Federal interest rate cuts continue to bring down average credit card rates, with the average interest rate for non-reward credit cards dipping below 14% this week, according to our IndexCreditCards.com Credit Card Monitor. Averages in this report do not even take into account the surprise 0.75% cut in Federal interest rates announced this week. We expect average credit card rates to drop another half-percent in the next two months or so, in response to the Fed’s latest big move. (About 70% of credit cards have variable rates that rise and fall in step with Federal interest rates.)

The average rate for non-reward consumer credit cards is now 13.98%, down from 14.22% in November, and down from 14.41% at the beginning of October. For credit cards offering reward programs, the average rate decreased to 15.61%, down from 15.81%. (For those with the very best credit scores, average rates on non-reward and reward credit cards are currently 10.65% and 13.11%, respectively.)

Average rates on business credit cards are falling as well. The average non-reward business credit card rate fell to 12.05%, from 12.33%, and the average rate on business credit cards that offer rewards fell to 13.48%, down from 13.90%.

While students still have the worst rates in the market, things are better than they’ve been in the recent past. The average student credit card rate is now 16.14%, down from 16.49% in November.

Financial institutions represented in the survey include Advanta, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, National City, Pulaski Bank, U.S. Bank, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo and more.

Homeowners taking a loss when selling can now get tax help. The tax help is part of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act. They get help on their taxes by not owing tax on a loss of $2 million or less.

A couple wants to move to a retirement community. They want to sell their current home to move to the retirement community. Ilyce offers ways speed up the sale so they can move to the retirement community sooner.

if all of a sudden you see just one letter being repeatedly typed here, I’m asleep on the keyboard!…

the customer with the blurry translation sent a new document…legible this time, Thank God!…which included the 6 original pages and 9 more!… medical and chemical terms…o…

A reader asks why a real estate appraiser was omitted from a team of experts. Ilyce responds that often a real estate appraiser’s conclusion is the same as reached by agents creating comparative market analyses.

Thankfully, they opened (someone else’s) car and stole everyone’s handbags while they were attending a wedding, so she wasn’t harmed…the thieves DID smash the car window, though, and now niece has to replace all her id’s (national id, drivers’ license, tax id….)…((sigh)) since…

A woman says she received a check for money from a divorce property settlement. She should look at a 1099 S form to see the details of the home sold as part of the divorce property settlement.

4 files…lists of chemicals and medicines…ugh!…and the files were scanned….and they looked awful (like photocopies of photocopies of a fax!)…but, managed to read it! — with a little help from a magnifying glass that a friend gave Ale recently as part as an “insect-catching”…

A home buyer notices problems with his new home and suggests the seller covered them up. It’s not clear whether he had a home inspection. A home inspection should have given him a heads up about the problems.

A divorced man writes that his name remains on the title of a home he owns with his ex-wife but she can’t afford the mortgage. Ilyce asks why his ex-wife did not buy him out and remove him from the title.