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Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LA's trailblazing home builder is the latest to leave California

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

One of Los Angeles’ most influential home builders, KB Home, is relocating its headquarters out of state, becoming the latest high-profile firm to do so.

The company, which has been based in Los Angeles since 1963 and helped build its sprawling suburbs, is moving its main office to the Phoenix metropolitan area by spring 2027, in part to ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: The 10-Year Bar of Soap, Plus More Great Reader Tips

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

In the cupboard right above my washing machine, there's a bar of Fels-Naptha laundry soap standing in a coffee mug. I'm sure it's five years old, and it appears that it will be good for at least another five. When I come across a stain, I grab the soap, dip the end into water and use it to scrub the stain -- almost as if it were a big eraser -- ...Read more

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Gov. JB Pritzker's ambitious housing plan for Illinois: More four-flats, looser rules

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Above the bay windows that run up the center of a two-story apartment building in Uptown, Nick Serra stands on what had been the roof but will soon be the balcony for a new third-floor unit he’s adding.

In many circumstances, the construction work would be a sure sign that another traditional Chicago apartment building was being gutted and ...Read more

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Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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Home Robotics in the Modern World

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Home robotics, once the domain of science fiction and speculative design, has steadily moved into the mainstream, reshaping how people clean, cook, monitor and even interact within their homes. What began with simple, single-purpose machines has evolved into a growing ecosystem of connected devices that promise convenience, efficiency and, ...Read more

The Lived-In House

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The house was not finished when it was built. It was only prepared.

Walls were painted, floors laid, fixtures installed. It was, by every conventional measure, complete. And yet, in the days and months that followed, something else began—something quieter, slower, and far more defining than construction.

A lived-in house is not arranged. It ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: The Value of Trivial Pursuits

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

For decades, I've been collecting and disseminating timesaving and money-saving tips. Readers email them to me, comment with them on my website at EverydayCheapskate.com, hand them to me on little scraps of paper and even send them in the mail. Some are hilarious, others downright weird. And the very best ones show up in this column. Thousands ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: DIY Laundry Helpers That Beat Store-Bought Add-Ins

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Walk down the laundry aisle at any grocery store or supermarket and you might think washing clothes requires an entire chemistry lab.

There are scent boosters, fabric softeners, color catchers, wrinkle releasers, stain fighters, brighteners, whiteners, odor removers and at least six products claiming to make towels "fluffier than ever." It's ...Read more

Chicago lands nation's first Candy Hall of Fame as retail district continues recovery

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

CHICAGO — The Magnificent Mile got some good news Thursday when the National Confectionery Sales Association said it will open the first Candy Hall of Fame Experience next year at 830 N. Michigan Ave.

The attraction will occupy 60,000 square feet on three floors just across the street from Water Tower Place. It’s one of the biggest leases ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Rebuilding permits in Altadena have picked up, but construction lags and financial woes loom

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A few weeks after the first anniversary of the Eaton fire, the number of homeowners who neither put up their home for sale nor moved toward rebuilding has dropped to fewer than half, as more have taken some action toward recovery, according to data released Thursday by UCLA's Latino Policy & Politics Institute.

That total is a significant drop ...Read more

Dean Musgrove/Los Angeles Daily News/TNS

Does a new report offer a way out of California's home insurance crisis?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

As insurers hike rates and cancel policies for thousands of homeowners across California, a new state report has proposed a series of reforms to prevent the property insurance market from cratering amid increasingly catastrophic wildfires — but some consumer advocates say it doesn’t go far enough.

The report, released this week, is the ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Can HOA suddenly fine me for parking my work pickup truck in my driveway?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: I drive a pickup truck for work. It has my company’s logo on the side, and I’ve always parked it in my driveway. Last week, I got a letter from my HOA saying I’m violating the rules by parking a “commercial vehicle” in my driveway and threatening to fine me if I don’t move it. This is the only vehicle I own. Where am I supposed to...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

AI boom catapults San Francisco median home price above $2 million

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The artificial intelligence boom has driven up San Francisco's median home sales price to a record $2.15 million.

Real estate brokerage firm Compass said that recent transactions showed that some parts of the tech capital have emerged from its doom loop on the back of the surge in AI investment and hiring.

"The economic changes created by the ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Ask Me Anything: Secured Cards, Nail Polish Stains and More

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Every day, it seems, my virtual mailbag fills up with mail from my dear readers. Many messages include questions about everything you can imagine and some that are beyond imagination! Today, I've chosen to answer a small sampling of them.

Dear Mary: I ruined my credit starting about 10 years ago, in the usual foolish way people do with ...Read more

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Trump Tower couple alleges their intimate exchange was recorded in federal lawsuit: 'I felt very violated'

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

CHICAGO — Georgia Litle and her husband, Clint Litle, huddled in the bathroom of their lavish condo at Trump Tower and turned on the shower.

They hoped the running water would drown out their “highly personal and sexual” conversation last May after a neighbor complained about the noise. But what happened next crossed the line, the couple...Read more

Heather Diehl/Getty Images North America/TNS

Bond traders boost bets on a Fed cut this year after ceasefire

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Bond traders boosted wagers that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this year as a U.S.-Iran ceasefire sent oil tumbling.

Treasuries rallied along with other government debt markets, paring losses since the war began Feb. 28. The energy price surge it caused threatened to stoke inflation and cause central banks either to delay ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: How to Painlessly Declutter and Organize Your Home in 10 Minutes

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

If you think organizing your home or getting your personal affairs in order requires a lot of time, you might be right. However, if you feel that you just don't have enough time to spend on these tasks, then you're probably wrong. All you have to do is recognize little chunks of free time throughout the day.

This is the best idea ever. OK, ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Fight over private home listings heats up in WA as real estate giants clash

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Imagine you're shopping for a home. You've been scouring Zillow and Redfin for months with no luck. But, unbeknown to you, your dream home is actually for sale — you’ll just never see it, let alone get a chance to compete for it.

That scenario is a nightmare for homebuyers, and for the group in charge of Washington's real estate listing ...Read more

 

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