Yearly Archives: 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- In advance of next week’s markup of legislation to reform the housing finance system, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) filed two amendments that would help keep more Americans in their homes and protect investors of mortgage-backed securities by assigning fiduciary responsibility to trustees.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, in advance of the Senate Banking Committee’s markup of housing finance reform legislation, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) filed several amendments that would help protect homeowners and improve local neighborhoods. Following the introduction of his amendments, Brown offered the following statement

MADISON - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced that Marathon County Judge Gregory Huber found Jay Fischer guilty of a million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Fischer pleaded no contest to racketeering, theft, fraudulent writings, securities fraud, bail jumping, failure to file an individual tax return, and failure to file a corporate tax return. The convictions resolve two criminal cases against Fischer from Marathon and Waupaca counties

NEW YORK, N.Y. - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Congressmen Gregory W. Meeks (D-Southeast Queens, Rockaway, Nassau) and Hakeem Jeffries (D- Brooklyn, Queens) held a press conference on the steps of New York City Hall, calling on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan not to redirect desperately needed Sandy aid funding to other areas of the country.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- In collaboration with the Southern Nevada Child Drowning Prevention Coalition (SNCDPC), the city of Las Vegas is hosting the Super Summer Safety Fair from 6 to 8 pm., Friday, May 30, at both the Municipal Pool, 431 E. Bonanza; and Pavilion Center Pool, 101 S. Pavilion Center Drive. Participation is free.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and HousingWire announced that the two organizations are joining forces to promote and cover the BPC Housing Commission’s upcoming Housing America’s Future: 2014 Housing Summit

SPRINGFIELD - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is taking the lead in educating Illinois residents to practice safe cooking habits to prevent home fire tragedies. Unattended cooking continues to be a top cause of home fires and injuries since 1990. Since 2011, cooking fires have ranked second as the cause of home fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- After months of stagnant activity, pending home sales rose in March, marking the first gain in the past nine months, according to the National Association of Realtors

NEW YORK - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- HAP Investments, a New York based international real estate investment and development company along with designer Karim Rashid announced today the ground breaking for 329 Pleasant Avenue, to be known as

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Two Brooklyn organizations that advocate for fairer and more affordable housing in New York City are receiving additional resources from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) announced today. Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation and South Brooklyn Legal Corporation are receiving $975,000, collectively, to continue providing legal and other services to working families in Brooklyn.

BOSTON - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Maryland man was sentenced today to serve one year and a day in prison for defrauding thousands of homeowners in a $4 million nationwide home loan modification scheme

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Earlier today, Representative Mark Takano released a report titled, “Reverse Mortgages: Senior Housing Bubble Held Together by Glue and Tax Dollars” and sent a letter to the Federal Housing Administration recommending reforms that would protect seniors and save taxpayers money.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today urged Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan to address the growing issue of unaccompanied homeless youth. Unaccompanied youth live on their own, without a parent or other adult guardian, and are under age 25. According to HUD’s 2013 Point-in-Time Estimate of Homelessness, over 45,000 unaccompanied youth experience homelessness on a given night.

CHICAGO - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) Director Andrew Boron today urged people to prepare and protect their homes from possible flooding. As Illinois communities welcome springtime weather after the significant snowfall during this winter season, potentially heavy rains could result in another rough year for flood-prone areas throughout the state. Spring is a visible reminder of the potential for floods with torrential rain and damaging winds. In 2013 flooding in 49 Illinois counties broke all-time records. Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States and one of the most expensive

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte today pressed the Department of Homeland Security for additional information about El Medhi Semlali Fathi who, before his recent arrest, the FBI alleges to have been planning a bomb attack on a school and a federal building

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- A standardized set of building codes across Mississippi will save lives, property and money. Let’s make that clear.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Common law litigation seeking relief from petrochemical companies for causing climate change has been much touted but little successful.

FRANKFORT, Ky. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Communities, organizations and individuals across the Commonwealth staged group photos at historic sites Wednesday ranging from the Belle of Louisville and Lexington’s Hunt-Morgan House, to a community-wide photo shoot at Federal Hill in Bardstown, otherwise known as “My Old Kentucky Home.” All to kick off the Kentucky Heritage Council’s new Facebook photo competition, “This is MY Old Kentucky Home.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The The American Land Title Association (ALTA, the national trade association of the land title industry, released the following statement today from CEO Michelle Korsmo in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s report on consumer experience during the mortgage closing process:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, hundreds of members of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) across the country and other community groups sent a letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson and Ranking Member Mike Crapo outlining their concerns with the access provisions in the Johnson-Crapo housing finance reform legislation. The letter, which was signed by over 300 groups, calls on legislators to ensure that reforms to the housing finance system support access to mortgage credit for all creditworthy borrowers, and affordable rental housing. The legislation is slated to be marked up by the Senate Banking Committee on April 29