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Disneyland is now a historic theme park district: What's that mean for future projects?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The DisneylandForward environmental impact report identifies the potential Disneyland Theme Park Historic District as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places – which automatically places the district on the California Register of Historical Resources.

The DisneylandForward proposal seeks to update a 1990s Anaheim, ...Read more

Stephen Gates/Dreamstime/TNS

Women's salaries are lower, and their expenses are higher. Here's how to push back

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Anyone walking down the personal care aisle at a grocery or convenience store will see the distinction immediately.

Pink razors, shampoo, body wash and all the items that smell like flowers and boast ingredients like white tea and shea butter are for women. Blue products that evoke earthiness and sports without any flowery additives are for men...Read more

In 2023, Florida insurers turned first profit in seven years, new report says

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

In 2023, Florida’s domestic insurers turned a net profit for the first time in seven years, a new report by marketing intelligence company S&P Global said.

The study of “around 50” Florida-based insurers credited the turnaround to investment income, a mild hurricane year, and tort reforms that took effect in March 2023.

The group ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Can HOAs ban politicking?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: With the upcoming elections, our association is considering banning politicking in our community. They want to stop everything from door knocks to lawn signs, all in an effort to “keep the peace.” While I understand that community harmony is important and this will be another controversial election, I don’t think they are allowed to do ...Read more

George Avalos/Bay Area News Group/TNS

TikTok agrees to sublease big San Jose tech building, preps offices

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SAN JOSE, Calif. — TikTok has completed a rental deal for a big San Jose tech building, a transaction that suggests some pockets of strength still exist in a feeble Bay Area commercial real estate sector.

The fast-expanding tech company has subleased an office building at 1143 Coleman Avenue in San Jose, according to documents filed on March ...Read more

Behring Cos./TNS/TNS

New downtown Oakland tower offers “full stack” of live, work and play

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

OAKLAND, Calif. — A new tower in downtown Oakland is offering what its developer calls a “full stack” of lifestyle amenities and choices in a new approach to the realities of the post-coronavirus era.

The 39-story mixed-use tower that has sprouted atop the 19th Street BART Station was built with the concept that the highrise could offer ...Read more

David Maialetti/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Philly couple who went viral for living in a storage unit want to prove 'homelessness is a flex'

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

PHILADELPHIA -- Like many Gen Zers, Lansdale couple Leland Brown Jr. and Breanna Hubbard gave TikTok viewers a tour of their new home, hours after they moved in.

The space was just large enough to fit a twin-size mattress, a small couch, a dresser, and a wall of storage boxes. But no windows, bathroom, or kitchen. It also happened to be located...Read more

Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Realtor rules just changed dramatically. Here's what buyers and sellers can expect

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

So long, 6% commission.

For decades, real estate commissions have been somewhat standardized, with most home sellers paying 5% to 6% commission to cover both the listing agent and the buyer's agent.

On Friday, everything changed.

A landmark agreement from the National Association of Realtors paved the way for a new set of rules that will ...Read more

Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times/TNS

A sign of the times: Tearing down an emptying Orange County office complex to build a warehouse

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

In the hierarchy of commercial real estate, office space has long been king.

Developers and landlords lived by the conventional wisdom that there was no better use for your square footage than business offices because they commanded higher rents than industrial spaces.

Simple math, the thinking went.

Well, not so simple anymore. At least in ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

American debt stings like never before in new era for households

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

After years of managing household budgets through the stress of the worst inflation in a generation, U.S. families are increasingly pressured by a different kind of financial squeeze: The cost of carrying debt.

Two years after the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates to tame prices, delinquency rates on credit cards and auto loans are ...Read more

With the Better FAFSA still in limbo, here's what to do as college decisions loom

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

When the U.S. Department of Education rolled out the "Better FAFSA" at the end of last year, the intent was to make the Free Application for Federal Student Aid a simpler process for the millions of college students hoping for financial help for the 2024-25 school year.

But so far, the new FAFSA has created a series of headaches for students, ...Read more

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

California's home insurer of last resort sees enrollment surge, raising concerns over its finances

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

With home insurers scaling back coverage in the state, enrollment is surging in California's backstop insurance plan — as is the plan's risk of sustaining losses that it can't cover.

Victoria Roach, president of the FAIR Plan Association, told lawmakers this week that property owners even in areas with low wildfire risk were finding it ...Read more

Realtors group to pay $418 million to settle litigation over broker commission fees

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The Chicago-based National Association of Realtors will pay $418 million as a part of a settlement agreement to resolve litigation against the organization and its members brought on behalf of home sellers related to broker commissions.

The settlement comes after a Missouri federal jury issued a landmark $1.8 billion verdict in October of last ...Read more

Ryan Deberardinis/Dreamstime/TNS

NYC rents hit record highs in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Median rents in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Northwest Queens hit record highs in February as New Yorkers grapple with an ongoing affordability crisis, a new report found.

New lease signings also climbed, setting year-over-year records in Manhattan and Queens and the second-highest record for Brooklyn, according to the latest analysis by real estate...Read more

Real estate Q&A: My fiance died and left home we lived in to a friend. What are my options?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: I have been living with my fiancé in his house for a few years. Unfortunately, he passed away recently. When I checked the deed, I found out that the house was set up as a life estate to go to his friend, who also lives there. The friend is now eager to sell the house, but I have been helping to support it and make repairs for the last ...Read more

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Rents are finally falling in Los Angeles. But it's still not enough for many

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

As Angelenos continue to suffer through a housing crisis, new data suggest that Los Angeles County's notoriously brutal rental market may be cooling while rental prices continue to climb in some of the most populous regions of Northern California.

Rental prices were down 2.5% in Los Angeles County in February 2024 versus the same month a year ...Read more

RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/TNS

When Colorado mountain towns couldn't find affordable housing for workers, they started building homes themselves

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Decades ago, Colorado’s mountain communities, struggling with sky-high real estate values, implemented “inclusionary” ordinances that required developers to set aside a share of the units they built at a lower price or lower rent.

In a nod to just how expensive things have become, the definition of affordable has risen to include ...Read more

Vanessa Abbitt/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS

Missouri sues Florida firm tied to controversial brokerage contracts

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey last week sued a Florida real estate company that has drawn complaints and lawsuits around the country for what critics call "deceptive" real estate contracts that offer homeowners upfront cash in exchange for thousands of dollars in future brokerage fees.

The lawsuit accuses ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Will CFPB's $8 cap on credit card late fees encourage late payments?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

On March 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule capping credit card late payment fees at $8 for the biggest card issuers after inviting public comment on the matter last year. According to the consumer protection agency, the move is an effort to rein in “excessive” credit card late fees.

“For over a decade, ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: How do we get builder to deal with construction site eyesore?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: They have been building a house down the block for the last several months. Besides the trucks coming and going, the site is a mess, with debris in the yard and a porta-potty out along the street. While I understand the realities of construction, there is no reason for this ongoing eyesore. What should we do? — Alejandro

A: Constructing a ...Read more