copy of the first mortgage promissory note
• Declaration page from your homeowner’s insurance provider
• Proof of income—30 days’ of pay stubs and the previous year’s W-2.

Click here for more information about Salal’s Home Equity Loan and Lines of Credit, and to access our online application.

Whatever you need cash for, a Salal Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit is a smart way to find the funds!

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You’ve probably heard of spam, phishing, pharming and Trojan horses. You know to avoid the pleas of those claiming to be displaced royalty, and of course, you’d never click on a link emailed by a stranger. But you may not be familiar with a “Distributed Denial of Service” or “DDoS.”

In a DDoS attack, a particular website, server or network is targeted and flooded with requests. This coordinated attack is intended to overload the victim’s computer system, making it impossible for the victim to distinguish and respond to legitimate communications. Frequently a website will be taken offline during an attack, which may be confusing and alarming for users.

While DDoS attacks don’t themselves pose a security risk, they can be inconvenient and frustrating for anyone attempting to use a targeted website or network. Along with numerous financial institutions, SalalCU.org has been subject to DDoS attacks in the past, and we continue to work with our site vendor to minimize impact to our members. No Salal member security has been compromised as a result of a DDoS, though the attacks can take our website offline temporarily.

What can I do if SalalCU.org or Salal’s Online Banking is unavailable?

During brief interruptions to our website service, we encourage members to use our Mobile Banking app. Our app functions through a separate system and is not impacted by a DDoS. Additionally, members can use ATMs, Salal’s Phone Access Line (206.298.9394 or 800.562.5515 ext 1), or bypass technology in favor of a real human being at a Salal branch. You can also speak with a member of Salal’s Virtual Branch by calling 206.298.9394 or 800.562.5515 during business hours.

Should SalalCU.org experience a DDoS in the future, we encourage our members to check our website or our blog (salalcublog.org) for updates on the situation. We will do our best to provide information as quickly as we can.

At Salal CU, our members’ security is our highest priority, and we continue to utilize world-class security measures to protect your money and private information. We appreciate your patience as we implement and improve security to minimize interruptions and maximize member safety.

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Join us in the fight against identity theft by bringing two bags’ worth of shredables to Salal CU’s annual FREE shredathon! The event is open to the public, and we are, once again, accepting donations of non-perishable food and/or cash for Northwest Harvest.*

The details:

• WHEN: April 20, 10 am to 2 pm
• WHERE: Our Northgate Branch
• HOW MUCH: our Shredathon is free and open to the public. Please, limit your shredables to 2 grocery bags’ worth.

What should I shred? The Washington State Attorney General’s office has great information to help you sort your shredables.*

We hope to see you there!

*Please be advised that by clicking these hyperlinks, you are leaving Salal Credit Union’s website. This link is provided as a courtesy. Salal Credit Union does not endorse or control the content of third party websites.

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1. Earn up to $125 for a new Salal checking¹

Do you live in horror of high fees? Does poor service make you want to scream? Fear no more! Escape the terrors of BAD BANKING with Salal Credit Union—and you could earn up to $125!

Open a new Salal checking between March 1 and April 30, 2013, and you could be eligible to earn $100 in cash back from debit card purchases. Bring your current, non-Salal debit card to a Salal branch and feed it to The Beast (otherwise known as a cross-cut shredder), and you could earn another $25!

2. $25 gas card and a great auto loan rate²

Don’t run and hide from high auto loan rates, cut them down to size with Salal’s Incredible Shrinking Auto Loan! For new car purchases or refis of non-Salal auto loans between March 1 and April 30, 2013: you could qualify for an auto loan rate as low as 2.49% APR.³ You could also earn a $25 gas card, just for applying!

¹Offer good on all new consumer checking opened March 1-April 30, 2013. Limit one per person. To be eligible for cash back and shred bonus, the individual cannot have had a Salal checking in prior 6 months, and the checking must be in good standing when the cash back payout is credited 120 days after opening the account. Maximum bonus amount for 5% cash back is $100 and $25 for debit card shred. The 5% bonus is only eligible on Salal PIN & Signature Visa debit card purchases. To receive shred bonus, debit card must be shredded in a Salal branch, not be expired, and contain the name of the Salal primary checking holder. Bonus offers are limited to debit card transactions posted to your account the first three months you have your Salal checking. This special cash offer may be subject to IRS reporting. For Silver Horizons, the annual percentage yield as of March 1, 2013 is 0.05% for balances of $5,000 to $24,999, and 0.08% for balances of $25,000 and over. Fees could reduce the earnings on the account. A minimum of $25 is required to open a Salal checking. All Salal accounts are subject to approval. Promo Code: BEAST    ²Offer valid March 1-April 30, 2013. All Salal loans are subject to credit approval. The following rate discount restrictions apply: minimum 2.49% APR; the original loan cannot be with Salal; this offer is not valid with any other offer including Salal Rewards Points. Automatic payment required: rates include a 0.25% discount for automatic payment. We’re sorry—no cash-out allowed. The following gas card restrictions apply: one gas card per applicant; applicant must be over the age of 18; application must be completed and submitted. The $25 gas card offer may be subject to IRS reporting. Gas card will be mailed to applicant’s address within 30 days of applying. Promo Code: GASCARD.  ³APR = Annual Percentage Rate

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That Salal Rewards Visa card looks great—competitive rate, rich rewards—but if you apply for a card, how much will it impact your credit score?

Most of the time, most of us don’t think much about our credit score. Unless we’ve been the victim of identity theft, we assume our score is only important when it’s time to apply for a loan. However, your score can impact you in ways you may not know: whether or not you get an apartment rental, a job, lower insurance premiums, a cell phone contract, and according to a recent article in The New York Times, even that love connection.

So how much does it affect your score to open that new Salal Visa card?

Not much. And not for long. According to MSN Money’s Liz Weston, applications for credit scores generally ding your score five points or fewer. And other sources put the “ding duration” at no more than a year. You may not want to apply for a major loan (auto or mortgage) at the same time you apply for a credit card, but provided your credit is in good condition, a credit card inquiry should be a minor blip at most. Increasing your debt-to-credit ratio (you always keep your debt below a third of available credit, right?) will generally improve your credit score, in time, making it easier to get better rates on loans.

You can learn more about your credit score—how it’s calculated, its effects on your life, how you might improve it—from our partner Financial Fitness Program, BALANCE. Go to salalcu.org, and click “Personal” and “Financial Education.”

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For the Salal CU Board of Directors:

Annette Murphy is a compliance professional with 15 years of experience in the health care industry and extensive expertise in program implementation, auditing, internal and government investigations, and training and development. Annette, who now serves on the Salal Asset/Liability Management Committee (ALCO), works at Group Health Cooperative in the Audit Services area. Prior to joining Group Health, she worked as an Audit Manager at Harborview Medical Center (University of Washington). Annette attended Western Washington University and lives with her husband and two college-age sons in Kenmore, Washington.

Dennis Hightower is senior corporate legal counsel to Group Health Cooperative, with a primarily transactional and regulatory practice emphasizing business and real estate transactions, state and federal regulatory matters, pharmacy administration, and state taxation issues. Dennis has an Economics degree from the University of Washington and a Law degree from the University of California – Hastings College of the Law. Dennis has served on the Salal CU Board of Directors since being elected in 2007. He currently serves as chair of the Governance Committee and has been a member of the Asset/Liability Management and Planning Committees.

Lisa Johnson is an attorney with Schweet Rieke & Linde, PLLC and a CPA and is a member of the Salal CU Supervisory Committee. Lisa earned a BS in Business Administration-Accounting from the University of Montana and a Juris Doctorate from Seattle University.  Lisa is a Seattle native, born at Group Health on Capitol Hill, where her mother was a nurse for over 20 years. Lisa lives in Seattle with her husband and two young sons.

For Supervisory Committee:

Sherry Myers is the Director of Information Technology for Cray Inc., responsible for the infrastructure, applications, and data center for the company. She drives the strategic planning of Cray’s information technology security, policies, procedures, and process improvements. As an IT professional and consultant for over 20 years, Sherry has been involved in all aspects of computer and information systems for a wide variety of private, governmental, and not-for-profit entities. Sherry graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Economic Science. Sherry has been a member of the Salal CU Supervisory Committee since 2007 and is currently the Chairperson.

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Salal’s Annual Meeting begins at 7 pm on March 27, at our Administrative Offices on 1515 Dexter Avenue North in Seattle. All Salal members are welcome to attend. Hear from Russell Rosendal, our President and CEO, and Alan Lederman, our Board Chair, about the current state of your Credit Union as well as the direction and plans for the future. Meet and vote for the nominees of your choice for Board of Directors and Supervisory Committee. Light refreshments will be provided. If you plan to attend, please RSVP with the number of people in your party to cindyb@salalcu.org by March 18, 2013.

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with Dr. Wong, Orthodontist and Salal Member

Appropriately, one of the first things you notice about orthodontist Dr. Keith Wong is his wonderful smile. His staff and new offices are every bit as warm and welcoming as he is, and his smile may be all the advertising he needs.

Dr. Wong was born and raised in East Lansing, Michigan. Son of an elementary school teacher and an engineer, Dr. Wong was drawn to orthodontics very early. “Orthodontics combines the spatial, aesthetic puzzle plus the biomechanical/biological, and then there’s this human being—it’s not just teeth. You’re working together and working towards something the patient can get excited about. It’s a way to get involved in this person’s life in a positive way.”

Dr. Wong attended the University of Michigan School of Dentistry before receiving his MS in Dentistry from the prestigious Department of Orthodontics at Saint Louis University. After completing his residency, he built—from scratch— a very successful, three-office orthodontic practice in and around East Lansing.

Unfortunately, 70-hour work-weeks at a large practice didn’t allow him time to build the kinds of relationships with his patients he felt were important. Then the sudden loss of his father reminded Dr. Wong of the fragility and brevity of life, so he and life-partner Mary decided to make a change: he sold the offices and they moved to Seattle in 1999.

For the next few years, Dr. Wong maintained a connection with one of the practices in Michigan, and he was able to fly back and forth. He enjoyed treating patients without the pressures of owning and running a large practice, and this led him to his next decision: a smaller practice in Seattle.

The business in Seattle is very different, intentionally so: Dr. Wong’s offices are in a largely residential area in Seattle’s Capitol Hill district, in a quiet neighborhood with few businesses.

“You know the people around; the people just drop in and say ‘hi,’” says Dr. Wong. “We were drawn here. It was the right place. I feel I really connect with the people. We’re about community and service; I’d like to think people feel this office is a little different—the people are relationship-based and interactive and see you, the patient, as an individual.”

“Relationship” is an important word for Dr. Wong, and a good way to describe his business practice and philosophy. He strongly believes in building relationships with patients and with his professional and geographical communities, and this idea informs and underlies his practice. For example, his building and business practices are very “green,” not because it’s fashionable but because he and his staff believe protecting the environment is part of providing the best possible service to patients and the community.

When it came time to open up his Seattle practice, he turned to the Credit Union he already knew: Salal. He and Mary have been members since June of 2000, and he felt comfortable about entrusting his business accounts to Salal. “I love the credit union philosophy: it’s about community and relationship. Your banker knows the true context of who you are and what your needs are. At Salal, I feel like they know me and care about me—they’re on Capitol Hill, they’re part of the community.”

How was it working with Salal as a business owner? Dr. Wong wanted to work with Salal enough to wait until our Member Business Services department was up and running. He especially likes that the person he spoke with and worked with—Carmella Houston, VP of Business Services—is also the person who ultimately makes the lending decisions.

“At a bank, you can have a great person talking to you, they may even know your needs, but when it comes time to, say, get a loan, that probably isn’t the person who decides. At Salal, I call and Carmella picks up the phone! She really understands our needs and situation, and when I asked her ‘who is the decision-maker?’ she said, ‘You’re looking at her.’ For any business owner…Salal is a blessing. They’re perfect for Seattle—local, community-based, relationship-based. Carmella is just super; she didn’t just hand me off to someone else. It was like having your friend be your banker; it worked out perfectly.”

Salal Credit Union is honored to be part of helping Dr. Wong build his orthodontics practice. To learn more about Dr. Wong, visit his website, http://drkeithbwongseattle.com/. If you’re a business owner in Washington State, we hope you’ll consider Salal CU for your business needs as well.

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At Salal, one of our most important goals is to make managing money as easy as possible for our members, and in early February, we passed an important landmark: we launched our Mobile Banking app and site. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re pleased to be able to provide another channel of secure, convenient access for our members.

Mobile Banking is wonderfully convenient—I use it myself, often. I can transfer money between accounts, pay bills, and check balances  from nearly anywhere. If you haven’t tried our Mobile Banking yet, I urge you to do so. You can download the Salal CU app at iTunes or Google Play, or use your phone’s browser to visit salalcu.org, optimized for mobile. Our Mobile Banking is rich with functions and very member-friendly! But that’s not what makes me proudest about our new Mobile Banking.

 I am most proud of the open and fruitful communication between Salal staff and our members. You asked for Mobile Banking, and we agreed; we asked for time to do it right and make it as secure as possible, and you gave it. Now we have a terrific product that works well and will serve as a stable platform for more features in the future.

Thank you for working with your Credit Union to make Salal the best it can be. Stay tuned for even more advances as we continue to move ahead!

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