Buying a home during the pandemic

Most homeowners don’t want to put their homes on the market in the midst of a pandemic, but some do need to move, and it’s not the worst time to sell. 

FDA warns people to steer clear of these 9 hand sanitizers

Nine products manufactured by Eskbiochem, which are still on the market, may contain methanol, which can be poisonous if absorbed through the skin or ingested, the FDA said in a letter.

Johnson & Johnson pulls skin-whitening products sold in Asia, Middle East

Johnson & Johnson is pulling two product lines once promoted as dark-spot reducers that were popularly used to lighten skin, the company has announced.

Existing home sale plunge 9.7% in 3rd straight monthly drop

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that the monthly decline pushed sales down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million, the slowest pace since a home buyers tax credit expired in October 2010.

No pending evictions in struggling community despite high unemployment

Affordable housing in metro Atlanta comes at a premium. So, while it’s good news that the state’s unemployment figures have dropped nearly three percent since April, families are still in jeopardy of losing their homes. 

Cream of Wheat parent scrutinizes iconic chef logo after racism complaints

B&G Foods, Inc., the owner of Cream of Wheat, has become the latest company to revisit its branding, following complaints on social media that its century-old logo of a black chef had racist origins.

Georgia issues 3rd COVID-19-related evictions hold

Renters in danger of losing their place to live are getting another reprieve. The Georgia Supreme Court has extended for the third time the judicial emergency, which means a temporary halt to evictions. 

Georgia Power offers payback plan for those hit financially by COVID-19

Georgia Power announced on Tuesday it is willing to work with customers hit financially by the coronavirus pandemic. The power company is rolling out a special payment plan to help past-due account balances that accumulated over the past few months.

Scammers pretend to be COVID-19 contact-tracers to get personal information from victims

Local health departments are using contact tracing to slow the spread of COVID-19. It is basically informing people they may have been exposed after being in contact with someone who tests positive for the virus.

Insurance telemarketers fined $225M for a billion robocalls

Over more than four months in early 2019, the FCC said, these telemarketers faked the number their calls displayed in caller ID with intent to deceive consumers; purposefully called people who are on the Do Not Call list; and called people's mobile phones without getting permission first.

Appeal your property tax now

When it comes to your 2020 property taxes, there’s still a way for you to appeal your assessment for this year, but the window for that process is closing fast.

Georgia DOL makes online UI forms easier to understand

Unemployment claims continue for the second week to head down. That’s good news, but still many are having trouble filing out those unemployment claims. 

FTC warns of ‘large scale’ unemployment fraud scam amid coronavirus pandemic

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning of a “large-scale scam erupting in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic” involving impostors who are filing claims for unemployment benefits using the personal information of people who have not filed any claims. 

President vetoes bi-partisan support for student loan forgiveness

There is some pretty big news about student debt loan repayment. President Trump vetoed a bi-partisan bill to help students with loan forgiveness when their colleges closed due, in part, to fraud allegations.  

Refinance now and save for years to come

Home loan interest rates are lower than they’ve been in several years, yet millions of American homeowners who should refinance to these lower rates have not done so, and it's literally costing them money every day that they wait.