The number of owner-occupied homes in California rose by 182,000, or 2.6 percent, from 2016 to 2017, the largest increase in at least 12 years, new Census Bureau estimates show.

About 54.8 percent of households in California owned their homes in 2017. The homeownership rate in California fell for a decade between 2006 and 2015, largely as a ...Read more

Debt consolidation is the conversion of high-rate debt into lower-rate debt in order to reduce total interest costs. Homeowners with large amounts of credit card debt who have unused borrowing power on their home have a consolidation option.

Whether or not it is in the homeowner's long-run interest to exercise the option, however, turns out to ...Read more

Debt consolidation is the conversion of high-rate debt into lower-rate debt in order to reduce total interest costs. Homeowners with large amounts of credit card debt who have unused borrowing power on their home have a consolidation option.

Whether or not it is in the homeowner's long-run interest to exercise the option, however, turns out to ...Read more

Q: I own half of a property with my ex and want to get the value out. However, he is refusing to sell. What can I do? -- Patricia

Q: I got the house in our divorce years ago. Now it is time to sell, but I am told he is still on title and will need to sign. Of course, he is not cooperating. What are my options? -- Kamala

A: I see these sorts of...Read more

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A Newport Beach surgeon was charged Wednesday with drugging and raping five more women as prosecutors added felony kidnapping counts and increased bail for the celebrity doctor to $1 million.

Dr. Grant Robicheaux, 38, once dubbed Orange County's most eligible bachelor and a reality TV star, and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley...Read more

We're looking at a new dust-up in the retirement universe. What, exactly, is a reasonable age for retiring?

Is 70 the new 65? Or is 35 the magic number?

TV personality Suze Orman says don't dream about retiring a minute before you hit 70, while Twitter showman and blogger "Mr. Money Mustache" is promoting a lifestyle through the FIRE movement ...Read more

Sarah Barazza doesn't have health insurance, but money was the last thing on her mind as she and her 15-month-old son raced to the hospital in an ambulance last year. The toddler's airway had become swollen from croup, and he struggled to breathe.

"Wow, I'm so grateful I don't have to worry about finances," the Plainfield woman said. "I'm just ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Television mega-producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes has listed her longtime estate in Hancock Park, but her setting will remain rooted in the historic L.A. neighborhood.

Rhimes is seeking $9.995 million for the 1920s traditional that she has called home since 2010. The move comes roughly a year after the Hollywood force ...Read more

Mortgage lenders offer special deals to doctors -- some doctors, anyway. I am a doctor but I am not eligible for any special loan programs because my doctorate is in economics. Economists and others with doctorates in philosophy have no special features that make them attractive as mortgage borrowers.

On the other hand, lenders view physicians ...Read more

Mortgage lenders offer special deals to doctors -- some doctors, anyway. I am a doctor but I am not eligible for any special loan programs because my doctorate is in economics. Economists and others with doctorates in philosophy have no special features that make them attractive as mortgage borrowers.

On the other hand, lenders view physicians ...Read more

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is nearing 5 percent, following a surge this week that put borrowing costs at their highest level since 2011, according to Freddie Mac.

The sharp increase in mortgage rates -- to 4.9 percent this week, from 4.71 percent last week and 3.91 percent a year ago -- stems from the same rise in the overall ...Read more

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is nearing 5 percent, following a surge this week that put borrowing costs at their highest level since 2011, according to Freddie Mac.

The sharp increase in mortgage rates -- to 4.9 percent this week, from 4.71 percent last week and 3.91 percent a year ago -- stems from the same rise in the overall ...Read more

SEATTLE -- It's getting easier to find an apartment to rent, and in some neighborhoods it's even getting cheaper.

Seattle-area renters are enjoying the least competitive market since the recession as more and more apartments sit empty and rents have flatlined -- a trend that is likely to continue as the ongoing apartment-construction spree ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A local school district's unique idea to turn schools into teacher housing -- an attempt to tackle the region's dire housing shortage and retain fleeing instructors -- is colliding with a massive backlash from neighborhood residents.

The San Jose Unified School District has identified nine district-owned properties where it ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- In November, Californians will go to the polls to decide whether to give cities the option of sharply expanding protections against steep rent increases. But as tenants at a 38-unit Tarzana apartment complex recently discovered, it's also possible to have existing rent controls revoked.

The property on Reseda Boulevard fell under...Read more

CHICAGO -- The real estate company owned by the family of presidential son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner is selling a 30-story office tower in downtown Chicago that came under scrutiny earlier this year when it was refinanced.

Kushner Cos. has agreed to sell the building at 225 W. Randolph St. to a group that includes New York-...Read more