Q: Is it OK to ask guests to get a COVID-19 test before coming to your event?

A: Given how easily COVID-19 spreads, it is understandable that you are concerned about it spreading among your guests. However, it would be asking a lot of your invitees to get tested for the virus before coming to your event, and it's not guaranteed to prevent ...Read more

LOS ANGELES - Kathy Griffin is staging a sale in Bel-Air, putting her gated Mediterranean mansion on the market for $15.995 million. That's about $5.5 million more than she paid for it four years ago.

The Emmy-winning comedian kept things mostly the same during her stay, as the 13,377-square-foot home features grand living spaces with dramatic ...Read more

Nationwide, about one in five owners of a Toyota Highlander held onto the car for at least 15 years. More than 14% of Toyota Sienna, Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra owners kept their car for at least 15 years.

Want to guess what those Toyota buyers got besides a durable ride? The opportunity to redirect scarce household money to savings - and ...Read more

The U.S. housing market, which has been a bright spot in the pandemic-battered economy, is running out of fuel.

With buyers eager to take advantage of low mortgage rates, the inventory of homes to buy is scarce. That's driving up prices and threatening to derail the boom by pushing homeownership out of reach for many Americans.

For ...Read more

Philadelphia officials have reprogrammed the city's property-search website to remove the ability to look up properties by the names of their owners, citing undisclosed security concerns.

Under the change implemented about a week ago, users of the search at property.phila.gov can still find out who owns a property by inputting an address. But ...Read more

Q: A vendor working on the common area of our building knocked a hose bib out of the wall, causing a flood in our home. I checked with the association management, and they had no insurance information on file for the vendor. Who is responsible for repairing the damage caused by this vendor's negligence? - Bob

A: Because the flood was caused by ...Read more

After insisting for years that it had no plans to hire any agents, Seattle-based Zillow has reversed course and will open a residential real estate brokerage - though on a very limited basis.

Agents in the new division, called Zillow Homes, have a narrow purview: acquiring and listing homes for the company's home-flipping division, Zillow ...Read more

CHICAGO - Restaurants, their receipts less than a third of what they customarily would take in, are unable to pay rent. Landlords, with mortgages and property-tax bills due, can't survive without income.

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, resulting in the forced closure six months ago of restaurants and bars across the country, restaurateurs ...Read more

Civil and quick, or dramatic and drawn out, most divorces have a largely predictable result when it comes to the house, retirement funds and parenting.

Most states split up assets acquired during marriage "equitably." Community property states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin) divide ...Read more

As if household finances weren't rattled enough by the coronavirus recession, a new round of ominous headlines set off fresh worries about Social Security benefits, and a new round of hand-wringing from near-retirees that it may be best to grab benefits ASAP before payouts are cut.

Slow down. Waiting still makes the most sense. Retirement ...Read more

By Labor Day and the roll out of pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, you'd think, maybe, that you'd finally have your hands on your federal income tax refund.

For most people, after all, tax refund cash has come and gone. They spent that money months ago. Others are waiting and waiting, much like Carol Wilke who filed a tax return the day after ...Read more

Getting older often means living alone.

According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, more than 40% of people at least age 65 live alone, and 57% of people in their 80s live alone.

At the same time, atop nearly every list of retirement worries is this one: running out of money.

For open-minded seniors living on ...Read more

A longtime bohemian standard during the 1970s, hanging houseplants have returned in a big way as demand for plants has skyrocketed in the pandemic and Instagram influencers create indoor jungles.

Plant parents love to dote on their houseplants, especially now that everyone is hunkering down at home, but are all indoor plants well suited to ...Read more

Q: Should parents let their children who are away at college come home for a visit during the pandemic?

A: For all students returning from school, we suggest they quarantine for 14 days when they arrive home.

And if there are any symptoms like a fever or a cough, seek medical management or call your family practice doctor to get a test for...Read more

LOS ANGELES - Every Hollywood idea has to start somewhere, whether it's scribbled on cocktail napkins, pecked out on a vintage typewriter or the outcome of an afternoon in the writers' room. For the sitcom "The Last Man on Earth," the idea came around the dining room table at the Santa Monica home of show star Will Forte.

Forte is now ready to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES - Remember coworking? When independent workers and start-up entrepreneurs would pile into communal offices, sharing overhead and necessities like printers, bathrooms and ventilation systems? A fantastic idea for saving money on real estate and office infrastructure. Not so hot when you're trying to prevent the spread of mortal ...Read more

Q: I live in a townhouse where the water meters are near the parking lot. Who is responsible for repairing the water line from the meter to the individual townhouse unit? Is it the townhouse unit owner, or is it the association because the water line is in the common area? - Clara

A: When you live in a community association, you agree to live ...Read more

SEATTLE - Facebook will buy REI's so-new-it's-never-been-used Bellevue, Wash., campus for nearly $368 million, the social media giant announced today.

The move further consolidates Facebook's Eastside mini-empire in the upscale, multiuse Spring District east of I-405. Before the acquisition of the 400,000-square-foot REI offices, Facebook was ...Read more