Yearly Archives: 2016

As more Americans gain access to affordable renewable energy, and as more “shared” and “community” solar programs crop up across the country, states are asking the question: How can we bring shared renewable energy opportunities to our low and moderate income (LMI) households? A new publication by IREC offers the first comprehensive guidance on how it can be done with the most meaningful results.<

Over three-quarters of surveyed households would purchase a single-family home if they were to buy in the next six months, and 79 percent of renters would choose to buy outside of an urban area, according to the second installment of the National Association of Realtors® new quarterly consumer survey. The survey also found that confidence about now being a good time to buy is waning amongst renters, particularly in the West – where prices have solidly risen.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today at the second Oversight and Government Reform Committee (OGR) hearing examining the Flint lead-in-water crisis said that local, state, and federal officials failed to act on early warning signs, not unlike what happened with the District of Columbia’s lead-in-water crisis during the early 2000s.

A diverse coalition of consumer, environmental and low-income organizations petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today demanding the energy regulator create a level playing field for utility ratepayers by creating and funding an Office of Public Participation as Congress directed 38 years ago

Recently, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously approved the bipartisan Public Buildings Reform and Savings Act of 2016 (H.R. 4487). The bill includes language that authorizes the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to release the federal government’s interest in connection with a grant not less than seven years after final disbursement of the grant.

Denny Lake, the final individual defendant in a mortgage modification scam aimed at financially strapped homeowners, will be banned from selling debt relief and mortgage-related products and services, and from telemarketing under a court order obtained by the Federal Trade Commission.

David H. Stevens, CMB, president & CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) made the following statement regarding the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) updated lender and loan certification requirements

Today, the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, announced changes to its loan-level certification form to provide additional clarification to the mortgage industry while maintaining the ability to hold lenders accountable for serious underwriting errors. Some mortgage lenders asserted that the previous language was unclear and potentially held them liable for a slew of small underwriting errors in the case of a borrower default, while other lenders said that this lack of clarity may prevent them from originating FHA-insured loans in the future

outh Dakota Housing Development Authority, in conjunction with the Governor's Office, will be undertaking a pilot project to build a Certified Passive House affordable multifamily project in South Dakota. The information gathered in this pilot project will be shared to help the design and development community in South Dakota better understand the Passive House standard. There will be an increasing focus on this certification in the future funding of affordable housing.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro today awarded $1.6 billion in grants to provide funding to 6,400 local homeless housing and service programs across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. View a complete list of all the state and local homeless projects awarded funding.

The Mortgage Bankers Association(MBA) today released a Research Datanote titled Sources of Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Financing in 2016.  The paper provides an overview of the market and of some of the key issues that will shape lending in the near term.

Mortgage applications increased 0.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 4, 2016

The Mortgage Bankers Association's training and education ivision, MBA Education, today announced the re-launch of their online self-study library. The new library will consist of digestible, accessible and affordable courses so lenders of all sizes can get the quality training they need.

Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, a nationally-recognized real estate brokerage and advisory firm specializing in retail property sales, announced the sale of a single-tenant absolute net-leased Walgreens property located at 6100 Pacific Boulevard in Huntington Park, Calif. The purchase price was $11,850,000, which represented a cap rate of 4.22%, the lowest cap rate ever for a single-tenant Walgreens in Los Angeles County priced over $10 million and one of the lowest cap rates for a fee-simple Walgreens nationwide.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded 33 contracts for its new Building Maintenance and Operations (BMO) Zone 1 strategic sourcing solution. 24 of the contracts were set aside specifically for small businesses under BMO SB. This multiple award solution gives government agencies a more streamlined process for acquiring facility maintenance and operations services, including electrical maintenance, janitorial, landscaping, fire alarm and suppression system maintenance, commissioning and more

Imagine that you’ve just found an affordable apartment in a great neighborhood. Good schools, a park, and grocery store nearby…it’s everything you’re looking for. But when you go to apply, the property manager tells you that they don’t accept people who use housing vouche

Thought leaders from around the country are gathering to explore solutions to stormwater management through the use of green infrastructure that also benefits community members. The Great Urban Parks Campaign: Green Infrastructure in Underserved Communities convening in Atlanta, Georgia is a collaboration between the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and the American Planning Association (APA). The event will bring together experts and thought-leaders to find and share best practices for using green infrastructure parks in underserved communities.

ARP Foundation, a grantee of the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), has awarded generous four-year grants to seven organizations to help grow Experience Corps, the evidence based AARP Foundation literacy program that improves the reading skills of children, enriches the lives of volunteer tutors, and strengthens schools in local communities.

Travel is the #1 aspiration of individuals 50-plus, and America’s national parks are a popular destination with 75% of Baby Boomers having visited one in their lifetime, according to a recent AARP Travel survey. The survey showed that along with Boomers, Generation-Xers and Millennials also share a love for parks despite the generations’ differing reasons for visiting these national treasures

The Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced a $232 million relief fund to repair roads and bridges damaged by winter storms. While this is a positive step, long-term federal funding to mend our nation’s crumbling national infrastructure is still desperately needed