Laws & Taxes

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Chris Polychron “The package of tax extensions approved by the U.S. House and Senate, and headed to the President’s desk for signature, includes important provisions that will help distressed homeowners and commercial property investors with transactions made during 2014. NAR applauds Congressional leaders in both chambers for their effort to pass this legislation before adjournment

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The analysis covers 2013, the latest year for which complete comparable data were available. For that year, Philadelphia reported that 6 percent of property owners did not pay their tax bills in the year the money was due. That figure was down from 6.8 percent in 2012 and 9 percent in 2011. It represents the strongest tax collection performance since 2008, according to city data.

BOSTON - December 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Two Boston-area landlords will perform health-protective improvements on five Dorchester, Mass. properties to settle EPA claims that they failed to follow federal lead paint disclosure laws.

WASHINGTON, D.C., - December 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee) applauds the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) decision to fund the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF), which will expand the supply of safe, decent affordable housing for those who are most in need. FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt announced the move in letters sent to the chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on December 11, 2014. Congress authorized the NHTF through the Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), which specified that Fannie and Freddie would each pay a percentage of their annual volume of business to fund the NHTF. That obligation was temporarily suspended when Fannie and Freddie were placed under receivership at the height of the 2008 financial crisis but was reinstated through Director Watt’s letter. The Lawyers’ Committee strongly supported Director Watt’s nomination for his position as the Director of FHFA.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 15, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman John K. Delaney (MD-6) has filed legislation, the Infrastructure and Global Tax Competitiveness Act, to strengthen America’s economy by rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and reforming the broken corporate tax code. The legislation is designed to create jobs, spur economic growth, improve quality of life, and discourage corporate inversions

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 15, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new law which becomes effective January 1, 2015, impacts real estate brokers and salespersons, and real estate education sponsors by removing continuing education preapproval and reporting requirements. Gov. Rick Snyder signed Senate Bill 641 into law on April 7, 2014, which became Public Act 106 of 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 12, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that Norton will speak about the 40th anniversary of the Home Rule Act and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and be honored at a ceremony by the Steering Committee of the District of Columbia Bar’s D.C. Affairs Section tonight, Thursday, December 11, at 6:45 p.m. at the law firm Venable LLC (575 7th Street NW)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 12, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) today issued the following statement concerning Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt’s decision to begin payments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - December 11, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Pam Bondi announced today that more than 14,000 Floridians will receive checks totaling more than $16 million this week as a result of the national Ocwen mortgage settlement. The checks, in the amount of approximately $1,150 per claim, are being distributed to eligible consumers who lost their homes to foreclosure between 2009 and 2012. Attorney General Bondi’s office played a leading role on the executive committee that helped negotiate the $125 million settlement between Ocwen and the attorneys general of 49 states, state banking regulators and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

ELLICOTT CITY, MD - December 11, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, state officials announced $10 million in state tax credits that will fund nine historic restoration projects across Maryland. The tax credit will infuse positive change and jobs to communities from Cumberland to Cambridge.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Brett Guthrie today voted in support of H.R. 647, the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act.

Vancouver, WA - December 2, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Cities and states looking at energy efficient buildings to help meet energy goals are getting a boost from the 2015 International Green Construction Code (IgCC). Four critical proposals that will drive significant improvements in building energy performance were approved when final voting on the model energy code closed earlier this month

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Some owners hesitate to market their homes between Halloween and New Year’s Day, believing the holiday season to be an off-peak time to sell. But the idea that houses don’t sell in November and December comes from outdated historical trends

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Pircher, Nichols & Meeks, a national real estate law firm with offices in Chicago and Los Angeles, has announced Elena Baca has joined the firm as a new associate in the Chicago office. Baca has previous experience in real estate and property transaction law.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department announced it has filed a lawsuit against Encore Management Co. Inc., Perkins Parke Limited Partnership and three former employees of Perkins Parke Apartments in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, alleging that female tenants have been subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of the Fair Housing Act

MIAMI - October 23, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida filed suit against Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Corrections, seeking a permanent injunction against a housing ordinance that is extraordinarily difficult for former sex offenders to follow without becoming homeless. The law prohibits former offenders from living 2,500 feet (almost half a mile) from any building the county labels a "school," a category the county has enforced arbitrarily since the ordinance went into effect in 2010. This restriction has left about fifty former offenders with nowhere to live other than an outdoor area along railroad tracks on the outskirts of Miami-Dade county. Each night, they sleep in chairs, in tents, and under tarps, without

CHICAGO - September 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) - Pircher, Nichols & Meeks, a national real estate law firm with offices in Chicago and Los Angeles, announced Ruth A. Schoenmeyer has joined the firm as of counsel in the Chicago office. Schoenmeyer’s practice will be focused on retail leasing.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 8, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Board of Directors of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) adopted the 2014 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and Procedures pending the Governor’s approval

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 29, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) has provided supplemental guidance to potential calendar year (CY) 2014 New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program) applicants by updating the CY 2014 NMTC Program - Application Questions & Answers document on its website. The supplemental guidance is the result of specific questions that the CDFI Fund received during the two application round conference calls hosted on August 12 and 14, 2014

TALLAHASSEE - August 29, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today issued the following statement on the lawsuit to eliminate the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program: