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Daniel Kim/The Seattle Times/TNS

Seattle revisits plan to spur housing construction by slashing fees

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Hoping to spur apartment construction, Seattle City Council members will soon consider a plan to slash fees developers of new housing pay.

The proposal from Councilmember Dionne Foster, slated for an initial hearing Friday, would temporarily offer developers a 60% to 80% break on Mandatory Housing Affordability fees the city charges on new ...Read more

Tyger Williams/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

A Philly family bought their first home thanks to reparations from Quakers in Germantown

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

PHILADELPHIA — Charmira and Quincy Pilgrim wanted to become homeowners a decade ago when they got married.

But over the years, job losses, jobs that didn’t pay enough, children, unpaid maternity leave, and rising costs of living made saving for homeownership impossible.

They were finally able to start putting money away late last year. And...Read more

Mario Tama/Getty Images North America/TNS

Groceries, gas, rent. Why it's so expensive to live in Los Angeles

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Cheryl Palumbo was out shopping for herself and her husband last week to pick up some items she had forgotten the day before at the supermarket — and couldn’t quite believe her bill.

The 78-year-old retiree had already spent $150 and here she was back at her local Ralphs forking over another $70 for fruit, vegetables and other food crammed ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Terry Savage: Why the national debt should concern us

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The U.S. national debt now exceeds $40 trillion — a MEGO number, which stands for "my eyes glaze over." Why should you care? No one else seems worried. Not Congress, for sure. They just keep spending and borrowing more.

There’s always been someone willing to lend us money. The rest of the world — until now — has been comfortable buying ...Read more

Mandel Ngan/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Crypto stocks and tokens drop after Senate blocks landmark bill

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Senators from both parties blocked a landmark digital asset market structure bill in a procedural vote Tuesday, sending cryptocurrency stocks tumbling after a major setback for industry.

The long-stalled legislation sought by crypto firms would hand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the primary authority to regulate the digital assets ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

California governor signs mortgage relief bills for wildfire victims

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Legislation that will extend mortgage relief to victims of the January 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires and establish a similar permanent program for disaster victims statewide was signed into law Tuesday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The mortgage forbearance bills by Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, who represents the devastated...Read more

S&P 500 seen dropping 10% on Fed hikes, MRA strategist says

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Potential Federal Reserve rate hikes starting this week could spur a correction in the S&P 500 as reduced corporate margins hurt profit outlooks and markets brace for a tightening cycle, according to Macro Risk Advisors LLC.

The S&P 500 has dropped nearly 1% so far in September, historically its weakest month, amid concerns over elevated energy...Read more

Finn Gomez/Getty Images North America/TNS

US 10-year breaches 5% as inflation, supply worries mount

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield surpassed 5% for the first time since 2023 on Monday, as mounting inflation angst collided with swelling government and corporate borrowing needs.

The yield, a benchmark for U.S. mortgage loans and bonds globally, rose almost 5 basis points to as high as 5.01%, before paring much of the increase as buyers emerged...Read more

Mario Tama/Getty Images North America/TNS

Small banks at forefront of battle against crypto bill

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A push by the cryptocurrency industry to pass a monumental piece of federal legislation has run into a small, but loud, foe: an army of rural community banks.

Randy Dorn, who leads My Kind of Bank in the small northwest Minnesota town of Battle Lake, is among them and said the legislation as written will create unfair competition for banks like...Read more

Phillip Molnar/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Los Angeles renters dream of Las Vegas, but outsiders steer clear of LA, survey shows

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Los Angeles renters are looking for a way out, while few outsiders are looking for a way in.

According to a recent Zillow report, L.A. residents are the most likely to be checking out rentals in Las Vegas. They also make up the largest out-of-town demographic window shopping for rentals in Phoenix, Salt Lake City and San Diego.

For L.A. ...Read more

Alie Skowronski/Miami Herald/TNS

Miami votes to track vacation rentals following 'Animal House' condo fallout

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Miami commissioners voted Thursday to get a grasp on short-term vacation rentals operating throughout the city, with the goal of stricter regulation and a shutdown of illegal units causing chaos in residential neighborhoods.

District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo made the proposal, which instructs the city manager to submit a comprehensive report...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Can landlord keep most of security deposit for 'repainting and cleaning'?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: We moved out of our rental after three years, left the place clean and gave the landlord our new address. Almost a month later, he mailed us a fraction of our deposit, with the rest deducted for “repainting and cleaning.” The paint showed only normal fading, and we cleaned before we left. Can he keep our money for that, and what can we do...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Terry Savage: Login process changing at TreasuryDirect

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Nearly 3 million people opened accounts at TreasuryDirect.gov to buy Series I U.S. savings bonds when the rates — based on inflation — made headlines in 2022. Millions more savers have created TreasuryDirect accounts to purchase Treasury bills at the weekly auctions — especially during periods when T-bill rates are higher than bank CDs.

...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Residents, elected leaders protest proposal to move the White Sox

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

CHICAGO — Hundreds of residents from Bridgeport, Chinatown and Armour Square gathered at Rate Field Tuesday morning to protest plans by Amtrak and billionaire Justin Ishbia to establish a giant railroad maintenance facility nearby and possibly move the White Sox out of the team’s longtime home on the South Side.

Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th, said ...Read more

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS

A billionaire was accused of stealing Malibu sand. Now he's donating a new beach to the public

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Beachgoers may be the big winners in a high-profile dispute between the California Coastal Commission and Mark Attanasio, the billionaire businessman who owns the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team.

In 2024, Attanasio's construction team was accused of using excavators to dig up sand from Broad Beach and carry it back to his property as part of a ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Coinbase files with SEC to bring leveraged stock bets to US

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Coinbase Global Inc. is taking the first regulatory step toward letting U.S. investors make leveraged, round-the-clock bets on stocks without owning them, seeking to bring one of crypto’s most popular forms of trading onshore.

The push is part of a broader effort to bring the crypto trading playbook onshore just as digital-asset venues are ...Read more

Miami Herald file/Miami Herald/TNS

Think your HOA is strict? Meet the rules of Indian Creek's Billionaire Bunker

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

In Indian Creek Village, money can buy you a $100 million mansion, a sprawling waterfront compound and a front-row seat to one of the most exclusive enclaves in South Florida.

But you still have to follow the rules created when the village first incorporated in 1939.

Welcome to Billionaire Bunker, where some of the world’s richest people ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Can my mortgage company hold money from insurance check for home repair?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: A storm damaged our roof, and we filed a claim. The insurance company finally sent the check, but it is made out to our mortgage company and us, and now the mortgage company says it will hold the money and release it as the work gets done. We are current on our loan and just want to pay our roofer and be done with it. Can they really do this?...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

Is this the worst time to buy a house in California? Why timing really is everything

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Home seekers around Southern California were feeling profound sticker shock.

Median prices had hit records never seen before.

First-time buyers were desperately slapping down-payments on modest ranch homes in far-flung desert communities, enduring long commutes just to escape the rental market.

“We were lucky,” said one new homeowner who ...Read more

Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Developers buy 900-plus acres for Las Vegas' biggest new community in years

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The developers of Las Vegas’ biggest new community in years have closed their purchase of the site, giving them 900-plus acres with plans for thousands of homes.

Olympia Companies and Bruin Capital Partners teamed up to acquire roughly 940 acres in the upper northwest Las Vegas Valley for $94 million, Olympia executive vice president Chris ...Read more