Yearly Archives: 2017

Ginnie Mae announced the exposure to its MBS Portfolio by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The information provided breaks down the number of loans and unpaid principal balance amounts in the presidentially declared disaster areas in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, it provides the percentage of Ginnie Mae Single Family GNMA II fixed rate, Multiple Issuer MBS pools impacted.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced an agreement to resolve a discrimination complaint brought by fair housing advocates against Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) challenging the fairness of the State’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

Mayor Bowser announced Michael Spencer as the Chairman of the DC Rental Housing Commission. Spencer was appointed to the Rental Housing Commission in July 2016. Previously, he served as a labor and employee relations specialist and supervisory program analyst for the DC Department of Behavioral Health and an attorney in private practice.

The Justice Department today announced a new initiative to combat sexual harassment in housing. The initiative specifically seeks to increase the Department’s efforts to protect women from harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, security guards, and other employees and representatives of rental property owners.

The Justice Department today announced that Frank D. Tjoelker, an owner and manager of rental properties in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan, will pay $150,000 to resolve allegations that he sexually harassed multiple women who have lived in or inquired about his rental properties. Since January of this year, the Civil Rights Division has filed or settled five cases alleging unlawful sexual harassment of women in housing and recovered over $1 million for victims such harassment.

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net lease Arby’s Restaurant located at 15195 E Twelve Mile Road in Roseville, Michigan for $1,590,000.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today voted to revise its policy regarding the nation’s tax code in light of recent discussions on tax reform between congressional leadership and the Trump administration.

The Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held a hearing to examine insurance for non-profit organizations. The purpose of this hearing was to evaluate the availability of property insurance coverage for non-profit organizations and address whether Risk Retention Groups (RRGs) should be granted the authority to offer property and auto coverage.

Mayor Bowser highlighted more than $138 million in investments from the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) in fiscal year 2017, which ended on September 30. The HPTF investments support 23 projects that will produce or preserve more than 1,900 affordable housing units throughout the city. Since coming into office, the Bowser Administration has sparked the creation or preservation of more than 8,400 affordable units, with another 3,700 units in preconstruction.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s hearing on sustainable housing finance reform: Today we welcome back our former colleague and committee member Mel Watt, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Nationwide, 63 percent of adults surveyed by NeighborWorks America say the rent is too high where they live to save for a down payment on a home, but perceptions are dramatically different across the country. In the Midwest, the number having this view is 58 percent, compared to 67 percent in the Northeast and 73 percent in the West

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former broker, his company, and his business partner in an alleged real estate investment scheme utilizing high-pressure sales tactics to pilfer $6 million from retirees and other investors while using the proceeds to fund the broker’s lavish lifestyle and start e-cigarette businesses.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded more than $8.7 million to Guam for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure improvement. “This funding will help Guam provide cleaner water for local communities, while protecting the island’s coastal waters,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant Dollar General located at 405 Broadway Avenue in South Roxana, Illinois for $588,000. South Roxana is part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a businessman and two companies with defrauding investors in a pair of so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs) purportedly backed by investments in real estate and diamonds.

A case study of the Barnett Shale region in Texas, where hydraulic fracturing was first implemented, for the first time provides quantifiable information on the life cycle land use of generating electricity from natural gas based on physical measurements instead of using assumptions and averages that were previously used for evaluation.

International award-winning KTGY Architecture + Planning is pleased to announce that KTGY’s excellence in residential design and planning have been recognized by the Building Industry Association’s (BIA) Greater Sales and Marketing Council’s 2017 SoCal Awards program.

As the Trump administration tries to roll back environmental protections, a new report from the Center for American Progress and the Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy shows how U.S. mayors can fight climate change by redesigning cities in ways that reduce the risk of floods, pollution, and the damage caused by extreme weather and sea level rise

Ginnie Mae today announced that issuance of its mortgage back securities (MBS) totaled $44.13 billion in August, an increase from July’s issuance of $41.95 billion.

Habitat for Humanity and Bank of America are partnering for the fourth consecutive year on a Global Build that will engage bank employees and local Habitat organizations around the world.