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

A blockbuster Sunday of takeovers has bled into Monday for the fastest start to a week for global dealmaking so far this year.

Companies led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. and U.S. pharmaceuticals group Gilead Sciences Inc. announced $68 billion of deals, the highest tally for the start of a week since late November 2019, ...Read more

Q: One of your neighbors has greeted you by name for years, and you never got around to asking for a refresher on his name. Is it too late to ask now?

A: Oh my, if it has truly been years of greeting one another, then this is quite a conundrum.

Generally speaking, it's best to get in that name refresher ask no later than the second or ...Read more

The average new car loan in the second quarter of this year was $36,072, according to Experian Automotive, nearly $4,000 more than the typical loan a year earlier.

That would be a startling jump in a booming economy where jobs are secure, but in the midst of a recession expected to have long-lasting effects on job security, it's remarkable.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES - Oscar-winning director James Cameron is eyeing a blockbuster sale in Malibu. His prized compound, a collection of two mansions he's owned for decades, hit the market last week at $25 million.

Cameron, a film industry veteran whose scores of credits include "The Terminator" and "Titanic," began compiling the estate in the late ...Read more

Manhattan apartments are piling up on the market - and it's getting harder to fill them.

Rental listings jumped to a record 15,025 at the end of August, more then double the inventory from a year earlier, according to a report Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The borough's vacancy rate reached ...Read more