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Washington, DC - May 13, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representative Gary Peters and Representative John Campbell (R-CA) have introduced a bipartisan plan to reform the mortgage market - putting an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts while preserving access to affordable mortgages for middle class families.

BEDFORD, N.H. - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- At its recent meeting, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s Board of Directors approved the commitment of nearly $3 million in federal tax credits that will be used to support construction of 21...

April 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- For too long, middle-class taxpayers have been stuck with the costs of paying for more and more government. In 2000, the average property tax on a median value home in Wisconsin was $2,110. By 2006 it had risen to $2,729. Today it’s $2,963. Without the property tax reforms in our budget, these middle-class tax bills would rise to $3,425 by 2013.

BISMARCK, ND - April 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Industrial Commission announced today that the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA) has granted conditional commitments for $2.9 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) for constr...

April 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Earlier today in federal court in Minneapolis, a 49-year-old Champlin woman pleaded guilty to her role in a mortgage fraud scheme involving at least 200 properties—principally in north Minneapolis—and mortgage proceeds of approximately $35 million. Gayle Deann Claus pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Claus, who was indicted on June 15, 2010, along with two co-defendants, entered her plea before United States District Court Judge David S. Doty.

April 14, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Loudoun County Treasurer H. Roger Zurn Jr. reminds taxpayers that the deadline for payment of the first half personal property tax is Thursday, May 5, 2011.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 14, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The House and Senate are set to vote today on a budget deal that cuts nearly $40 billion from non-defense discretionary programs. Members of the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF), a coalition of 72 national affordable housing and community development groups, believe those cuts should not come at the expense of low income households who cannot afford housing or from communities that desperately need assistance. In reality, lawmakers have proposed exactly that by cutting HUD’s budget 6.4% below the FY10 funding levels.

April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In July 2010, the Loudoun County Treasurer’s Office was among the first in the Commonwealth of Virginia to offer individual taxpayers the opportunity to receive their personal property tax bills electronically. Since that time, more than 12,000 citizens have registered and received their personal property tax bills through e-mail.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The IRS today released information on processing issues that are impacting a small percentage of tax returns involving repayment of the First Time Homebuyer Credit (FTHB), primarily involving 2008 home purchases. While most of these returns are processing normally, the IRS recognizes the hardship caused by delayed refunds, and it has assigned additional staff and resources to address the issues promptly.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – March 17, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — For more than 20 years, the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund tax campaign has encouraged the citizens of Utah to pledge a donation on their tax return to the fund. This year,...

WASHINGTON, DC - March 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Members of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International will bring their message to lawmakers around the country the week of March 20 as part of BOMA’s annual National Issues Conference. As part of an industry that supports one million jobs in the United States and contributes $118 million to GDP in office building operating outlays alone, BOMA members will meet with their Representatives and Senators to explain the critical role commercial real estate plays in a thriving economy and to gain support for key industry issues. Because of the new Congressional work schedule, the conference, which usually takes place in Washington, D.C., will be held locally around the U.S while lawmakers are in their home districts.

Washington, DC - March 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- “Owning a home offers myriad benefits throughout the year, but some of the financial advantages of home ownership are most apparent at tax time,” said NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I. “As many of today’s hard-working American families are feeling a financial squeeze, the tax benefits that can come from owning a home can be a welcome relief.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As the April 18 federal income tax filing deadline approaches, many American home owners are realizing the financial benefits of homeownership—savings that can add up to tens of thousands of dollars over several years."The mortgage interest deduction is one homeownership tax incentive that has been part of the tax code for nearly 100 years," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Reno, Nev. "Incentives such as this have helped millions of American families be able to afford a home of their own."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) urges members of the House of Representatives to show their support for homeownership and the mortgage interest deduction by co-sponsoring H. Res. 25."This resolution acknowledges the importance of homeownership to individual households, the economy and the nation," said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. The resolution also states that the mortgage interest deduction "may well be the most important component of housing-related tax policy in America today" and should not be further restricted, he said

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Housing Law Project, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the Housing Justice Network have petitioned the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to stop forcing lenders to give misleading and deceptive information to tenants in foreclosed homes – information that leads tenants to forego rights guaranteed to them by the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Most home buyers who claimed the federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying their first home in 2008 are required to start repaying the credit in 15 annual installments, beginning with their 2010 tax returns. The credit—some form of which was offered for qualified home purchases in 2008, 2009 and 2010—has different repayment rules depending on when and under what circumstances the home was purchased. As tax season approaches, this may cause confusion among home buyers who received the tax credit.

L?HU‘E, HI - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Because the normal deadline for real property taxes fall on Sunday, Feb. 20 and Monday, Feb. 21 is President’s Day, Kaua'i property owners have until Tuesday, Feb. 22 to pay the second installment of real property taxes for the 2010-2011 tax year without penalty

WASHINGTON, DC - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Continued government participation in the secondary mortgage market is essential to ensuring affordable and available home mortgages to qualified consumers when private lenders withdraw from the market, according to the National Association of Realtors®’ recommendations for restructuring the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)

WASHINGTON, DC - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The United States has filed six lawsuits in five states to stop tax return preparers from fraudulently claiming the first-time homebuyer tax credit and the earned-income tax credit, the Justice Department announced today. The filings of those civil injunction complaints coincided with the indictment of a Philadelphia man on criminal charges of fraudulently claiming the first-time homebuyer credit. All of these actions are part of the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to halt tax scams involving false claims for tax credits and to prosecute those who fraudulently file tax returns containing those claims.

WASHINGTON, DC - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International’s Board of Governors recently passed two new policy positions in response to important, emerging issues. Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) Policy Position: BOMA International supports amending, if not the outright repeal of, FIRPTA to increase the amount of foreign capital invested in the U.S. commercial real estate market