Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 28, 1995 TAG: 9505060017
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
NEW YORK - People who fall behind on a bill payment most frequently say they're late because they have other debts to pay off, according to a survey of collection agencies and banks.
Nearly one-third of 260 agencies surveyed last year by Western Union Financial Services Inc. said debtors cited ``other financial obligations'' when asked why they're late paying bills.
Other debts replaced unemployment as the most frequent excuse. In Western Union's last collections survey, conducted in 1992, 53 percent of the agencies reported debtors as saying they couldn't pay their bills because they didn't have a job. That number was down to 27 percent last year.
The shift reflects the improved economy, lower unemployment and freer spending habits by consumers, Western Union said.
Twenty-five percent of consumers said they couldn't pay their bills because they made less money last year, compared to 13 percent who cited lower income in 1992.
Consumers considering bankruptcy have fallen to 7 percent in 1994 from 12 percent, the collection managers said.
- Associated Press
\ Mortgage rate rises slightly
WASHINGTON - Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.26 percent this week, up from 8.24 percent last week, according to a national survey released Thursday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
It was the highest since April 13, when the average was 8.37 percent. The average hit a 25-year low of 6.74 percent in October 1993.
On one-year adjustable rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.30 percent, down from 6.32 percent last week.
Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.80 percent this week, unchanged from a week earlier.
The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.
- Associated Press
\ Martin Brothers win contracts
Martin Brothers Contractors Inc. of Roanoke has been awarded construction contracts valued at a total of $3.1 million. They include a new facility for Roanoke Valley Harley-Davidson Ltd., additions and renovations to the Roanoke United Methodist Home, renovations of offices in downtown Roanoke for Valley Bank and construction of the bank's branch on Starkey Road.
- Staff report
by CNB