LOS ANGELES -- Jerry Bruckheimer can call it a wrap in Brentwood. The prolific film and television producer, whose credits include the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "CSI" franchises, has sold his architectural home in the Westside neighborhood for $11.5 million.

Set on three-quarters of an acre, the pristine International-style home was ...Read more

While rising interest rates have sharply reduced the number of mortgage borrowers who can refinance into a lower rate, rising home prices create opportunities for some borrowers to refinance into mortgages that are less costly in other respects.

One possibility, discussed in a previous column, is to refinance a mortgage carrying mortgage ...Read more

While rising interest rates have sharply reduced the number of mortgage borrowers who can refinance into a lower rate, rising home prices create opportunities for some borrowers to refinance into mortgages that are less costly in other respects.

One possibility, discussed in a previous column, is to refinance a mortgage carrying mortgage ...Read more

DETROIT -- In 1979, Jerry Esters was working on the roof of a property he had inherited from his father in North Corktown when he had an epiphany: He could see downtown. First the train station, then the downtown skyline.

The property at 14th and Perry had been in the family for years, but as Esters sat perched on the shingles, he couldn't help...Read more

Q: We have let our mortgage lender choose our hazard insurance for our home. Although it was more expensive, we figured that if our lender picked it, then it must be great coverage. A friend just told me this is not the case. What is the truth? -- Frank

A: This type of homeowner's insurance coverage is known as "force-placed" or "lender-placed"...Read more

The easy money officially ends Wednesday, as interest rates, much like summer temps, heat up once again.

It's a "slam-dunk" that the Federal Reserve will increase rates by a quarter point after its meeting this week, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics.

And it's likely we're in for two more quarter-point hikes in ...Read more

LOMBARD, Ill. -- While mall walkers strolled Yorktown Center's quiet corridors before most shops opened Monday morning, a handful of visitors in search of a tougher workout strode straight from their cars to the fitness studios along the Lombard mall's western side.

Shopping centers used to shun gyms and workout studios, believing clients would...Read more

Sarah Low always figured she'd have her first baby, and own her own home, by the time she turned 30.

Instead, she's 32 and living in a rented house in Hayward, Calif., with her husband and two roommates. There's no room -- or money -- for kids.

"At this point, if we had a child there'd be nowhere to put it," Low said. "No bedrooms left."

A ...Read more

Q: We purchased our condo 15 years ago with hurricane shutters already installed. The new property manager is saying that there is no Architectural Approval form for the shutters in our file and we may be compelled to take them down. Since nothing was told to us about the shutters for 15 years, I believe that the shutters were approved but the ...Read more

With interest rates no longer at rock-bottom levels, few borrowers still have an opportunity to profit by refinancing into a lower interest rate. However, the escalation of house prices in many areas raises the possibility of profitable refinances directed to lowering other costs.

For example, borrowers who purchased mortgage insurance when ...Read more

With interest rates no longer at rock-bottom levels, few borrowers still have an opportunity to profit by refinancing into a lower interest rate. However, the escalation of house prices in many areas raises the possibility of profitable refinances directed to lowering other costs.

For example, borrowers who purchased mortgage insurance when ...Read more

At Vanguard, which popularized the S&P 500 index funds, workers will no longer be able to choose that option in their 401(k) retirement plan.

The S&P 500 index fund, one of the low-cost examples of passive investing that put the firm on the investing map, will be dropped this month from the mutual fund giant's menu of options for its employees'...Read more

An investigative study of prize and lottery scams found that between 2015 and 2017, more than 500,000 scams resulting in more than $344 million in losses were reported in the U.S. and Canada, according to the Better Business Bureau.

Included in the BBB's findings was the case of Ted Ruppert, a St. Louis area man in his 80s who lost nearly $8 ...Read more

DeLeon Realty used to shuttle Chinese investors on home tours around Silicon Valley in a 14-seat Mercedes van.

But when the flow of Asian investors slowed about two years ago, the Palo Alto brokerage replaced the van with a couple of sedans -- a Bentley and a Maybach -- to cater to a new, smaller class of wealthier clients.

"We sold the bus," ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Conversations about the current housing market often have good news/bad news scenarios.

Case in point, a recent report from Zillow, the real estate website, shows the share of homeowners across the country who are underwater on their mortgage is 9.1 percent, falling below 10 percent for the first time since the housing market ...Read more