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'Unfortunately, Altadena is for sale': Developers are buying up burned lots
In the wake of the devastating Eaton fire that tore through Altadena, California, in January, hundreds of signs sprouted up in the ash-laden yards of burned-down homes: "Altadena Not for Sale."
The slogan signified a resistance toward outside investors looking to buy up the droves of suddenly buildable lots. But as the summer real estate market...Read more
Orthodox Jewish family claims video led to unfair suspension by Boca property association
A family is accusing their property association in Boca Raton of unfairly punishing them because they are members of the development’s growing Orthodox Jewish community.
The civil-rights lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, says that the Boca Grove Property Owners Association suspended the family’s rights to ...Read more

After newspaper investigation, Nevada legislature passes change to probate law
Nevada legislators approved a bill to change probate laws and sent it to the governor’s desk this past weekend, after the Las Vegas Review-Journal found a cottage industry reaped paydays selling dead people’s homes through court but often didn’t make a dime for heirs.
The state Senate and Assembly both unanimously approved a measure that ...Read more

St. Louis has lost residents for decades. The tornado could nudge more to leave
ST. LOUIS — The sounds of nail guns and roofing hammers echoed through the neighborhood as Lisa Mannery surveyed the impassible pile of branches stacked in her backyard. An HVAC unit hung precariously from the roof of the still-closed Save A Lot on Natural Bridge Avenue behind her house.
Her roof, like many others nearby, was covered by a ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Should neighbor pay for damage caused by washing machine leak?
Q: My neighbor, two floors above me, had an original washing machine from almost 40 years ago that leaked into my first-floor unit while they were away. It caused roughly $10,000 in damage, but their insurance won’t cover it, and mine would only cover $4,000. Now the neighbors are refusing to cover the difference. What is my recourse? — Jack...Read more

Chicago Fire plan to build $650M soccer stadium in South Loop
CHICAGO — After nearly a decade of big swings and misses, including a recent failed bid to build a new White Sox ballpark, The 78 and developer Related Midwest may have finally found an anchor tenant to kick-start the proposed mixed-use megadevelopment in the South Loop.
The Chicago Fire announced plans Tuesday for a privately financed $650 ...Read more

Bank mergers are booming. Here's why savers should watch their wallets
Big bank mergers are starting to pick up steam in 2025, and history shows that’s not typically good news for savers. The recent wave of consolidation in the banking industry could spell trouble for your interest rates, account terms and overall financial choices.
As a reporter who has gained some keen insights on banking, covering finance for...Read more

What's an individual retirement annuity? How they work, contribution limits and payouts
As you plan for retirement, building a secure nest egg becomes a top priority. Individual retirement annuities and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are two similar-sounding options, but they function in very distinct ways.
This article explains how individual retirement annuities work, their advantages and disadvantages and how they ...Read more

Can you pay to remove negative items from your credit report?
Debts in collections typically stay on your credit report for seven years and can harm your score for as long as they appear. Some credit repair tactics can potentially get collection accounts taken off of your credit report sooner, but that’s generally only if the information is inaccurate.
Some people may recommend asking for a pay-for-...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Should HOA pay for off-site parking during structural repairs?
Q: We live in a 20-story condominium where every unit has one assigned spot in the garage, and we all share a large upper parking deck. Last year, the upper parking deck was deemed unsafe, resulting in the installation of shoring poles in the garage below, which blocked some assigned parking spots. The people whose spots were blocked, along with...Read more

As Google retreats from real estate, will it still build the 15,000 homes it promised?
When Google made its $1 billion pledge to address the Bay Area’s housing shortage in 2019, the plan hinged on the company expanding its office presence in Silicon Valley.
The majority of the housing pledge wasn’t cash — though there was some of that — but land. Specifically, $750 million worth of suburban office parks the company ...Read more

US pending home sales drop by most since 2022 on mortgage rates
Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes last month fell by the most since September 2022, illustrating a disappointing spring selling season as prospective buyers balk at high asking prices and borrowing costs.
An index of contract signings dropped 6.3% in April to 71.3, according to National Association of Realtors data issued Thursday. ...Read more

AI is changing shopping. Will consumers buy in?
Carolyn Bennett remembers flipping through a yellow telephone book in the 1980s to find carpet stores and workers who refinished wood to help renovate her home.
Today, the 67-year-old uses a chatbot to help her shop. Bennett has turned to ChatGPT, which she refers to as "Chat," to find vendors for a kitchen renovation project, compare heat ...Read more

NYC's Rent Guidelines Board, in unusual move, lowers proposed increases as mayoral election heats up
New York City's Rent Guidelines Board lowered the range of potential rent increases for some 2 million New Yorkers in an unusual redo vote on Tuesday — a move that comes as the issue of freezing rents has taken center stage in the contentious mayoral race.
The board reduced the proposed range of increases for rent-stabilized tenants with two-...Read more

IRS Direct File will be cancelled if Republican tax bill becomes law
The $3.8 trillion Republican tax bill that just passed the House includes a provision to kill off the popular IRS Direct File program, which lets people file their federal income tax returns for free online.
The bill still needs to pass the Senate to become law, but if the bill is enacted as currently written, the Direct File program is slated...Read more

Louis Vuitton bets big on Rodeo Drive with new Frank Gehry-designed store
LOS ANGELES — Louis Vuitton is gearing up to go over the top again in Beverly Hills.
With plans for an ultra-opulent hotel on Rodeo Drive stymied by voters two years ago, the Paris fashion house's owners are back with a proposal for a theatrical flagship store designed by architect Frank Gehry that would anchor the north end of the famous ...Read more

Tariffs, high building costs, stingy lending make for curious revival of split-levels
With six kids, a housekeeper named Alice and Tiger the dog, the fictitious “Brady Bunch” of the 1970s sitcom filmed in a real-life mid-century California house, a perfectly groovy set for all the shenanigans that made the show so popular.
More than 50 years later, that split-level trend is resurfacing, but it’s not because of a newfound ...Read more

Meta promised $1 billion for affordable housing. Then it quietly walked away
In 2019, Meta unveiled an ambitious pledge to spend $1 billion to help ease California’s affordable housing crisis that critics say the company, with its thousands of highly paid employees, played a role in exacerbating.
Yet not even halfway through its 10-year commitment, Facebook’s parent company has largely abandoned its work on the ...Read more

US existing-home sales decline, marking worst April since 2009
U.S. sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly dropped in April to the slowest pace in seven months, restrained by ongoing affordability constraints and highlighting a lackluster start to the key spring selling season.
Contract closings decreased 0.5% to an annualized rate of 4 million, according to National Association of Realtors data ...Read more

New report reveals at least a quarter of all office space still vacant in downtown San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco
SAN JOSE, California — Sky-high downtown office vacancy rates continue to haunt San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco as at least one-fourth of those spaces remain empty in all three urban cores, according to a new report from commercial real estate firm Colliers.
The Colliers report provided to this news organization covers the latest ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Tariffs, high building costs, stingy lending make for curious revival of split-levels
- Orthodox Jewish family claims video led to unfair suspension by Boca property association
- Real estate Q&A: Should neighbor pay for damage caused by washing machine leak?
- 'Unfortunately, Altadena is for sale': Developers are buying up burned lots
- After newspaper investigation, Nevada legislature passes change to probate law