Author Archive

No one likes to think about losing all their possessions — or even losing a few of them. But if a devastating fire or storm hits your apartment or a car veers into your living room, everything you own can be lost in an instant. read more

Many allergy sufferers let out a sigh of relief when spring is over. They feel the pollen dissipating as summer dawns and believe they’ll finally be free of sneezing, nasal congestion, itchy eyes, and a scratchy throat until it comes back around the next year. read more

Halloween gives adults one night to freely act like kids. You can dress up, eat more candy than you ever should, and prepare recipes that celebrate the holiday with clever presentations that amuse and sometimes horrify. read more

Jack o’lanterns are really good for scaring toddlers, but if Halloween ranks right up there with December holidays for you, a hollowed-out gourd with a candle inside probably isn’t going make the grade. After all, you want to strike fear into the hearts of sassy teenagers and adults who are just there to chaperone their […] read more

Turning on your shower for your morning wake-up ritual and discovering nothing but icy cold water flowing from the tap is extremely disconcerting read more

Power outages always seem to happen at the worst times: the hottest night of the summer, the dead of winter, or during dinner. One minute, your TV is blaring, the AC is running at full force and you're hard at work on your computer ... and the next minute it's nothing but silence and darkness. Getting prepared for a power loss isn't hard. The problem is that most of us don't get around to it until we're already in the dark. read more

Vacation rental properties can be cash cows, and regardless of where they are in the world, they’re guaranteed to sell themselves for at least one season each year. But how do their owners keep them profitable the other 9 or 10 months? read more

Tenants have grumbled about their rented homes since the first ‘For Rent’ sign was posted. Complaints have changed over time, but the relationships between landlords, property managers and residents of rentals have always been fraught with difficulties. The Rental Protection Agency (RPA), a national reporting organization that monitors complaints about property managers and landlords in […] read more

When you rent a townhouse, condominium, or a single-family home in a neighborhood of houses that has been deemed a formal community or subdivision, you may be subject to following the rules and regulations of a Homeowners Association (HOA). The HOA’s presumed function is to keep the quality of the community high to keep the […] read more