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Big Oakland hotel is seized by lender as Bay Area lodging market fades
OAKLAND, California — A lender has taken ownership of Oakland’s biggest hotel through a foreclosure that underscores the ailments and price nosedives that plague the Bay Area’s sickly lodging market.
The Oakland Marriott City Center hotel was taken back by its lender, which bought the property for just under $70.2 million through the ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Can country club board decide who is on new owner's deed?
Q: A lady I know recently purchased a country club property together with her stepfather. The club’s board decided they couldn’t be members because the stepfather was married to her mother, which would automatically make the mother the second member. They were told the mother had to be included, even though she wasn’t on the property deed,...Read more
Seattle sued over its mandatory housing affordability program -- again
A small construction company and two homeowners in Seattle are suing the city over its mandatory affordable housing program that requires developers either build or help pay for below-market-rate homes.
The lawsuit, brought by the libertarian-minded Institute for Justice, alleges the program fails to establish a nexus between new residential ...Read more

Does it make sense to buy an annuity in your 40s?
Annuities are often associated with retirees looking for a steady income stream later in life. But does it make sense to lock in guaranteed income in your 40s, potentially decades before retirement?
On the surface, the idea of guaranteed income sounds appealing. But annuities are complicated financial products, and buying one too early can tie ...Read more
Haven't made a will yet? startup has new AI tool to help
In 2017, Cody Barbo told a room of investors that he was getting married in a month. His friend asked him this question: “Hey man, you’re getting married. Do you have a will?” Barbo froze, threw out a mild swear word and answered, “I should probably have one.”
Barbo is the CEO of Trust & Will, a San Diego company that simplifies the ...Read more

The 7 mistakes I made when refinancing my mortgage
When my husband and I refinanced our mortgage in 2009, we felt confident we were making the right move. Since both of us had exceptional credit, we knew we could reduce our mortgage rate by one percentage point or more, as is considered de rigueur when refinancing. A no-brainer, right?
In retrospect, I wonder. We should have considered other ...Read more

California's former insurance commissioner wants oil and gas companies to pay for the home insurance crisis
As destructive wildfires have ravaged California over the past decade, the insurance industry has dropped hundreds of thousands of homeowners statewide, raised their premiums, and, in some cases, stopped writing new home policies anywhere in the state.
Few understand the crisis better than Dave Jones, the former California insurance ...Read more

10,000 acres of prime land sitting vacant in Las Vegas Valley: report
Approximately 10,000 acres of prime land that could be developed are sitting vacant in Southern Nevada, according to a new study.
A total of 31,650 tax lots, encompassing 78,285 undeveloped or underutilized acres, with 10,000 of those acres considered prime for residential and commercial development potential are available in the region, ...Read more

Las Vegas short-term rental group challenges enforcement of rules
A group of Clark County, Nevada, property owners has filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the county and state challenging the government’s ability to enforce restrictions on providing short-term rentals to visitors to Southern Nevada.
The Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association and several of its individual members ...Read more

I just graduated college. Will I be able to buy a house like my parents did?
Since graduating college in May, I’ve been thinking about my future a lot. One question has stood out: Am I going to be able to buy a home like my parents did less than 30 years ago?
Pretty much everywhere, home prices have climbed in recent years. The median price for metro Atlanta, which spans multiple counties, grew from $190,634 in April ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Does HOA's definition of commercial vehicle override state law?
Q: Our community does not allow “commercial vehicles” to remain overnight. However, the association documents define what a commercial vehicle is differently from our city, and the state has yet another definition. The Board is attempting to have the homeowner remove his “commercial vehicle,” as defined in our documents; however, ...Read more

Rocket Companies completes purchase of Redfin
Rocket Companies announced Tuesday that it has closed on its previously announced $1.75 billion deal for real estate brokerage Redfin, a deal that combines Redfin’s home search platform with Detroit-based Rocket’s mortgage lending.
“I’ve used Redfin every day for the last 20 years. It helped me find and fall in love with my first home, ...Read more
Seattle dropped key NIMBY rules. Why aren't developers swarming?
Say farewell to single-family zoning as you've known it, Seattle.
As of Monday, developers can build up to four homes on city lots that today are dominated by individual houses, the result of a state law meant to add smaller and more affordable homes to the vast majority of land reserved for pricey single-family homes.
But despite the yes in ...Read more

As Gen Z and millennial women look to get money-smart, Dow Janes is trending upward
After Britt Baker graduated from Harvard Business School in 2016, her friends back in California begged for a souvenir: the best investment advice she'd learned.
Baker, 37, indulged them, starting out of her Fairfax, California, living room a finance club that eventually became her present-day financial education startup, Dow Janes — which ...Read more

As contentious Colorado housing laws take effect, some cities are playing nice -- while others resist or sue
Lafayette, Colorado’s mayor, JD Mangat, can’t afford a house in the city he leads.
On a salary as a middle school social studies teacher, home prices in the Boulder County city of 30,000 are out of reach for the 29-year-old Lafayette native.
“I live at home with my parents,” he said. “None of my friends growing up still live in ...Read more

Two new property insurers approved to sell in Florida. More coming, regulators say
Two more property insurers have been approved to serve Florida’s beleaguered homeowner market, the state Office of Insurance Regulation announced.
The office on Friday identified the two new companies in a news release as Incline National Insurance Company, headquartered in Texas, and Florida Insurance and Reinsurance Company, a Florida-...Read more

Philadelphia is among areas where renting is trending with millionaires
More millionaires are choosing to rent in Philadelphia.
In 2023, 102 households making $1 million or more annually chose to rent in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, according to a new report from rental listing website RentCafe. That’s up from 22 in 2019.
Across the country, millionaire tenants are attracted to the ease offered by turnkey...Read more

'A retail apocalypse': Big box and chain retailers undergo wave of closures
BALTIMORE — Customers who ventured into Rite Aid at Gittings Marketplace in North Baltimore during its final week in mid-June found a shuttered pharmacy, empty refrigerator cases and an assortment of greeting cards and beauty products at 90% off, but little else.
Across from the drugstore on York Road, a Party City sign tops a building that ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Can we stop a resident from smoking on the balcony?
Q: Can a resident smoke on his balcony if the smoke is disturbing the resident next door, who also likes to sit on his balcony? Also, a butt fell several floors below on the balcony and burned a hole in resident’s outdoor sofa? — Catherine
A: Smoking can be a heated topic in shared living spaces, especially when it impacts neighbors or ...Read more

With a surging residency rate, this neighborhood is transforming LA
Like many downtown Los Angeles residents, Ricardo Sebastián doesn’t own a car and prefers it that way.
“I do not want the responsibility of owning a vehicle. That’s not for me,” said Sebastián, who grew up in Chicago relying on public transit.
The 38-year-old consultant travels around L.A. by train and bus, but finds most of what ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Big Oakland hotel is seized by lender as Bay Area lodging market fades
- Seattle sued over its mandatory housing affordability program -- again
- Real estate Q&A: Can country club board decide who is on new owner's deed?
- Why high mortgage rates mean it's time to save, not buy
- Does it make sense to buy an annuity in your 40s?