Like most people, I’m glad 2020 is gone. However, I know that we’re going to have a lot more of the challenging stuff that happened in 2020 continuing into 2021. Read more →

On Veterans Day, we honor the men and women who have served in the nation’s Armed Forces. If you’re considering donating to help veterans, make sure the charity or nonprofit you select is reputable. Read more →

The Nov. 3 election is coming up soon. Be sure and vote. So much is at stake this year. I’ve been a member of the League of Women Voters for decades. The photo is of me registering voters in 1968 at my neighborhood supermarket. Read more →

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consent order Friday against Sovereign Lending Group Inc., a mortgage lender in about 44 states and the District of Columbia. Sovereign offers mortgage loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Read more →

Problems with car sales and repairs and home improvement and construction once again topped the list of complaints reported to state and local consumer agencies across the country, according to an annual survey by the Consumer Federation of America. The survey asked about the most common, fastest-growing, and worst complaints agencies received in 2019. Read more →

It’s week 18 of covid-19 restrictions for many of us. I dawned on me the second week in March that I should be staying home. I had been walking in the mall during the winter, but I thought heading there wouldn’t be wise. I’d ride my stationary bicycle for exercise instead until the weather warmed up. Read more →

A report comparing information about individual real estate agents provided by widely used online information sources – Zillow, Realtor.com, HomeLight, Yelp, Facebook, and the websites of the agents themselves – concludes that Zillow agent profiles are the most useful source of information. Read more →

Things are going well for me as I stay home under Washington state’s stay home order. I’m willing to do it for a long time more. I don’t think it’s worth it to get my hair cut or eat in a restaurant and get the coronavirus. It’s so upsetting that protesters are risking the lives of others by coming out to state capitals, crowding together, and in some states, even carrying guns. My yard is beautiful this time of year. I have 40 rhododendrons in many colors of pink plus red, yellow, orangey, and purple. I’m making a bouquet a day because the beautiful blossoms will soon be gone. Since my main interest in my yard is growing vegetables, I rely on all the rhododendrons, and about a dozen azaleas, planted by previous owners. Read more →

A consolidated website providing information for consumers on mortgage and rent relief during the COVID-19 pandemic is now available, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday. The consolidated site will make it easier for consumers to get current information about their options as Congress and the Trump administration consider additional measures during the national emergency. “Getting the right information to consumers with a website that links to all of the federal government’s relief efforts is a good step forward,” said Barry Zigas, a senior fellow at the Consumer Federation of America. “It should help reduce confusion among consumers and make it easier for them to get reliable information about their options.” The website is hosted by the CFPB and sponsored by the bureau, HUD-FHA, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank system. It provides links to specific areas of interest to consumers faced with challenges paying their mortgages or their rent. Read more →

A federal court ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission Monday in a case against the operators of a scheme that deceived financially distressed homeowners by falsely promising to make their mortgages more affordable. The defendants also charged consumers illegal advance fees and unlawfully told consumers not to pay their mortgages to or communicate with their lenders. The case was filed by the FTC in January 2018, and the court issued a temporary restraining order against the company then. In granting the FTC’s motion for summary judgment, the court found that the defendants’ practices violated the FTC Act and the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule. Read more →