THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM (01/14/96)

THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM

The UNA and you
To buy or to rent

by Stephan Welhasch

Renting offers a lifestyle that's nearly maintenance-free. That may appeal to you, but consider that renting offers you no equity, no tax shelter and no protection against regular rent increases.

Fortunately, buying a home has generally been a winning proposition over time. Besides giving you pride of ownership and a snug place where the family can prosper, owning a home can shelter hard-earned dollars from the tax collector, hedge against the ravages of inflation, build wealth and provide security in retirement.

If your rent averaged $700 a month for the last 10 years, you've spent $84,000 with nothing to show for it. Perhaps it's wiser to invest in your own property instead of your landlord's.

Few things can rival home ownership as a good savings discipline. Even if home prices were never to rise, paying down a mortgage creates a nest egg of home equity that can be tapped either for college tuition or income in retirement, or can provide a handsome legacy for heirs.

Sure, owning a home is part of the American dream. But buying into that dream could also prevent you from taking advantage of other more attractive investments. And with all the extra headaches of maintenance, repairs, taxes and a huge mortgage, might you be better off renting instead?

Buying a home is still the dream of millions of Americans. Not everyone can afford this luxury, however. Dreams can come true. If you've saved enough for a good down payment, can qualify for a mortgage and can manage your money well, then you, too, can become a homeowner.

Buying a home is definitely one of the most significant investment decisions you probably will make in your lifetime. When buying a home there is more to consider than just the cost of the house. You will also have to work in the closing cost, real estate taxes, maintenance and repair costs, hazard and mortgage insurance, waste and snow removal costs, just to name a few. Proper budget planning is a must.

No one can guarantee you that your home will gain in value. Many who bought a home in the 1980s, when the prices of some homes were rising more than 20 percent a year, later were shocked to discover that prices can fall sharply, too. Over the last 150 years owning one's own home, even after inflation, has brought a return of about 2.5 percent a year. There were some periods during which home prices literally doubled in a four- to five-year period.

If you are in the process of buying your first home, or if you are deciding on refinancing your current mortgage loan, you want to make the right decision. You should do your research on lending institutions and what they have to offer. You should also consider financing your home through the Ukrainian National Association.

The UNA offers its members financing for owner-occupied one-, two- and three-family homes throughout the United States and Canada. It offers its members rates that are competitive with prevailing rates in your area. The UNA has been providing its members with first mortgage loans and information for many years, in the belief that helping them helps strengthen our community. A jumbo mortgage loan program is also available to Ukrainian churches and organizations.

1996 UNA Almanac dedicated to independence and Chornobyl

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The 1996 Almanac of the Ukrainian National Association is off the presses and on its way via the U.S. Postal Service to all subscribers of Svoboda, the UNA's Ukrainian-language daily newspaper.

The 1996 Almanac - the 86th annual release - is dedicated to the fifth anniversary of Ukraine's newly reclaimed independence and the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear accident.

The first theme is covered in submissions by such authors as Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, Anatoliy Zlenko, while the second theme features articles in both the Ukrainian and English languages by Dr. Zoreslava Shkiriak-Nyzhnyk, Dr. Iwan Z. Holowinsky, Mykola Ryabchuk and Olha Stawnychy. Poetry by Serhiy Myroniuk, a member of the Svoboda editorial staff, and Mykola Mukhoyid of Ukraine also focus on the world's worst nuclear accident and its aftereffects on the people of Ukraine.

The cover features artwork on the Chornobyl theme by Bohdan Tytia.

Other sections of the volume are dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth of Lesia Ukrainka (essays by Yar Slavutych and Andrij D. Solczanyk), and jubilees of the singer Modest Mentsinsky (Halyna Kolessa of the Svoboda editorial staff) and composer Yakiv Yatsynevych (Dr. Taras Filenko).

The 1996 Almanac also contains articles and commentaries by Myroslav Semchyshyn on the decline of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine; Anatole Kurdydyk on his native Ternopil; Dr. Serhiy Bilokin on KGB archives; Dr. M. Dymitsky on Servant of God Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky; and others.

Materials cover Ukraine's past and present, and the life of Ukrainians in their homeland and abroad; there is coverage of sports, as well as a travelogue about Alaska. Interspersed throughout the almanac is poetry by various authors from Ukraine and the diaspora.

Naturally, the volume also includes a 1996 calendar that lists holy days and feast days according to both the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

The 1996 UNA Almanac is available for $12 (postage included) from:

Svoboda Press, 30 Montgomery St.,

UNA recognizes Ridna Shkola graduates in Detroit

On November 30, 1995, during a banquet held by the local school of Ukrainian studies at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren, Mich., the school's seven graduates were awarded their diplomas. Taking part in the special program to honor the graduates were members of UNA's Detroit District, namely Lesia Lawryn, secretary of Branch 175, who, in her capacity as president of the Ridna Shkola Association, opened the program, and Dr. Alexander Serafyn, chairman of the Detroit District Committee and UNA advisor, who greeted the graduates on behalf of the UNA and distributed monetary awards from the UNA. Pictured in the photo are award recipients (from left) Dennis Petrina, Slavko Chubaty, Lew Ploshchansky, Kateryna Korbiak, Lesia Tatarsky, Natalia Tarnawsky and Petro Lisowsky, with Dr. Serafyn.

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