Posts Tagged With ‘ Housing ’

When searching for a place to live and roommates, it’s important to get accurate information. And reviews from platforms that can help you in your search need to be honest and trustworthy. But according to the Federal Trade Commission and six states suing Roomster and its owners, the room and roommate finder platform posted reviews and other information that wasn’t accurate. The lawsuit A lawsuit filed in 2022 alleges Roomster posted fake positive reviews and made deceptive claims about its listings being real, available, and verified – to convince people to use its platform. The FTC and... Continue Reading

Does it matter that there are too many residential real estate agents? Yes, says a consumer group. More than 1.5 million residential agents, including brokers, compete for home sales usually totaling 5 to 6 million annually. The plethora of real estate agents comes with costs, according to a study by the Consumer Federation of America, that include: Economic inefficiencies including an excessive amount of time spent by agents finding clients. Relatively low incomes of many full-time agents. Frustration by these agents and by many consumers who deal with inexperienced agents. Reinforcement of... Continue Reading

Photo: Filip Maljković American International Group is planning to curb homeowners insurance sales for owners at high risk of floods, storms, or wildfires in 200 zip codes across the United States, according to a report in the Wall St Journal. AIG is the third major insurer in recently to announce cuts to homeowners insurance.  “AIG’s actions are shameful,” David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s Climate program. “It is a top global insurer of oil and gas  — meaning that, more than most insurers on the planet, it is contributing to and profiting from the very climate harms that... Continue Reading

It’s not surprising what last year’s top consumer complaint was. I’ve seen it many times as No. 1 on annual consumer complaint lists. It’s auto sales and repair. “Consumers rely on cars to get to work, school, doctors’ appointments and more,” said Erin Witte, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America. Complaints related to the sale and leasing of new and used automobiles – pricing, advertisements, and mechanical defects – as well as issues related to the repair of vehicles. It’s the seventh year in a row that auto sales, leases, and repairs are... Continue Reading

Things are busy, here in my corner of the USA. I’m behind in reporting on what’s happening for National Consumer Protection Week. A lot of my time has been taken up since the first of the year taking part in the Dean Ornish heart health program. It ends Wednesday. I’ll be reporting on its many benefits soon. Activities for National Consumer Protection Week Here are some activities the Federal Trade Commission if offering for the consumer week: Wednesday, March 8 (In-person event) 10am – 2 p.m. HAST: Visit the FTC table at the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs NCPW Fair at... Continue Reading

Most landlords and property managers use tenant background checks to decide whether to rent to someone. Two federal agencies want to hear about your experiences with background checks used to screen tenants. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission have received thousands of complaints about the background checks including people being rejected for housing because someone else’s negative information, such as a criminal record or eviction, incorrectly appeared in their report. Other complaints have reported it’s difficult to have tenant screening companies fix... Continue Reading

It’s the holiday season and Christmas Day will be here soon.  For more than a year now, I’ve been writing a newsletter offering readers 10 money tips every week.  The response has been very positive. I scour a variety of websites to look for the latest information to help consumers make wise financial decisions.   I thought I’d post a copy of this week’s newsletter because it has several tips for the holidays that could be helpful to my blog readers. You can subscribe to my newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/makeyourmoneywork. There’s no charge. Happy holidays. Rita R. Robison Newsletter  Many... Continue Reading

Among the biggest news from last week’s recalls is a portable generator that can amputate fingers. Generac and DR 6500 Watt and 8000 Watt portable generators have caused 37 injuries, 24 resulting in finger amputations and five in finger crushing, according to reports to Generac. The problem is an unlocked handle can pinch consumers’ fingers against the generator frame when the generator is moved, posing finger amputation and crushing risks. About 321,160 of the generators were previously recalled in July 2021 in the United States with an additional 4,575 recalled in Canada. The recall involves... Continue Reading

Have you been peeking? Checking your investments. Such fun. With just a click or two, you can see what’s up and what’s down. The bright green confirming your choices, stoking mirages of early retirement, days on the beach and freedom moving closer. The panicky red graphs conjuring temporary despair, years more of daily grind and a second career as a Walmart greeter. The drama plays out in a river of dopamine as your body savors the rush of the latest set of numbers and charts. But is there a real benefit checking your investments? And how often is too often? There’s really not much... Continue Reading

Slashing housing costs – a tale of two cities I was chatting with a neighbor here in Cleveland and she mentioned that a friend felt that he was shut out of the housing market due to rising prices. She leaned in for emphasis and added, “In fact, he got outbid by $25,000 on a house recently”. Being from Toronto originally, I had to suppress a snicker. Although I sympathize with her friend’s plight, it felt like her story was missing a zero. Toronto housing bids regularly jump by hundreds of thousands and often sell for $250,000 or more above asking price. That is more than the price... Continue Reading