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Real estate Q&A: What happens to our mother's house after she died without a will?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: Our mother recently passed away in Florida. I live in another state, so the last year before she died, my brother moved in with her to be able to help. The house was owned for decades by both our parents, and our father passed away some time ago. My sister and I want to sell the house, but our brother wants to keep living there. We get along ...Read more

Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times/TNS

Seattle real estate industry feuds over private home listings

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

When Seattle real estate agent Sam Cunningham prepared to list a remodeled Issaquah home for sale earlier this year, he made the usual preparations: modern staging, pristine photos and marketing copy gushing over the house’s hardwood floors and “stunning new kitchen.”

But Cunningham skipped one notable step.

He advertised the property on...Read more

Allison Dinner/Getty Images North America/TNS

US spring homebuying season has its weakest start in five years

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The crucial spring home-sales season in the U.S., barely off the runway, is already sputtering.

April is normally when transactions kick into overdrive, warmer weather drawing in buyers and sellers alike. But this year, the number of signed contracts was the lowest for the month since the Covid lockdown in 2020, according to seasonally adjusted...Read more

Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Chicago residential developer now negotiating to buy the entire Lincoln Yards site, which is still mostly empty

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The Chicago developer that was negotiating to buy the northern swath of the stalled Lincoln Yards megadevelopment site is now in talks to purchase the entire 53-acre tract, according to sources familiar with the deal.

JDL Development’s move to acquire both the northern and southern parts of the site was first reported by The Real Deal.

The ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

How 'unretiring' to go back to work can affect your Social Security benefits

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Retirement is a goal that most Americans strive for, but sometimes the reality doesn’t match what you’d imagined. You may find that you miss work and the sense of purpose it gave you, or your financial situation may change and you need to earn additional money to support your lifestyle. Returning to the workforce after retiring may make ...Read more

Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS

When you lose your home to fire, you wonder: Who am I now?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

You might think a house is just a house, and the stuff inside is just stuff — but you’d think differently if it were yours and it vanished in an instant, as happened to so many in Pacific Palisades and Altadena in the January wildfires. All of those material possessions are a part of who you are; you shape your home and your home shapes you....Read more

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

Despite political promises, Californians are stressed about their finances

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

After voters in November sent a clear message that the rising cost of living remained a top concern, California lawmakers came to the state Capitol vowing to take decisive action.

"Our task this session is urgent and clear," Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) told lawmakers at the start of the 2024-2025 legislative session in early ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Are the renters next door breaking the rules to control their dogs?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: A family recently rented the house next to ours in our community association. They have several dogs and attached a temporary fence to our permitted wooden fence to form a corral for their dogs to stay outside all day and bark. Are they allowed to attach to our fence without permission? Is there anything we can do about the noise? —Caroline...Read more

K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Zillow forecasts San Diego home values to drop for the first time in years

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Zillow has broken from the pack to say San Diego County home values could decrease over the next year.

Home values in San Diego County will drop 1.1% by March 2026, Zillow said in its latest Home Value Index. While the decrease is small, it’s notable because no other major forecasters have said home prices, or values, would drop, and it’s ...Read more

Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Is Las Vegas becoming Los Angeles 2.0?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

By 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, Las Vegas-based luxury real estate broker Ivan Sher started noticing a distinct migration pattern from California’s affluent neighborhoods to Las Vegas.

“What I think pushed people over the edge” in California was government mandates that impacted them and their children in school,...Read more

Daniel Mears/The Detroit News/TNS

United Wholesale Mortgage reports loss for first quarter, increase in loan volume

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

United Wholesale Mortgage reported a first-quarter net loss of $247 million on total revenue of $613.5 million, down from a profit of $180.5 million during the same period last year. A $388 million reduction in the fair value of its mortgage servicing rights portfolio impacted the results, the Pontiac, Michigan-based lender said Tuesday.

The ...Read more

Yuri Gripas/Getty Images North America/TNS

Warren Buffett to step down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO: 5 takeaways from the annual meeting

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Warren Buffett told Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that he plans to step down as CEO at the end of 2025 and recommended to the company’s board that his previously identified successor, Greg Abel, take over at that time, ending a 60-year career that created one of the greatest investment records of all time.

Buffett made the dramatic ...Read more

Gripas Yuri/Abaca via ZUMA Press/TNS

May Fed meeting preview: Trump wants lower interest rates, but for now, his tariffs are keeping the Fed on hold

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

When the Federal Reserve decides what to do with interest rates to manage the economy, the data usually speaks for itself. Policymakers, for instance, knew they needed to rush to cut interest rates in 2020 as the gears of commerce came to a screeching halt at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Two years later, when inflation surged to a 40-...Read more

Fizkes/Dreamstime/TNS

Should you handle debt or build an emergency fund first?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

There’s a reason financial advisers keep recommending you save money for emergencies. More than one in three Americans needed to tap their emergency savings in the past year, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Annual Emergency Savings Report. But when you’re juggling debt, putting money toward savings can feel overwhelming. Many feel paying down...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Amid tariff turmoil, these warehouses are in big demand in LA

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

As steep tariffs on imports throw Los Angeles-area ports into turmoil and chill industrial property leasing, one rare type of building is suddenly in hot demand — bonded warehouses where goods can be stored without paying tariffs until they are removed.

Key personnel at bonded warehouses have to undergo background checks and the operator must...Read more

Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Salary to afford a typical Bay Area home has increased 54% since 2019

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The salary needed to afford a typical home in the Bay Area just keeps climbing higher.

A homebuyer hoping to afford a median-priced home in the San Jose metro region must earn 54% more than was needed six years ago — an income of $370,000, versus $240,000 in 2019, according to a new study by Realtor.com.

That means that a buyer hoping to ...Read more

Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register/TNS

Jonathan Lansner: California home sales tumble below Great Recession low for 21 months

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Call it what you want, but California’s homebuying pace remains below the Great Recession’s bottom.

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed a new set of home sales figures created for the Southern California News Group by real estate tracker Attom. These broad-based statistics track closed transactions by month and include existing and newly built ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Can I install an EV charger at my condo's assigned parking spot?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: My wife and I bought a condo a few years ago. Last year, we bought an electric car, only to learn that the building limits personal chargers to 14, along with the three shared chargers, for the nearly 200 parking spaces. The board informed me that the limit is due to the electrical service to the building, and upgrading the service would ...Read more

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America/TNS

Commentary: Where is the 'real America'?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Is there such a thing as a “real America”? A battle now rages over this simple question. Some Democratic party operatives claim the real America are so-called “Trump voters,” who they say they need to better “study” in order to win future elections.

Many Republican voices argue the real America are just those who support the new ...Read more

Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Cupertino housing project is part of a growing trend as expensive Bay Area cities want teachers to live near their schools

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

CUPTERTINO, California — When the time came for Gabriela Flores to apply for a new teaching job in the Bay Area, the Scotts Valley resident had her heart set on one place: Cupertino.

The city is not only home to Apple headquarters, but also boasts some of the best schools and students in the state. Flores said she felt drawn to the ...Read more