Yearly Archives: 2013

DETROIT - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc., the nation’s argest online home lender and third largest retail mortgage lender has been ranked America’s Top Workplace in a list released today by Workplace Dynamics. Quicken Loans earned the 1st place ranking following a Workplace Dynamics review of 872 organizations and thousands of employee surveys from all over the country.

DETROIT, - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Quicken Loans Inc, the nation’s third largest mortgage lender, today announced it has again partnered with Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Brooklyn, Michigan, to sponsor the Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, June 16

MCLEAN, VA - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing mortgage rates continuing to trend higher amid a growing economy led in part by the recovering housing market. This marks the first week the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has averaged above 3.5 percent since September 13th of last year. The all-time record low for the 30-year fixed was set the week of November 21, 2012, when it averaged 3.31 percent.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) announced today that it will extend the suspension of foreclosure sales and eviction lockouts for borrowers impacted by Hurricane Sandy. The new 90-day extension applies to homeowners with properties or employment within the FEMA declared disaster area eligible for individual assistance. This follows an earlier 90-day suspension of foreclosure sales and evictions in the impacted areas.

MCLEAN, VA - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to give families and communities affected by Hurricane Sandy more time to recover, Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) announced that it is extending its mandatory suspension of evictions and foreclosures involving homes secured by mortgages owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac through April 30, 2013. The extensions build on Freddie Mac's November 13 announcement [PDF]of storm relief for borrowers with homes or places of employment located in presidentially declared Major Disaster Areas where federal Individual Assistance programs are available. Freddie Mac is one of the nation's largest investors in residential mortgages.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, who serves as President Obama’s Chairman of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco today announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac will extend expiring protections against foreclosure actions against homeowners whose properties were damaged or destroyed due to Hurricane Sandy.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- On Friday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tampa Mayor Buckhorn and St. Petersburg Mayor Foster will host a press event to discuss the national mortgage settlement and the relief tha...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today voiced its strong support for the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act (H.R. 436/S. 109), a measure introduced by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that would ensure fair and open competition on federal and federally funded construction projects.

South FL - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- CBRE has been named as exclusive agency provider by IBM Southeast Employee’s Federal Credit Union (IBM) for their 16-property real estate portfolio of owned and leased office and branch facilities in Florida and Georgia. First Vice President Rick Miller, SIOR, and Senior Associate Tyler Harrison comprise the CBRE team providing tenant advisory services to IBM.

Washington, D.C. - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Yesterday, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) named Dr. Matthew Trowbridge, Assistant Professor, University of Virginia School of Medicine, as its 2013-2014 Mark Ginsberg Sustainability Fellow. Along with a generous grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the fellowship will support Dr. Trowbridge’s work to help develop health metrics for green building, among other key research initiatives

WASHINGTON, DC - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is adding 15 more states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to a pilot program that enables current USDA home loan borrowers to save money on housing costs by refinancing their mortgages with lower interest rates. USDA Housing Administrator Tammye Treviño made the announcement on behalf of Secretary Vilsack

LANSING, MI - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced that he has reached a $2.5 million civil settlement with Lender Processing Services, Inc., and its now defunct subsidiary DocX, a document proc...

Washington, D.C. - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry seeking documents re...

WASHINGTON D.C. - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Mark Pryor today announced Arkansas homeowners may now be eligible to participate in a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pilot program that would allow them to refinance their mo...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal court ordered a home insulation marketer to pay a $350,000 civil penalty for making deceptive and unsubstantiated claims about his products’ insulation capabilities. On the Federal Trade Commission’s behalf, the U.S. Department of Justice won the order on the merits of the case without a trial. The $350,000 figure is the largest civil penalty awarded in a home insulation case

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- On Jan. 24, 2013, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that a Clean Construction Pilot Credit can be used toward Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. This optional pilot credit rewards projects that take specific steps to reduce emissions from diesel engines during the construction phase of the project.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- To support foreclosure remediation effort already underway in Rhode Island and educate new homeowners, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced a $375,000 grant to the Housing Network of Rh...

New York, NY - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced an energy efficiency project at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Canton that is projected to save the colle...

New York, NY - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced today that it has awarded D’Youville College in Buffalo $155,000 to support energy efficiency upgrades to its six-s...

New York - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York City Housing Authority Chairman John Rhea today announced an aggressive plan with the goal of eliminating the backlog of 420,000 open repair work orders in NYCHA ...