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Rocket Mortgage accused of discriminating against Black homeowner who sought to refinance

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Federal prosecutors accuse lender Rocket Mortgage of discrimination after an appraiser allegedly undervalued a Black woman's home, despite rising property values in her neighborhood.

Francesca Cheroutes sought to refinance the mortgage on her Denver property in January 2021, the complaint said.

Rocket also is accused of retaliating against ...Read more

Dark1elf/Dreamstime/TNS

A quarter of all working women are leaving free money on the table that could set back their retirement

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A larger share of women than men aren’t saving for their future selves and could be losing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetime as a result.

More than a quarter of women (26%) working full-time, part-time or looking for employment didn’t contribute to their retirement savings between August 2023 and 2024, compared to ...Read more

Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Farms or subdivisions? Ballot measure would curb development on Silicon Valley's southern edges

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

When most people in the Bay Area think of San Benito County, California, they imagine rolling ranch lands, majestic condors at Pinnacles National Park and the 227-year-old Spanish mission at San Juan Bautista, which was featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1958 film “Vertigo.”

But increasingly they also see the rustic county 5 miles ...Read more

STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

I asked ChatGPT to create a debt repayment plan. Here's what a credit counselor had to say about it

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Nearly half of all Americans have credit card debt. And more than half of all Americans say they use AI regularly. Which gives me an idea!

What if AI could help you tackle credit card debt?

Credit card debt is complicated and can easily become overwhelming in the face of mounting interest charges. At the same time, we keep hearing about all ...Read more

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Her family swapped their lawn for a backyard mini-farm and valuable life lessons

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Water-hungry lawns are symbols of Los Angeles' past. In this series , we spotlight yards with alternative, low-water landscaping built for the future.

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LOS ANGELES — Like most families stuck at home during the pandemic, psychologist Angel Black and her husband, philosophy professor Tim Black, struggled with maintaining their careers ...Read more

Michael Quine/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Report: Californians with higher incomes beating out Nevadans for homes

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Californians moving to Nevada earn about a third more than in-state residents who didn’t move, according to a new study by the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

So, it’s pretty clear the data shows the Silver State can’t compete with the Golden State’s purchasing power, said Nicholas Irwin, the report’s author and research director for ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Who should pay to fix storm damage caused by neighbor's overgrown tree?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: During the recent storm, my neighbor’s overgrown tree was knocked over, destroying our fence and clipping our roof. It will cost quite a bit to repair it, and I think my neighbor should pay for it. I warned him the tree was too large. Also, who should pay to remove the tree from my yard? —Celine

A: Your first step in dealing with this ...Read more

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Warehouse advance in Riverside County, California, threatens rural lifestyle: 'Where does it stop?'

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, California — Seen from above, the industrial-scale warehouses straddling Interstate 215 where it intersects Mead Valley shimmer like a sprawling lake of white concrete boxes.

In this unincorporated Riverside County community, the big-box distribution hubs responsible for fulfilling online shopping orders have long been ...Read more

Anthony Souffle/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

You don't need to be a real estate mogul to start a property investment portfolio

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Many people have dreams of a HGTV, house-flipping fairytale to earn big profits, but not everyone wants to renovate a fixer-upper or be a landlord.

Luckily, there’s a host of investment options that can be less hands-on so even the most novice wannabe real estate mogul can succeed. Investing several thousand in real estate funds, putting down...Read more

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

After outcry, Greyhound plans to stay at its Chicago station at least a little longer

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

After pushback at the prospect of Chicago’s Greyhound bus station closing, the company that owns the intercity bus line says it plans to stay at the site a little bit longer.

Greyhound’s lease at the station on Harrison Street near downtown was set to expire Sunday, sparking months of efforts to find a suitable alternate site to serve bus ...Read more

Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Madeline Carter

Here's where the next Sphere is going to be built

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Within a few years, the Las Vegas Sphere won’t be the only Sphere in the world.

New York-based Sphere Entertainment Co. announced Tuesday that an agreement has been reached by the company with the Department of Culture and Tourism-Abu Dhabi, known as DCT Abu Dhabi, that a second Sphere will be built in the United Arab Emirates.

The company ...Read more

Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Wedbush Securities joins downtown LA exodus, opting for smaller, more flexible office in Pasadena

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

One of downtown Los Angeles' familiar tenants is pulling up stakes as the office rental market continues to contract from shrinking occupancy stoked by the pandemic.

Financial services firm Wedbush Securities has begun its move from a prominent office tower to Pasadena, where it will occupy much smaller offices meant to accommodate employees...Read more

Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Bay Area exodus: Poll finds nearly half of residents want to leave region's challenges behind

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

While growing up in the Bay Area, Michelle Hailey never imagined leaving it. But these days, as the West Oakland property manager grapples with increases in taxes and living expenses, and passes homeless encampments almost daily, she feels differently.

“I sometimes have dreams of the moving truck pulling up to get me out of here,” said ...Read more

Prudencio Alvarez/Dreamstime/TNS

Commentary: Reality bytes -- Kids confuse the real world with the screen world

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Doesn’t it feel like summer break just began? Yet here we are again. Fall’s arrival means kids have settled into a new school year with new teachers, new clothes and a new “attitude” for parents and kids alike, to start on the right foot.

Yet it’s hard for any of us to find footing in an increasingly polarized and isolated world. The ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

A wildfire charred their LA yard -- but it let them create a lush native plant landscape

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

LOS ANGELES -- It was 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 10, 2019, and Phil Hinch was in his bed, "dead to the world," when he heard someone pounding on the door of his Porter Ranch home. His wife, Margaret, was on a business trip in New York; their two young children were in their rooms, fast asleep.

The porch was empty when he groggily opened his front door,...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Atlanta ranked as best US city for Black homebuyers

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

New research published Thursday found Atlanta is the best city for Black people who want to get on the housing ladder. But it also reinforced findings on the gulf between white and Black homeownership in the US.

The report published by Columbia, Miss.-based Mortgage Research Center suggests the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta area is the most ...Read more

Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Does your deed say Black, Jewish, or Polish people can't live in your home? In Pa., there's a new way to address old discriminatory language

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

In 1927, 44 homeowners living on West Penn Street in Germantown, Pennsylvania, got together to write a rule for who could and couldn’t buy or rent their properties. They excluded everyone “other than those of the Caucasian race.”

And then they went even further.

If anyone of any other race occupied any of the properties, the covenant ...Read more

Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Real estate Q&A: What should we do if our house is damaged by a hurricane?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: We are new to Florida and dealing with our first major storm. Many people are telling us how to prepare, but not the realities of dealing with damage to our new home, should it occur. What do we do if something happens? — Justin

A: Natural disasters can occur no matter where someone lives. For some people, it could be a hurricane; for ...Read more

George Avalos/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Office vacancy levels soar to record highs in biggest Bay Area markets

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SAN JOSE, California — The Bay Area’s three primary office markets, haunted by empty buildings, have reached forbidding new milestones of record-high vacancy levels, according to a grim new report.

Silicon Valley, which roughly equates to Santa Clara County; downtown Oakland; and San Francisco all hit record-high office vacancy rates in the...Read more

Miamians are the most rent-burdened people in America -- and they're stressed about it

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Their budgets strained, Miami metro residents are distressed about life in their increasingly unaffordable community.

More than three-quarters of South Floridians report difficulty paying for usual household expenses, according to the Census Bureau’s newest Household Pulse Survey released on Thursday.

That makes greater Miami — which ...Read more