Lifestyle Columns
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Ask mortgage lender to guarantee fixed-dollar feesAug 01, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. Do you agree with the advice contained in the recent USA Today article, in which you were quoted, on how to save on settlement costs? A. That article made me real...
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Parents oblivious to the care neighbors give their sonAug 01, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. A neighbor's child, 12, spends tremendous amounts of time at my house with my child, including for snacks and meals. There is no reciprocation. They are well-off, so ...
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Furniture polish wipes kitchen cabinets cleanAug 01, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. About 35 years ago, we had kitchen cabinets installed (all-wood, dark oak). Over the years, they have retained a certain amount of grease and grime. I've tried variou...
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Real estate agents should know the importance of inspectionAug 01, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. When I bought my home, my Realtor arranged for a home inspection. She had me write a check to the inspector but didn't tell me when the inspection was to take place. ...
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Title insurance is a wise choice with troubled builderAug 01, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. My husband and I are buying a repossessed, foreclosed house from a bank. It is a new house, and we know for a fact that many of the people who worked on it or supplie...
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Landlords can take steps to minimize disruptive tenantsAug 01, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. I manage a very large rental property and while the majority of our residents are great, we do have occasional "problem tenants" who makes life miserable for everyone...
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Reunions a way to keep family ties strongAug 01, 2009 11:00 pm - Last week our extended family, numbering 47, congregated on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts to celebrate the 100th birthday of the matriarch of the family. Nineteen s...
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A simple guide to the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyersJul 30, 2009 11:00 pm - The government's new tax-credit program for first-time buyers is helping to spark home sales and boost values, but many Americans aren't using the plan because they don'...
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Keep your house cool without turning on the airJul 30, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. I don't like the hot weather, but I am going to make an effort to air-condition less this summer to reduce my electric bills. What can I do to try to stay comfortable...
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Keeping it undergroundJul 30, 2009 11:00 pm - Lollapalooza might have outgrown its original ambitions to bring a host of outsider groups together under one alternative umbrella. Yet what's to be done when the altern...