Yearly Archives: 2015

The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday voted to send a bill that supports rural and small community waters systems in Oklahoma and across the country to the president’s desk. S. 611, the Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act, a bill that reauthorizes federal assistance programs for small public water systems, passed the House unanimously.

Miami luxury single-family home sales increased 5.3 percent year-over-year in the third quarter as total inventory for all existing luxury properties rose, according to new data from the MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI)

Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) introduced legislation today that would ensure accountability in public housing by cracking down on the number of over-income families who live in taxpayer-subsidized public housing.

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet applauded the passage of the Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Act by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill-passed unanimously by the Senate in June - will help small and rural communities comply with safe drinking water regulations. Bennet helped introduce the bill earlier this year with Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND). It now heads to the White House to be signed into law.

South Florida has long ranked as one of America’s top places for international home buyers because of its world-class amenities, global business center and proximity to Latin America, according to the MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI). A new survey by the National Association of REALTORS®, completed in cooperation with Florida REALTORS®, recently emphasized that point as it showed Miami/Fort Lauderdale market accounting for 50 percent of all Florida international home sales from June 2014 to June 2015.

The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ (DCCA) Division of Financial Institutions (DFI) participated in an agreement in late November with all 50 state mortgage regulators and Prospect Mortgage, LLC to send a message on the practice of charging unsupported and improperly disclosed fees to borrowers.

Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) announced that Massachusetts has been awarded $63.7 million by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help finance improvements to water projects that are essential to protecting public health and the environment. The funds will be primarily used to upgrade sewage plants and drinking water systems, as well as replacing aging infrastructure, throughout the state.

Franklin American Mortgage Company has agreed to pay the United States $70 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet applicable requirements, the Justice Department announced today. Franklin American is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two resolutions (S.J. Res. 23  and S.J. Res. 24) disapproving of the Obama Administration’s regulations to stunt the responsible production of affordable and reliable energy. The House is also expected to vote this week on the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act (H.R. 8) which seeks to update outdated energy policies to meet America’s energy needs and encourage economic growth

After unanimously passing the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Senator Jon Tester's rural water bill is on its way to the President's desk and is set to become law

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to authorize and fund transportation programs for the next 5 years.  Durbin – who was a member of the Conference Committee tasked with finding a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the transportation bill – said that the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act will provide the certainty that businesses and state governments, like Illinois, need to plan critical infrastructure projects and create good-paying jobs.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed a lawsuit today against serial home repair fraudsters who allegedly scammed at least 41 Indianapolis-area residents out of more than $280,000 after conducting similar schemes against Ohio and Kentucky residents

Five affordable housing projects for homeless veterans, seniors, and families will share nearly $2.9 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) allocated by MaineHousing through a competitive selection process.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today applauded an announcement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the State of Maine will receive $19.6 million to support water infrastructure projects. The funds will be used to upgrade sewage plants and drinking water systems, replace aging infrastructure, and bolster water projects essential to environmental protection and public health safety across the state

Five affordable housing projects for homeless veterans, seniors, and families will share nearly $2.9 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) allocated by MaineHousing through a competitive selection process.

The Innovation, Science and Technology Building (IST) at Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland, Fla., has earned national recognition in the 2015 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program (IDEAS2). In honor of this achievement, members of the project team will be presented with awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) during a ceremony at the building on Thursday, December 10 at 10 a.m.

Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, a nationally-recognized real estate brokerage and advisory firm specializing in retail property sales, announced today that the firm represented the buyer and seller in the sale of a single-tenant Bank of America corporate ground lease in Palm Desert, Calif. The purchase price was $2,425,000.

Meridian, a full service real estate developer and owner of medical real estate, is pleased to announce that it has closed escrow on the sale of its 8,700-square-foot dialysis clinic in Fairfield, Calif. The purchase price was $5.15 million, representing a cap rate of 5.5%. This is Meridian’s third dialysis clinic that the company has sold in 2015, having also closed on properties located in Pomona and Modesto, Calif. earlier this year.

Planet Home Living meets the demand of distinguished home-buyers looking for what is often impossible to find: a sleek, modern new home in an established, amenity-rich area. Designed by national award-winning firm KTGY Architecture + Planning, PRISM will offer fifteen single-family detached, new homes in Eagle Rock, just north of downtown Los Angeles. PRISM brings urban living to an already developed residential location walking distance to restaurants, grocery stores and more

Three deserving Realtors will receive the 2015 New Jersey Realtors Good Neighbor Awards during a ceremony on December 8 at the Triple Play Realtor Convention & Trade Expo in Atlantic City. The New Jersey Realtors Good Neighbor Awards recognize individuals who have made extraordinary commitments to community service programs throughout the state.