Karen Lindell

At best, remodeling is disruptive, expensive and trying. At worst, as Mitchell Ackerman and his wife, Lenni Conrad, discovered, it can be a horror story. It began when they decided to redo a small master bathroom in their Tarzana home. No problem,…

Organizations American Homeowners Foundation, (800) 489-7776, http://www.homeorganizer.com Offers a six-page sample remodeling contract ($7.95). Better Business Bureau, (909) 835-6077,http:// www.bbbsouthland.org Call or visit the Web site to check…

Many homeowners choose a contractor based on price alone, but hiring a contractor and getting an estimate are two separate tasks. Here are some tips for choosing and working with a contractor: * Investigate the contractor's reputation and credentials…

Doug Collins, an avid bicyclist who grew up in Florida near orange groves and horse pastures, always wanted to live in the city. So, after 19 years in an apartment on the Miracle Mile, Collins has moved to a surprisingly trendy urban environment:…

Mark and Jennifer Summitt are moving on up--up the street. To say the Summitts like their north Monrovia neighborhood is an understatement. Their previous two homes were also just blocks away. The Summitts, both 30, who moved to the area when they…

The battle against termites is being fought with some powerful chemical weapons. And though there's no doubt that pesticides kill termites, there are questions about--and controversy over--their effects on people. The U.S. Environmental Protection…

Thinking of trying to fight termites on your own? Several products are available at hardware stores, home centers and on the Internet for do-it-yourself treatment of drywood and subterranean termites, including wood sprays and baits. But most experts…

About 2,300 companies are registered and 22,000 individuals are licensed to perform pest control in California, according to the Structural Pest Control Board in Sacramento. The board, which keeps records of consumer complaints against pest-control…

When a "nuisance liquor store"--one that sold alcohol to minors and was a hangout for drug dealers--threatened their South Los Angeles neighborhood in 1992, residents fought back. Already organized as the 90th, 91st, 92nd and 93rd Street block clubs,…