Yearly Archives: 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 7, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- This law repeals and modifies certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, which was enacted in 2012, and makes additional program changes to other aspects of the program not covered by that Act. Many provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act remain and are still being implemented. While FEMA actively works to implement the new law, we encourage policyholders to maintain and keep current flood insurance policies. FEMA does NOT recommend cancelling a flood insurance policy. Cancelling flood insurance policies now will leave policyholders unprotected during spring flooding and may cause policyholders to lose important discounts on their rate if they reinstate in the future.

WASHINGTON - April 7, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the March edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest data show progress among key indicators. In February, foreclosure starts continued their downward trend and, in January, house prices remained stable. While there are positive trends in the housing market, Administration officials caution that the economy is still healing from the Great Recession.

Washington, D.C. - April 7, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected ten recipients for the 2014 Housing Awards. The AIA’s Housing Awards program, now in its 14th year, was established to recognize the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for the human spirit and a valuable national resource.

WASHINGTON - April 7, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today hosted the first national forum for law schools and legal organizations that provide free legal help to Veterans.

New York - April 7, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Warburg Realty®, one of Manhattan’s leading residential real estate companies, today announced that Alexandrea Merrell has joined the firm in its Tribeca office.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The keys to affordable homeownership are being extended to Connecticut’s Hispanic community through a new Spanish-speaking website that has been launched by the Connecticut Housing Finance Author...

Reston, Virginia, - April 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that the Supreme Court of the State of Alaska affirmed the trial court’s decision validating MERS’ status as trust deed beneficiary and upholding the no...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Noting that this is Fair Housing Month, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and other national organizations are asking interested persons to ask their Representatives in the U.S. House to sign on to a letter urging HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to “move forward expeditiously” in issuing a final AFFH rule. (Comments on the draft rule closed in September 2013).

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Cost of Doing Business Study, 2014 Edition, a national study of builders’ business practices and financial performance was recently released by BuilderBooks, the publishing arm of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The Cost of Doing Business Study gives builders the opportunity to see which companies earned a profit and how they did it

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is calling on the Senate to advance the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013 (S. 1720), legislation that would significantly improve the U.S. patent process and stop patent abuse

NEW YORK - April 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- After months of research and community engagement across the Sandy-affected region, 10 Rebuild by Design teams unveiled their final proposals Thursday at events at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan and Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ. Members of the teams, along with hundreds of tri-state residents and government representatives, are gathering today to view the proposals. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and Rockefeller Foundation President Dr. Judith Rodin will address a public gathering of the design teams and residents of the region tonight at the World Financial Center

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- HouseLogic.com, the comprehensive website for homeowners from the National Association of Realtors®, has won the 2014 Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) “Best Real Estate Social Media Campaign Award” for developing original infographics distributed via Facebook and other social communities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Construction employers added 19,000 workers to payrolls in March, bringing industry employment to the highest level since June 2009, while the industry's unemployment rate dropped to the lowest March level in seven years, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials warned that the pool of available workers is declining rapidly, raising the prospects for significant labor shortages if demand continues to expand

ROCKY HILL, CONN. - April 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) is pleased to announce the availability of a Spanish-language homebuyer website. Consumers can access the new website by visiting www.hogarchfa.org...

NEW YORK, NY - April 3, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- After six years at Citi Habitats, the prominent Griffith-Scholz Team has moved over to technology-driven residential real estate companyUrban Compass. The Griffith-Scholz team, led by Mark Griffith and Cindy Scholz, includes Angel Ramirez, Robert Bell, Christopher Ritchey, and Carlota Sosa, and has won multiple awards at Citi Habitats, including Team of the Year and serving on the firm’s President’s Council. Also joining Urban Compass are Justin Croushore and Scott Sobol, both veteran agents from Douglas Elliman. With years of experience in selling both residential properties and new developments, all eight of the new hires bring both market knowledge and incredible exclusive listings to Urban Compass, which continues its rapid growth.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 3, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Philadelphia, PA – At a gathering today of 300 supportive housing industry leaders from across the Eastern Region, CSH recognized outstanding individuals, community organizations, government agencies and supportive housing developers who are setting the bar for supportive housing solutions for the most vulnerable in their own communities. “The recipients of our Eastern Region Supportive Housing Awards represent the most dedicated and innovative individuals and agencies, who ensure that housing solutions are available for those who need it most,” said Ryan Moser, Managing Director of the Eastern Region for CSH.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 3, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Office of Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency released a report claiming that pre-foreclosure inspections for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac showed major quality control issues, including potentially fraudulent or manipulated data, HousingWire reported March 25

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 3, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the ConsensusDocs Coalition is publishing a new standard contract with integrated general conditions for a public works project. ConsensusDocs tailored the terms and conditions and oriented them for public works owner projects that use state public funding or federal financial assistance. This new standard contract document is expected to be particularly helpful for local and state governments that are looking to use an off-the-shelf contract solution

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 3, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The nation's buildings are increasingly relying on building control systems (otherwise known as operational technology) that are Internet-enabled. These systems provide critical services that allow a building to meet the functional and operational needs of building occupants, but they can also be easy targets for hackers and people with malicious intent. Attackers can exploit these systems to gain unauthorized access to facilities; cause physical destruction of building equipment; be used as an entry point to infect or sabotage traditional information technology (IT) systems and data; and expose an organization to significant financial obligations to contain and eradicate malware or recover from a cyber event

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 3, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed more than 3.1 million foreclosure prevention actions since the start of conservatorship in 2008. These actions have helped more than 2.5 million borrowers stay in their homes, including nearly 1.6 million who received permanent loan modifications. During 2013, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed nearly 448,000 foreclosure prevention actions, 99,700 of these in the fourth quarter. The majority of these allowed troubled borrowers to save their homes. The results are detailed in the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s fourth quarter 2013 Foreclosure Prevention Report, also known as the Federal Property Manager’s Report