Yearly Archives: 2016

On April 14th the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies (NALHFA) honored the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency with the HOME Excellence Award for The Hodge on 7th. The Hodge is a $27.64 million multifamily senior residence located at 1490 7 th Street NW, Washington, D.C.

The National NeighborWorks® Association (NNA) announced last week the winners of its 12thAnnual Excellence Awards – presented annually to outstanding practitioners in the field of housing and community development. The Awards were announced at the Annual NeighborWorks® Executive Directors Symposium, sponsored by Citi Community Development.

The world is pivoting toward clean energy as it unites to fight climate change. This creates both financial risks and opportunities: Some projects will become increasingly economical while others become increasingly costly or noncompetitive.

CEDIA has announced the promotion of Dave Chic to the position of Senior Director of Industry Relations. In this role, Dave will lead the continued development and implementation of CEDIA's strategic collaborations. Specifically, Dave will work with industry partner associations and like-minded groups to ensure that CEDIA is utilized as the expert source for home technology information and education

Shaun Hayes and Michael Litz were indicted on bank fraud charges relating to Excel Bank which was closed by regulators in 2012. The indictment was returned Wednesday by a federal grand jury in St. Louis. Hayes, 56 from Frontenac, was arrested late Thursday, and Litz, 61 from Ladue, is expected to turn himself in early next week. Hayes had ownership in and other associations with a number of banks in the St. Louis area. Litz was an owner of major real estate businesses in the area, Eighteen Investments and Bellington Realty.

IREC announces its Call for Nominees for its 3iAwards – a prestigious annual national search for innovative people, projects and programs that promote and accelerate the sustainable growth of clean energy. The IREC 3iAwards honor innovation, ingenuity and inspiration from the nation’s best in both renewable energy and energy efficiency.

In accordance with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, HUD published a Notice in the April 15, 2016, Federal Register identifying Federal buildings and other real property HUD has reviewed for suitability for use to assist the homeless. The properties were reviewed using information provided to HUD by Federal landholding agencies or by GSA regarding their inventories of excess or surplus property. The list includes buildings and properties in 31 states and Puerto Rico.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes remained unchanged in April at a level of 58 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). “Builder confidence has held firm at 58 for three consecutive months, showing that the single-family housing sector continues to recover at a slow but consistent pace,” said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill. “As we enter the spring home buying season, we should see the market move forward.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is soliciting applications for grants to establish broadband in unserved rural communities through its Community Connect program. Community Connect is administered by USDA's Rural Utilities Service and helps to fund broadband deployment into rural communities where it is not economically viable for private sector providers to provide service

A new NAREE Board of Directors has been sworn-in for 2016. Steve Brown, who covers real estate for the Dallas Morning News, is NAREE's new president. A deeply experienced NAREE volunteer, Steve has served three different stints on the board over the years. Steve and the other members of the board were officially affirmed at the NAREE officer installation dinner on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 at the Harbor House in San Diego

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today it is charging landlords in Beloit, Kansas with violating the Fair Housing Act after allegedly discriminating against a female tenant with disabilities by not renewing her lease, sending her a notice containing discriminatory statements about her disability, and retaliating against her for filing a previous fair housing complaint.

Freedom Mortgage Corporation has agreed to pay the United States $113 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting single family 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 for the FHA insurance program, the Justice Department announced today.  Freedom Mortgage Corporation is headquartered in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.

California and Hawaii Add Most Jobs for the Year, North Dakota Has Biggest Actual and Percentage Declines; West Virginia and Pennsylvania Top Monthly List of Gainers, Arkansas and California Have Largest One-Month Decreases

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees took action this week on their versions of the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. This bill includes funding for federal-state regional commissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Flint, is recommending Flint residents run the water in their homes and businesses to aid in the recovery of the Flint drinking water system. There will be no associated cost to residents related to this flushing program. Residents will be compensated for the cost associated with flushing in addition to receiving water credits already awarded by the state.

Electric rates for Consumers Energy’s 1.8 million customers will drop by $38 million with today’s retirement of the utility’s Classic Seven oldest coal plants.

Thirty-nine local public housing agencies across the country will continue to enjoy significantly greater flexibility to operate their federally funded housing programs following an announcement today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Existing agreements under HUD’s Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program for 39 public housing authorities (PHAs) will now continue in effect until 2028 (see list below).

Rhone Resch has announced his decision to step down as President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) on May 31^st, 2016. SEIA will name an interim leader and begin the executive search process before his departure.

Today, in reaction to the announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will offer principal reduction to certain seriously delinquent, underwater borrowers, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement

Habitat for Humanity today introduced its new Habitat Strong program, an initiative launched in partnership with Simpson Strong-Tie and Travelers, to help local Habitat for Humanity organizations build stronger, more resilient homes across the U.S.