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Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group/TNS

California's former insurance commissioner wants oil and gas companies to pay for the home insurance crisis

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

10,000 acres of prime land sitting vacant in Las Vegas Valley: report

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Ricardo Torres-Cortez/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Las Vegas short-term rental group challenges enforcement of rules

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Allison Mawn/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

I just graduated college. Will I be able to buy a house like my parents did?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Dreamstime/TNS/TNS

Rocket Companies completes purchase of Redfin

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

As Gen Z and millennial women look to get money-smart, Dow Janes is trending upward

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post/TNS

As contentious Colorado housing laws take effect, some cities are playing nice -- while others resist or sue

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS

Two new property insurers approved to sell in Florida. More coming, regulators say

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Philadelphia is among areas where renting is trending with millionaires

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Nia Meyers/The Baltimore Sun/TNS

'A retail apocalypse': Big box and chain retailers undergo wave of closures

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

With a surging residency rate, this neighborhood is transforming LA

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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

Lola Gomez/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Seattle to ban controversial rent-setting software RealPage

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Seattle will soon ban the controversial rent-setting platform RealPage and similar services, becoming the latest local government to take aim at a technology that critics say helps drive up housing costs.

The Seattle City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban a widely used class of software that gathers information from an array of ...Read more

Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Illinois must build 227,000 units in 5 years to keep up with housing demand, report finds

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Illinois has a shortage of about 142,000 housing units and must build 227,000 in the next five years to keep pace with demand, a number that would require recent annual production rates to double, according to a new economic study.

The joint study published Tuesday by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class ...Read more

Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald/TNS

Critics fear tall towers turning downtown Boston into Manhattan

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

BOSTON — Critics of a proposed Boston zoning plan are fuming over new regulations that they say will “Manhattanize” the city’s historic downtown with shadow-casting 700-foot skyscrapers.

Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association representatives say the administration of Mayor Michelle Wu “blindsided” them with the final draft of a ...Read more

DREAMSTIMES/TNS

Why long-term CDs can be a smart choice in any rate environment

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Whether interest rates are rising, falling, or holding steady, long-term certificates of deposit (CDs) can play a valuable role in your financial strategy. While timing the market perfectly is impossible, understanding the benefits of long-term CDs can help you make better decisions about when and how to incorporate them into your savings plan. ...Read more

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Bitcoin mining: A beginner's guide to how it works

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoins by solving extremely complicated math problems that verify transactions in the currency. When a bitcoin is successfully mined, the miner receives a predetermined amount of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is one of the most popular types of cryptocurrencies, which are digital mediums of exchange that exist...Read more

Mario Tama/Getty Images North America/TNS

About 78% of Americans say they're uncomfortable investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Here's why

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Despite all the hype around cryptocurrency, the vast majority of Americans say they’re uncomfortable investing in it, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Long-Term Investment Survey. Nearly 4 in 5 Americans (78%) say they’re not comfortable putting their investment dollars in crypto.

So, what might be making Americans uncomfortable with ...Read more