Consumer

/

Home & Leisure

/

ArcaMax

Real estate Q&A: Who pays to replace hurricane windows removed during condo restoration?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: My condo apartment’s back lanai has been undergoing concrete restoration for a year, and my unit was the first completed. There is an ongoing debate between the association and engineers about what to do with the hurricane windows and shutters on the lanai edge. Meanwhile, the association and contractors removed my hurricane windows due to ...Read more

Tim Henderson/Stateline/TNS

Home sales drop in Las Vegas, rise in Houston as market heads for worst year since 1995

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Home sales closings dropped in August and remain well below pre-pandemic levels as high prices and interest rates weighed on the market, according to an analysis this week by the Calculated Risk blog.

Home sales are on track for the worst year in decades, matching the 4 million annual sales in 1995, according to a separate realtor.com report ...Read more

Phillip Molnar/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

'Bidding wars are in the rear view': San Diego home prices fall in US rankings

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SAN DIEGO — San Diego home prices were down annually for a second month as the region fell in a closely watched real estate index.

The San Diego metropolitan area’s home price decreased 0.66% annually in July, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Indices report released this week. Prices were down year-over-year by 0.61% the previous ...Read more

Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group/TNS

San Jose to buy downtown site once proposed for major tech campus as it eyes the creation of a sports and entertainment district

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose has elected to purchase a prime downtown property once slated for a major tech campus, which could potentially aid the city’s vision of expanding its convention center and developing a sports and entertainment district.

The City Council has approved the $13.5 million acquisition of 447 S. Almaden Blvd – a 3.56-...Read more

Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS

Why Seattle-area homeowners keep vacant rooms instead of renting out

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

In the midst of the Seattle-area housing shortage, hundreds of thousands of vacant rooms in big houses sit untapped as many homeowners are either reluctant to have a housemate or unsure about how to go about it.

Larry Crites is a longtime rental property owner living in Seattle.

He used to rent out the upstairs section of his first house. But ...Read more

Nick Wagner/The Seattle Times/TNS

Seattle-area owners of big houses stay put as downsizing costs rise

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Brenda Beeson loves her house. It’s where she woke up next to her husband each morning and rushed her daughter out to school. She never thought the house in South King County, Washington, once so full of life, could feel as empty as it does now.

Ever since her husband unexpectedly died in 2018 and her daughter moved out, four of the home’s ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: 7 Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Habit is defined as behavior repeated so often it becomes almost automatic. I am in awe of the power of habit. It's a force to change your life, and it is available to anyone no matter the situation or the circumstances.

For five years, author Tom Corley observed the daily habits of the rich and the poor and documented his findings in his book,...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: How to Unclog a Toilet -- Quick and Easy!

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

No one likes to talk about it, but truth be told, it happens. Toilets malfunction. They get clogged. Sure, it's inconvenient, but more than that, downright embarrassing if you're somewhere other than the privacy of your own home. Here's a cheat sheet so you'll know ahead of time how to unclog a toilet.

STOP IT FROM OVERFLOWING

The moment you ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

FTC sues Zillow and Redfin over rental listing deal

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The Federal Trade Commission is suing Zillow and Redfin for allegedly conspiring to eliminate competition for rental housing listings.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the FTC claims the real estate giants violated federal antitrust laws by entering into an illegal agreement to...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Opting for the Minimum Payment Changed My Life

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

At the time, it seemed like a good idea. But going for the minimum payment option "just this one time" turned out to be the worst mistake of my life. The day I opened that door and walked through it, I altered the course of my life.

I reasoned that I didn't have enough money to pay the credit card balances in full, so what was I supposed to do ...Read more

Scott S. Hamrick/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Vanguard weighs allowing trading of crypto ETFs

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Vanguard Group Inc. is weighing whether to allow trading of cryptocurrency-focused exchange-traded funds on its platform, a move that would mark a major easing of its restrictive stance toward the popular but volatile asset class.

Should the switch go through, it would open the door for Vanguard’s more than 50 million investors — with some ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Seminole Tribe sues Lennar over 552 'defective' new houses across Florida

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Hundreds of homes built by the Miami-based Lennar Corporation on tribal land over the last five years are in such shoddy condition that no one can safely live in them, according to a lawsuit against the construction company filed by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

The lawsuit was filed in March, but efforts to resolve the dispute between the ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

10 of the biggest changes to retirement accounts due to new 401(k) and IRA rules

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Congress has shaken up retirement plans once again, and the changes benefit a wide swath of Americans saving for their golden years through IRAs or employer plans such as 401(k)s.

The SECURE Act 2.0 became law in the last days of 2022, and the new rules provide assistance for retirement savers, small businesses and many others. In fact, the ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Ordinary annuity vs. annuity due: The small difference that affects its value

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

An annuity is a financial product that provides a stream of income over a set period. Annuities are often used in retirement planning as a way to generate income from a lump sum investment.

However, there are different ways these payments can be structured, including ordinary annuities and annuities due. While the concept may seem ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Rule of 72: What it is and how to use it

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

You don’t need a finance degree to figure out how long it’ll take to double your money as an investor. The Rule of 72 offers a quick shortcut to estimate growth based on interest rates or, on the flip side, the erosion of buying power from inflation. It’s not perfect, but it’s useful for spotting how time and compounding work in your ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Patina, Paint and the Price of Sentiment

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

I call it a hall tree. It's an antique piece of furniture with hooks for coats, a lovely mirror, and two umbrella stands -- each with a tin plate to catch the drips. My husband surprised me with it one Christmas morning more than 30 years ago, and I've loved it every day since.

Yesterday, I casually mentioned that I'm thinking about painting it...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Car crash kills 3 members of 'Meet the Putmans' reality family; 5 hospitalized

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The family at the center of TLC reality show “Meet the Putmans” was torn apart Saturday after a deadly car crash killed three relatives and left five others hospitalized.

The Putmans announced on Saturday that patriarch Bill “Papa” Putman, his wife Barb, better known as “Neenee,” and Aunt Megan had all died “in a tragic car ...Read more

Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Fire victims get one year of mortgage relief under new California law

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Legislation that allows victims of the Jan. 7 fire storms to receive up to a year of mortgage relief was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom as an urgency measure that takes effect immediately.

Assembly Bill 238 enables borrowers to put a stop to their mortgage payments for up to 12 months with no late fees or penalties, by attesting without...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

The LA fires destroyed 11,000 homes. Less than 10% have permits to rebuild

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Of the thousands of residents needing to rebuild after this year’s California wildfires, Andy Weyman would seem especially well positioned. The TV and stage director had remodeled his Malibu home just five years earlier and had city-approved blueprints in hand, with the same architect set to oversee reconstruction.

Yet eight months after the...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Who pays for condo repairs after second leak from association's AC unit?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: I live in a condo on the top floor. About a year ago, there was a leak caused by the condo association’s AC unit, which damaged my wall. The association claimed that they had repaired the unit and roof, but stated that repairs — to my interior were my responsibility. Recently, the same leak happened in the same spot, caused by the same AC...Read more

 

Related Channels

America's Test Kitchen

America's Test Kitchen

By America's Test Kitchen
ArcaMax Chef

ArcaMax Chef

By ArcaMax Chef
Tim Carter

Ask The Builder

By Tim Carter
Dr. Lee Pickett

Ask The Vet

By Dr. Lee Pickett
Jae-Ha Kim

Celebrity Travel

By Jae-Ha Kim
Richard Montgomery

Dear Monty

By Richard Montgomery
Gene and Katie Hamilton

Do It Yourself Or Not

By Gene and Katie Hamilton
Eric Peters

Eric's Autos

By Eric Peters
Mary Hunt

Everyday Cheapskate

By Mary Hunt
Jim Daly

Focus on the Family

By Jim Daly
Georgia Garvey

Georgia Garvey

By Georgia Garvey
Jeff Rugg

Jeff Rugg

By Jeff Rugg
Lenore Skenazy

Lenore Skenazy

By Lenore Skenazy
Kathryn Weber

Living Space

By Kathryn Weber
Cathy M. Rosenthal

My Pet World

By Cathy M. Rosenthal
Christopher Elliott

Problem Solved

By Christopher Elliott
Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin

Real Estate Matters

By Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin
Zola Gorgon

Recipes by Zola

By Zola Gorgon
Rick Steves' Europe

Rick Steves' Europe

By Rick Steves' Europe
Eileen Ogintz

Taking The Kids

By Eileen Ogintz
Various authors

Travel & Adventure

By Various authors
Christopher Elliott

Travel Troubleshooter

By Christopher Elliott

Comics

The Pajama Diaries Chip Bok Herb and Jamaal 9 Chickweed Lane Carpe Diem Aunty Acid