= News Opinion

-

by Hubert Beyer
Special to The Review

VICTORIA — There’s a good
chance Premier Vander believes
he’s finally found an issue that
will get him re-elected, but he
should be warned: that path is
fraught with danger.
= @® There are indications that it’s
# the Native Indians Vander Zalm
may be counting on to help him
win a second term in office, not by
voting for the Socreds but by
providing a central issue around
which the government could create
a bit of fear and uncertainty.

There’s little doubt that Vander
Zalm and Native Affairs Minister
Jack Weisgerber have been trying
their best to make British Colum-
bians nervous about the potential
price tag of settling Native land
claims.

The figure of $6 billion, nearly
half of last year’s entire budget,
has been bandied about an awful
lot. Never mind that the figure
comes straight out of Weisgerber’s
hat.

The scenario the government

x be On the surface, a reverse mort-
gage looks like too good a deal to
pass up. :

You get the mortgage funds up

®- front (with a large piece of cash in
your hand if you want it); you get a
regular monthly income (largely

- tax free); and you make no repay-

ments — all while continuing to

live in your own home and build-

ing equity.

(a Pure paradise? Not quite. As

{ with most utopian deals, there
comes a day of reckoning. And
there lies the rub.

First of all, in order to qualify
for a reverse mortgage you must be
at least 60, own your own home —
and have a substantial equity in it.

So ideally your home should be

2° and clear. Or at most have
only a tiny mortgage balance out-
< Standing.

Of course, one sure way of
getting your equity out is by sel-
ling your present home and invest-
ing the money.

But where would you life? A
smaller place; a rented apartment;
a senior’s residence? perhaps not
the most attractive options.

With a reverse mortgage you
don’t have to move — just stay
put. And you don’t have to pay
back the mortgage until you sell,
no matter how long that might be.

How big a reverse mortgage can

you expect to get? That depends

on how old you are, the location
and condition of your home, and
current mortgage interest rates/

GOING ALL OUT for charity are students at
Parkland Secondary in Sidney, during a
Terry Fox Run/Walk Sept. 14. An estimated

might create to get re-elected is
simple. Put the Indians in a posi-
tion of appearing totally unreason-
able and then take a firm stand on
the side of law and order. It’s 95
per cent white votes against five
per cent Native votes.

I hope Vander Zalm won’t be
that cynical, but frankly, he’s done
nothing so far to allay fears that
this is exactly the direction he is
headed in.

It seems Indian leaders also
have similar suspicions. Bill Wil-
son of the First Nations Congress
told the premier to stop building a
soap box on land claims.

“Premier, if you want to deal in
good faith, stop trying to create an
election out of this. This figure of
$6 billion for land claims, I’m sick
and tired of this garbage of $6
billion. That’s a blatant lie,” Wil-
son said.

Unfortunately, there are those
who advocate the tough stance and
would welcome an end to. what
they call appeasement of the Indi-
ans. One such person, Maria
McNary of Lillooet, sent me a
six-page letter by fax last week.

The rambling letter, presented as
a sort of background paper, com-
plete with references, pleaded for
the “political will” to deal with

Reverse morigage not best

For example, a 75-year-old
owner of a home worth $300,000
would get about $60,000, while a
65-year-old owner of a similar
home would get about half that.

The reason a reverse mortgage is
so much smaller than a regular
mortgage is that since you’re not
making any repayments the lender
builds an interest rate factor —
which is paid when you sell.

And this is where the reverse
mortgage loses some of its appeal.

Suppose your reverse mortgage
is $60,000, then after five years
you would have to repay $115,000.
In 10 years it becomes $222,000:
in 15 years $428,000 and in 20
years $825,000.

Admittedly your equity is also
increasing, but even at the average
appreciation of 8 per cent, today’s
$250,000 home would be worth
$365,000 in five years — much
less than the 14 per cent growth of
the reverse mortgage.

Like everything else, reverse
mortgages have pros and cons.
Apart from allowing you to stay in
your own home, a reverse mort-
gage gives you the benefit of any
increase in value.

Youre also protected if the
property should drop in value —
you won't be evicted.

A major drawback, however, is
that you can’t leave the house to an
heir. It must be sold. The lender
always wants his money back.

— Stuart Hartley, CA

90 per cent of the school’s 800 students
and staff participated in the event, which
raised $423.60.

ca
Land claims a dangerous election issue

the Indian problem once and for
all.

“It is all too obvious that we
cannot buy our way out of this
mess. We now must have the guts
to end it. No one, including our
neighbors to the south, would
permit their people to dictate to
them as we are being held to
Tansom by our Indians,” McNary
said.

“No other country with intelli-
gent people would enslave them-
selves and certainly their children
to a conquered people,” she

added. At one point in her letter,

McNary becomes downright ludi-
crous. Read on and scratch your
head.

“Why are the Indians not sensi-
tive to the fact that they have a
good life and could make a real
contribution to Canada if they
made the effort?” she asks.

The good life? Really? If their
lives are so good, why is infant
mortality among Indians so much
higher than in the white commun-
ity? Why are the Indian communi-
ties leading in teenage suicide
rates?

All I’m really trying to say is
that there are a lot of misconcep-
tions about the issue, and exploit-
ing it for an election could be an
invitation to disaster. If I were the
premier I’d think twice before
playing with fire. The flames
could be hard to put out.

lf you're

NEW IN
TOWN

and don’t know
which way to turn,

‘call the

You'll be glad you aid.
hostesses at:
(Sidney & North Saanich)
Theresa Thom 656-7746
Claudia Parfitt 656-7898
(Brentwood & Central-Saanich)

Bev Bigam 652-5452 |
Vickey Jackson 652-5689
(Baby Welcome)
Fern Gifford 656-8932

Welcome Wagon Answering
Service 479-3385

()

TheReview

Wednesday, September 19,1990 — A17

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