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Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
LA residents say ‘hell house' is now drawing squatters after the owners ‘hoarded themselves out of their home'
The Los Angeles neighborhood of Westwood is "well maintained" with "surroundings [that] are quiet and clean" according to comments on the online real estate marketplace Trulia. But now, one home that neighbors describe as a 'hell house' — attracting squatters, drugs and criminal activity along with a growing pile of garbage — is making life miserable for residents. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) As KTLA reports, the underlying issue is that the older brother and sister who own the home are anti-social hoarders who regularly engage in profanity. "They've been a menace to the neighborhood for the whole time that we've lived here," said Amy Gordon, a local resident. But Gordon says things went from bad to worse in the past year as the pair 'hoarded themselves out of their own home' — moving into their cars out front, essentially opening their front door to problems. Now the neighbors have banded together to address the challenge, and their city council rep is taking action. Serious hoarding presents a number of concerns for both hoarders themselves and their neighbours. Safety is a serious issue. Hoarding can attract rodents, increase risk of fires and — in the case of the Westwood 'hell house' — intruders. Gordon says the home is attracting people who leave drug paraphernalia around the community, including across the street from a school. Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says — and that 'anyone' can do it It also impacts property values — as the home where the hoarding takes place drops in value, so do other homes in the area. However, it's important to approach the situation with compassion, since hoarding is a real disorder that affects people of all ages. Area resident Carrie Livingston, told KTLA that she called Adult Protective Services to try to help the homeowners, to no avail. Neighbors reached out to city police, city leaders and even building and fire inspectors to get the "hell house" owners the help they desperately need. Since then, community residents have filed restraining orders against the brother and sister. They've also gathered more than 150 signatures on a petition they sent to their city council representative Katy Yaroslavsky. And that got a response. Yaroslavsky promptly asked the city attorney to declare the property a public nuisance and reached out to the Los Angeles County supervisor to provide the siblings with mental health support. She's also advocating for policy change in such situations, saying it takes too long for the city to step in on properties like this one. 'The process is slow, complicated, and leaves neighbors in limbo,' she said in a statement. 'I support current efforts to streamline how the City handles nuisance properties and will keep pushing to move that work forward.' If you find yourself next to a hoarder, you could try speaking to your neighbor directly about the problem, but they may not be responsive. Like the residents in Westwood, you may need to seek intervention. It helps to be aligned, as they have been, in your approach. Reach out to local law enforcement if you feel you're in danger and connect with a local resource like Adult Protective Services and health departments to check in on your neighbor and try to help them. This process could take some time. It's important to protect yourself and your loved ones — as well as your property — in the meantime. Consider constructing a fence, sealing garbage and recycling bins and bringing in a pest control company if required. Document the evolving situation with images, video and notes — particularly in the event your property ends up sustaining damage due to your neighbor's hoarding. Contact the local code enforcement office if you feel your neighbor has violated a specific ordinance. For example, if there are piles of trash outside your neighbor's home seeping onto your property, that's something you could bring to your town or local law enforcement agency. Report any violations of homeowners association (HOA) rules to the HOA board, as Nolo legal services advises. From there, they should be the ones to step in and take action. You may, depending on the circumstances, have grounds to file a lawsuit against your neighbor if their hoarding has caused damage to your home or cost you money in a specific way. Even if you're not in danger per se, you have the right to protect your home and community. And you could help people suffering from a very serious disorder. Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now This is how American car dealers use the '4-square method' to make big profits off you — and how you can ensure you pay a fair price for all your vehicle costs Like what you read? Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise straight to your inbox every week. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Zillow to stop showing certain home listings in late May under new listing policy
Corrections & Clarifications: The headline on an earlier version of this story gave the wrong timing. The listing changes will happen later in May. Real estate giant Zillow is shaking up the housing industry with new standards that the company says fall in line with new regulations aimed at transparency, but others believe they represent a power play by the nation's largest residential real estate listing service. The company announced that any property listing that has been publicly marketed to consumers — whether through yard signs, in social media posts or on a brokerage website — but not listed on the local MLS within one business day, will no longer appear on Zillow or its daughter company, Trulia. Sometimes agents will make an agreement with a seller that says they'll list the property only on their brokerage website, rather than also on the MLS. The new standards Zillow is following say it won't show those listings. Similar listings that were posted on the platform before these new standards will remain on the website. In case you missed it: As real estate listings become more private, Zillow fights back This step is in line with the National Association of Realtors' Clear Cooperation Policy, which aims to prevent property listings from being selectively marketed to certain people and to create an even playing field for all buyers. "At the core of these standards is one simple principle: A listing publicly marketed to any buyer should be marketed to every buyer. This means in the MLS, on Zillow and even on non-Zillow portals or brokerage sites," Zillow's April announcement reads. "Why is this important? Because consumers deserve fair access to listings without having to get access behind a velvet rope controlled by any one company." Several real estate brokerages, including West USA Realty, eXp Realty and NextHome, have already vowed to follow Zillow's new another prominent real estate company, criticized Zillow's new standards in an email to agent subscribers, saying listing platforms should remain neutral and that this is a "power play of epic proportion." "Zillow is asserting that they, not NAR, not your brokerage, not you the listing agent — and not even the homeowner whose house it is and is paying the commission — should decide how a listing is marketed," said Andrew Florance, founder and CEO of CoStar, the parent company of "This is not about protecting consumers — it's about protecting Zillow's ability to profit from listings by selling leads to competing agents." According to a February Zillow investor presentation, 80% of consumers go directly to Zillow for residential real estate. Zillow also attracts 64% of all traffic among users of listing apps, which is more than four times that of its closest competitor. Because of that, Zillow said this is a step in the right direction to minimize confusion among consumers and ensure fair access to real estate information for all buyers. "By requiring timely listings in the MLS and on other sites that receive MLS feeds, Zillow aims to prevent the disadvantages that arise from private listing networks and restricted inventory, which limit visibility and have an added impact for first-time buyers, lower-income groups and communities of color," the announcement reads. This story has been updated to correct headlines. Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@ This article originally appeared on Zillow to stop showing certain home listings under new guidelines Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Zillow will stop showing certain home listings in May under new listing policy
Real estate giant Zillow is shaking up the housing industry with new standards that the company says fall in line with new regulations aimed at transparency, but others believe is a power play by the nation's largest residential real estate listing service. The company announced that any property listing that has been publicly marketed to consumers — whether through yard signs, social media posts or on a brokerage website — but not listed on the local MLS within one business day will no longer appear on Zillow or its daughter company, Trulia. Sometimes agents will make an agreement with a seller that says they'll only list the property on their brokerage website, rather than also on the MLS. The new standards Zillow are following say that they won't show those listings. Similar listings that were posted on the platform prior to these new standards will remain on the website. This step is in line with the National Association of Realtor's Clear Cooperation Policy, which aims to prevent property listings from being selectively marketed to certain people and to create an even playing field for all buyers. "At the core of these standards is one simple principle: A listing publicly marketed to any buyer should be marketed to every buyer. This means in the MLS, on Zillow and even on non-Zillow portals or brokerage sites," Zillow's April announcement reads. "Why is this important? Because consumers deserve fair access to listings without having to get access behind a velvet rope controlled by any one company." Several real estate brokerages have already vowed to follow Zillow's new standards, including West USA Realty, eXp Realty and NextHome. But another prominent real estate company, criticized Zillow's new standards in an email to agent subscribers, stating that listing platforms should remain neutral and that this is a "power play of epic proportion." "Zillow is asserting that they, not NAR, not your brokerage, not you the listing agent — and not even the homeowner whose house it is and is paying the commission — should decide how a listing is marketed," said Andrew Florance, founder and CEO of CoStar, the parent company of "This is not about protecting consumers — it's about protecting Zillow's ability to profit from listings by selling leads to competing agents." According to a February Zillow investor presentation, 80% of consumers come directly to Zillow for residential real estate. Zillow also attracts 64% of all traffic among users of listing apps, which is more than four times of its closest competitor. Because of this, Zillow said this is a step in the right direction to minimize confusion among consumers and ensure fair access to real estate information for all buyers. "By requiring timely listings in the MLS and on other sites that receive MLS feeds, Zillow aims to prevent the disadvantages that arise from private listing networks and restricted inventory, which limit visibility and have an added impact for first-time buyers, lower-income groups and communities of color," the announcement reads. Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@ This article originally appeared on Zillow to stop showing certain home listings in under guidelines Sign in to access your portfolio
