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Real estate Q&A: Can HOA force owner to put up fence and swap out plants?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: My fiancé lives on the main road in a community of single family homes. He received a violation letter from the association saying he needs to put up a fence, remove the current bushes, and plant different ones. The section of the bylaw they sent over discusses maintenance of existing fences, docks, etc., but does not require them. I ...Read more

Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

'Tariffs do not help with housing costs': Apartment builders brace for steel and aluminum tariffs

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Developer Nat Bosa has been responsible for some of downtown San Diego’s largest residential towers but looming tariffs have him flabbergasted.

His company, Vancouver, Canada-based Bosa Development, is in the middle of construction on a 389-unit condo tower called Andia in downtown San Diego. It also has plans to build a 211-unit apartment ...Read more

John Spink/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Sharks 'smell blood' in Atlanta's office market as distress mounts

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

When Thomas Taylor looks at Atlanta’s skyline, he sees a quarter of its office buildings underwater.

The city’s towers, of course, stand well above sea level. But Taylor’s job as the senior research manager for data firm Trepp is to assess their financial stability — and many borrowers are in industry terms “underwater,” meaning ...Read more

Sarah Reingewirtz/Los Angeles Daily News/TNS

Jonathan Lansner: 3,200 Palisades, Eaton fire victims miss mortgage payments

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The sudden rush of increased household expenses is one of the numerous pains faced by fire victims in Los Angeles County.

Consider a new report showing as many as 3,200 homeowners in fire-ravaged neighborhoods are struggling to make their mortgage payments. Remember, owners of mortgaged homes must make loan payments even if the housing is gone ...Read more

Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

A beginner's guide to downsizing

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

For most dream-seeking retirees, moving is not on their bucket list.

More than three-quarters of older American homeowners plan to stay in their current home and age in place, according to a survey by Redfin, a tech-based real estate brokerage.

That’s wishful thinking, said Lauren Bednar, owner of Oasis Senior Advisors. Her senior placement ...Read more

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America/TNS

Best value ETFs: Top funds that hold bargain-priced stocks

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Value investing has proven to be one of the most successful investing strategies over the long term. Many of the world’s top investors, including the legendary Warren Buffett, have used the value approach to generate outstanding returns over time.

In recent years, however, value stocks have drastically trailed growth stocks as low interest ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

A 401(k) with an annuity twist: Blackrock offers paycheck-like income option

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A growing list of companies have begun offering investments inside their 401(k) plans that promise a way for workers to generate steady income during retirement.

These investments combine target-date funds, a popular 401(k) investment, with annuities, an insurance contract that promises a stream of lifetime payments.

Global asset manager ...Read more

Dreamstime/TNS

What is a rug pull?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A rug pull is a scam where a cryptocurrency or NFT developer hypes a project to attract investor money, only to suddenly shut down or disappear, taking investor assets with them. The name comes from the idiom “to pull the rug out” from under someone, leaving the victim off-balance and scrambling.

Rug pulls have increased as decentralized ...Read more

Mark Gomez/Dreamstime/TNS

What banking deregulation could mean for your money: 4 key changes to watch for

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Sweeping changes at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) signal what would be a significant shift in banking regulation under the Trump administration. While regulatory changes might sound like distant bureaucratic shuffling, these potential rollbacks could directly impact your wallet, from the fees you pay to how your complaints are ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

8 important mobile banking alerts to set up today

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Low balance. Large purchase. Unusual activity.

If you don’t already get bank account alerts such as these, it might be a good time to set them up to help monitor your finances. Most consumers already use a mobile banking app – 81% use it at least monthly, according to the American Bankers Association.

Mobile bank alerts, which help ...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

'Experiential' retail surges as landlords try to lure customers back to the mall

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SANTA MONICA, California — In a former clothing store, young entrepreneurs hawk products live on TikTok, sometimes in marathon sessions that last many hours. Fans and customers can stroll onto the floor that was once filled with racks of trendy women's apparel to watch them work and perhaps buy some of their wares.

Nearby, people play ...Read more

Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Toll Brothers CEO says company is ready to take on challenge of low housing supply

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Douglas C. Yearley Jr. was in elementary school when siblings Robert I. and Bruce E. Toll built their first two model homes in 1967 in the Philadelphia suburb Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

Yearley, 65, joined Toll Brothers in 1990 and has served as CEO since 2010.

“We’re America’s Luxury Home Builder,” he said, touting the brand’s ...Read more

Austin rents tumble 22% from peak on massive home building spree

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Yasmine Acebo makes her living by hooking up renters with deals on Austin apartments. In recent months, they haven’t been hard to find.

In the midst of a pandemic-era population surge, rents jumped a staggering 25% in 2021 in the Texas capital for one of the biggest increases in the nation. But a development boom and new policies encouraging ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Booting car traps second vehicle in garage. In an emergency, are HOA and towing company liable?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: Our homeowners association has decided to boot vehicles instead of having them towed for various violations. Our community has single car garages and a space in front of the garage for the second car. Could the association and tow company be at risk for a lawsuit if both cars are out of service in case of an emergency, the booted one and the ...Read more

Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times/TNS

Downtown Seattle has escaped the 'doom loop,' still off pre-pandemic norm

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Downtown Seattle is headed toward a “bloom loop,” business boosters and government officials cheered Tuesday.

Jon Scholes, president of the Downtown Seattle Association and vocal supporter of the city’s business community, coined the phrase, playing off a term that became common place amid the COVID-19 pandemic: the “doom loop.”

As ...Read more

Erin Blewett/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Buyers want remodeled homes, but they don't want to do the remodeling

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Even as home prices keep going up and properties become less affordable, homebuyers are willing to pay more to own a remodeled home, according to Zillow.

Nationwide, buyers pay roughly $13,200 more than expected — about 4% of the median price — for renovated homes, researchers at Zillow found.

In the company’s analysis last year, buyers ...Read more

Brandon Bell/Getty Images North America/TNS

Home Depot keeps building in 2025, signaling homeowner and contractor trends

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Home Depot is continuing to expand with sales reaching nearly $160 billion in its 2024 fiscal year, even though uncertain economic conditions and higher interest rates are causing some homeowners to pause on big renovations.

Vinings-based Home Depot is a bellwether for the broader economy, and its performance offers clues to how homeowners and ...Read more

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Real estate losses from fires may top $30 billion, from old mobile homes to $23 million mansions

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Real estate losses from the Palisades and Eaton fires could top $30 billion, and government agencies that receive revenue from taxes stand to lose $61 million or more annually while homes are being rebuilt, a Times analysis shows.

The analysis, comparing California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection assessments of buildings destroyed ...Read more

Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America/TNS

Survey: The stock market is again Americans' favorite long-term investment

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The stock market is the top place to invest for the long term, say Americans in Bankrate’s 2025 Long-Term Investment Survey. In all, 27% of Americans said they prefer the stock market as the way to invest money that they didn’t need for a decade or more. This figure is in line with the 26% who chose the stock market in the 2022 survey, the ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

1099-K tax rules: What you need to know if you get paid via Venmo, Cash App or PayPal

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

If you sell goods or services or rent property, and get paid through Venmo, PayPal, Cash App or another payment app, you may have been surprised by a Form 1099-K this year.

Here’s why you might be among the millions of taxpayers who got this form for the first time: If you received a total of $5,000 or more through a payment app in 2024, that...Read more