Yearly Archives: 2016

Washington is one of nine U.S. cities that have been selected to attend the 2016 Community Progress Leadership Institute, a program that equips practitioners with the leadership and technical skills to address significant blight and vacancy challenges. The Leadership Institute, a program of the national Center for Community Progress, will be held on the campus of Harvard Law School on March 15-18, 2016

The property tax, a mainstay of local government, is the subject of continual controversy, with numerous ballot measure to place caps on it, or even in some cases proposals to eliminate it completely. But in fact it is a fair, democratic, stable and efficient source local revenue, attorney and property tax expert Joan Youngman argues in “A Good Tax: Legal and Policy Issues for the Property Tax in the United States,” published this month by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

For years, most brokers hunkered down and simply tried to survive the worst housing market in decades. Now, brokers are starting to expand again. With the U.S. economy on the mend and the housing market coming back strong, a few companies are rolling out ambitious expansion plans. One start-up brokerage has amassed cash from Wall Street and Silicon Valley, has hired a team of software engineers and is opening offices from Florida to California

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the American Planning Association (APA) announced today that the Homeless Solutions Community 10-Year Plan for the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, is the 2016 recipient of the HUD Secretary’s Opportunity & Empowerment Award. Read more about the Homeless Solutions 10-Year Plan.

As part of the Bowser Administration’s all eight ward approach to transform the District’s response to homelessness and improve the quality and effectiveness of services, Mayor Bowser and partners today announced that District-based N Street Village will manage and operate the Patricia Handy Place for Women. The Patricia Handy Place for Women is a new facility that will serve as many as 213 women each night. N Street Village is known nationally as an innovator in homeless services with a track-record of empowering homeless and low-income women. Last month, Mayor Bowser along with DHS Director Laura Zeilinger and Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans cut the ribbon on the new facility, which is set to open next month.

Public Invited to Imagine the Taxpayer Experience of the Future. The Internal Revenue Service today announced the upcoming start of its first Tax Design Challenge crowdsourcing competition to encourage innovative ideas for the taxpayer experience of the future.

Cyclists, take note: real estate developers and cities are becoming more responsive to your needs by creating an increasing number of communities tailored to those who would rather bike than drive. A new Urban Land Institute (ULI) publication, Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier identifies this trend as “trail-oriented development,” the latest phase in the evolution of urban development from car-centric to people-friendly design.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 25, 2016.

A major milestone has been reached in the recovery from the May 2015 storms on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, as the 100th new manufactured home was recently provided to a tribal household. The 100 homes have been installed in just over three months’ time, with the first being turned over on December 9.

The Cherokee Nation is building 30 new, 1,200-square-foot homes for Cherokee families in the town of Vian and celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday. The three-bedroom homes are being built through the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation’s New Home Construction Program on six acres of property owned by Cherokee Nation Businesses

The Jackson Housing Authority (JHA) will be able to assist an additional 35 families with the help of $250,000 in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant funds from BankPlus and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas).

The April issue of AARP Bulletin provides a fresh look into making your home safer and healthier this spring with its cover story on “99 Great Ways to Make Your Home Safe and Healthy.” Other stories include a look into a national shortage of geriatricians; tips on avoiding Medicare mistakes; April scam alerts just in time for tax season; a Q & A with Tom Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and noted epidemiologist on the Zika Virus and more; and AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins’ on saving for your retirement.

Reston, Virginia, March 24, 2016—MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that the Appeals Court of Massachusetts ruled in MERS’ favor when it affirmed the dismissal of a quiet title action. In pdf Gardner v. Mortgage Elec. Registrations Sys., Inc. (306 KB) the plaintiff filed a quiet title action against MERS and alleged that because MERS was merely a nominee of the original lender of the mortgage and never held the note, MERS could not assign the mortgage.

Radius financial group is excited to help launch and fund the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Opens Doors Foundation new ongoing relationship with Boston Children's Hospital. MBA Opens Doors works directly with pediatricians and social workers at children's hospitals to identify potential grant recipients, and this is the Foundation's first involvement with a hospital located in Massachusetts.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to expand the list of acceptable substitutes and prohibit the use of certain chemicals in the U.S. that significantly contribute to climate change where safer, more climate-friendly alternatives exist. This is another step forward in a series under President Obama's Climate Action Plan, which aims to reduce emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a class of potent greenhouse gases that can be up to 10,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide and are used in air-conditioning, refrigeration, and other equipment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International with a 2016 ENERGY STAR^® Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements. BOMA International has received a total of nine ENERGY STAR awards and remains the only commercial real estate association to have received this honor.

Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), a mission-driven lender and investor specializing in rural economic development in Maine and throughout the U.S., announces that Joshua Davis and Regina Phillips have been named to its Board of Directors. CEI works to create economic opportunity for individuals, children and families throughout Maine. According to Ron Phillips, CEI’s President and CEO, Josh and Regina join 18 other CEI board members bringing valuable insight and tremendous experience in small business and community development

Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a final rule establishing the underwriting standards that loans originated through the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) must meet to be considered "qualified mortgages." Loans that do not meet these standards will no longer be eligible for insurance under SFHGLP as of April 28

Pending home sales rose solidly in February to their highest level in seven months and remain higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Led by a sizeable increase in the Midwest, all major regions except for the Northeast saw an increase in contract activity in February

A study conducted by the Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CORE) found affordable housing reduced overall health care expenditures by 12% for Medicaid recipients. By comparing individuals' Medicaid claims in the year prior to moving into affordable housing to their Medicaid claims in the year after moving in, researchers found an average total savings of $576 a year. Seniors and people with disabilities as well as permanent supportive housing reaped the greatest benefit by saving an average of $84 per month ($1,008 per year)