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Everyday Cheapskate: What I Prep Once in June to Save Time and Money All Summer

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Every summer starts with good intentions: This will be the year we stay ahead of things. The year we don't waste food, lose track of sunscreen, or make six emergency grocery runs a week because nobody knows what's for dinner.

And then suddenly it's July, the refrigerator is full, the counters are cluttered, nobody can find the sunscreen, and ...Read more

Kara Gildea/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

What are 'pocket listings' in real estate and why are they so controversial?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

While the rise of pocket listings — when a residential property is put up for sale without being placed on the Multiple Listing Service — are tough to track, one local broker said it should concern anyone who is looking to buy or sell a home in the near future.

Multiple studies estimate pocket listings make up small portions of the overall ...Read more

Courtesy Ty and Allisha Setty/Stateline/TNS

First-time homebuyers face hurdles despite gradual improvement

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The idea started with a sermon Micah Longmire heard at his Presbyterian church in Ogden, Utah, about the importance of grandparents in a child’s life.

Longmire, now 31, exchanged a look with his mother-in-law. “We were like, ‘I’d be OK living with you after that sermon,’ and the ball rolled downhill from there,” Longmire said.

Both...Read more

Real estate Q&A: How can I avoid 'force-placed' insurance from my mortgage company?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: My insurance company just told me it will not renew my homeowners policy, and a few days later, my mortgage company warned that it will buy “lender-placed” insurance if I do not show proof of a new policy. I have never filed a claim in my life. What do I do, and is this force-placed insurance really as bad as it sounds? — Marcus

A: It ...Read more

Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS

Autonomous weapons firm Anduril betting big on Seattle office, shipyard

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SEATTLE — Defense contractor Anduril Industries is expanding in Seattle, with hiring plans to fill out what it calls its connected warfare headquarters.

After installing a small office in Seattle about six years ago, the Costa Mesa, California-based company has expanded into Bellevue and Seattle's ship canal, pumping millions of dollars into ...Read more

Wendy Gilch/TNS

Why Pennsylvania is moving to regulate firms offering home equity investments

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

PITTSBURGH -- Wendy Gilch wasn’t looking for a new financial threat lurking in the housing market when she opened TikTok.

The Franklin Park, Pennsylvania, consumer advocate was researching a completely different problem: companies she believed were violating the Federal Trade Commission’s advertising rules with fake testimonials, AI-...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Rent-hike ban to protect fire victims ends despite gouging concerns

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

LOS ANGELES -- A rule intended to prevent rent gouging in the wake of the Eaton and Palisades fires has lapsed in Los Angeles County, possibly exposing some renters to hikes.

The executive order that blocked rent increases was issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom amid the devastating wildfires last year. Under the order, landlords couldn't increase ...Read more

Yong Kim/The Philadelphia Inquirer/Yong Kim

Home price cuts and canceled contracts were less likely in the Philly region than in most major metros in April

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

PHILADELPHIA -- Signs point to a stronger housing market last month in the Philadelphia region than in most other major metropolitan areas.

In the Philadelphia metro, home sales were less likely to fall through and sellers were less likely to cut their prices in April, according to two Redfin analyses of the country’s 50 most populous ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Buckle Down and Save Up for Home Improvements

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Today is a good day to reach into my virtual mailbag and pull out letters from two of my dear readers.

Dear Mary: We are homeowners with about $175,000 in equity, which we will need to buy a bigger house in the future. Our home needs some expensive improvements (new windows, updated kitchen, siding), none of which are urgent, but which will be ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Home Equity Scams

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Homeowners beware. These days, home loan scam artists are lurking around every corner. They're hungry, they're determined and they're coming after your equity.

Unscrupulous loan peddlers are known as predatory lenders because of their uncanny resemblance to vultures. These loans encourage people to consolidate their debts and suggest this will ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Dreamwash Your Mind to Reach Your Goals

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

In today's offering of tips from your fellow readers, you're going to get a bonus: a new vocabulary word. Read on.

My dream is to own a second home in Sweden, and to be able to purchase it without a long-term mortgage. I found a picture of the home I dream of and hung it where I will see it often during the day. This has "dreamwashed" my mind, ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: The $5 Summer Comfort Trick Nobody Talks About

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Every summer, right about the time the house starts feeling like a toaster oven with furniture, people begin searching for bigger solutions.

A stronger fan. A portable air conditioner. Blackout curtains that look like military equipment. Somebody with a decent advertising budget trying to sell a "cooling mattress" for the price of a used car.

...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Sale of Oceanwide Plaza graffiti towers in Los Angeles delayed

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The cleanup of one of the most notorious collections of graffiti in the country has been postponed again as the proposed buyer of the stalled Oceanwide Plaza development in downtown Los Angeles struggles to reach terms with city officials who must sign off on the $470 million sale.

Wiping clean the empty high-rise towers besmirching the city ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Can condo association foreclose on my home over unpaid assessment?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: My condominium association is threatening to foreclose on my home over an unpaid assessment of $380 from last year. I had a financial hiccup, and, by the time I had the money, the interest, late fees, and their attorney’s fees had grown to more than $3,000. Can they really take my home over this? — Diane

A: It is terrifying to receive a ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Readers Share Creative Solutions for Chains, Stains, Sprains and More

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

I call it my mailbag, but in truth its my email inbox and lately, it's been loading up with creative tips from you, my clever readers!

CREATIVE GIFTING

My teenage grandchildren don't want "stuff" anymore -- they want cash! And I understand; being a teenager can be expensive. But I don't want to just hand them money. For Christmas last year I ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: 13 New Uses for an Old Credit Card

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Before you cut up an expired credit card -- or toss that silly fake one you got as junk mail -- consider all the great things you can do with it!

1. Bookmark. It'll keep your place and act as a handy straightedge for underlining or highlighting.

2. Glass scraper. A credit card is just the right size to scrape ice from your car's windows and ...Read more

Michael Ho/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

San Diego home values haven't kept up with inflation for 16 months

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

San Diego home prices continue to show gains, but any increase has been blunted by rising inflation, data released Tuesday shows

The San Diego metropolitan area’s home price increased 0.78% annually in March, said the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Indices report. At the same time, San Diego metro, which includes all of San Diego County, had an ...Read more

Luke Johnson/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Should owners of vacant second homes be heavily taxed? San Diego voters get to decide

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

For years, vacant homes in large U.S. cities have conjured up images of derelict, abandoned properties in need of loving attention and a full-time resident. In San Diego, a June ballot measure is taking aim at a very different kind of vacant dwelling by proposing to heavily tax second homes — from the coast to the suburbs — that all share ...Read more

Video

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

No body

Home safety tips for barefoot families

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A barefoot home has its own kind of comfort. Shoes come off at the door, floors stay cleaner, and the house feels softer and more relaxed. For many families, padding through the kitchen, living room and hallway in bare feet is simply part of being home.

But bare feet also change the way a household should think about safety. A dropped screw, a ...Read more

 

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