Archives

Washington, DC - August 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) opened the second public comment period for the proposed 2012 update to its LEED green building rating system. The comment period, which will close on September 14, 2011, is the next step in the continuous improvement process and on-going development of the LEED program.

WASHINGTON, DC - August 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Administration’s Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) today announced hundreds of administrative actions against FHA-approved lenders who failed to meet its requirements. MRB sanctions against lenders include reprimands, probations, suspensions, withdrawals of approval, and civil money penalties. Read the full text of MRB’s Federal Register Notice

NEW YORK, NY - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has named Tina Brooks, undersecretary for housing and community development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as its new executive vice president for programs.

BOISE, ID - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Do you need help with your mortgage payments? Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) funds are available through the Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) to assist qualified unemployed or ...

Washington, DC - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Ron Phipps. “The National Association of Realtors®, on behalf of its 1.1 million members, their clients and customers, and the nation’s 75 million homeowners, urges Congress to resolve the mounting debt ceiling crisis before the August 2 deadline.

Los Angeles, CA - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Los Angeles County Assessor John R. Noguez today announced the 2011 Assessment Roll reflecting a 1.49 percent increase in value, ending two years of decline and producing a property roll of more than a trillion dollars for Los Angeles County. The $1,105,742,244,670 gross total property roll is $16.2 billion greater than last year.

FRESNO, CA - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today charging Tony Huy Havens, 37, of Modesto, with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud in a mortgage fraud scheme.

July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that Matthew “Beau” La Madrid was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge William Q. Hayes to serve a lengthy federal prison term in connection with his operation of the Plus Money Premium Return Funds (“PRF”) and related real estate investment and mortgage fraud schemes. The defendant entered his guilty plea on January 3, 2011.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the availability of $95 million to support sustainable local initiatives through the FY 2011 Regional Planning and Community Challenge Planning Grant Programs from HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. Awarded competitively, both programs work to expand housing choices, improve connections between employment centers and homes, and reduce barriers to achieving affordable, economically vital, and sustainable communities.

Washington, DC - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Any changes to the mortgage interest deduction now or in the future could threaten recent progress toward stabilizing the housing market, critically erode home prices and values, destroy middle-class wealth accumulation and hurt economic growth.

Washington, DC - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Public and private sector workers in the Northeast need more affordable housing opportunities. In response, the National Association of Realtors®, in partnership with the National Housing Conference, will host a regional forum today in Boston to help develop solutions to workforce housing issues

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nearly 25 million homeowners across the country would face more expensive mortgages if a proposal by federal regulators goes unchanged. A proposal released by six federal agencies to implement credit risk retention provisions included in the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act would require homeowners to have at least 25 percent equity in their homes in order to qualify for a lower-rate "Qualified Residential Mortgage" (QRM) for refinancing. An analysis of the CoreLogic data shows 24.8 million U.S. homeowners – more than half of all U.S. homeowners with a mortgage - have less than 25 percent equity in their homes.Homeowners looking to refinance but fail to qualify for a QRM will be subject to additional costs associated with lenders' risk retention requirements included in the Dodd-Frank bill. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, consumers in a non-QRM loan could pay between 0.80 and 1.85 percentage points more in interest rate, simply because they could not meet the down payment or equity requirements.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- David H. Stevens, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued the following statement today.

BOSTON, MA - July 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown, along with Congressmen Jim McGovern and Michael Capuano, today announced that two organizations that help homeless veterans in Massachusetts will receive two million dollars from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to improve housing and expand support services for those with very low incomes.

WALTHAM, MA - July 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that June sales were down from the same time last year, but up from this past May. Median prices for single-family homes were down less than two percent on a year-over-year basis, but continue to go up from the month before. While condominium sales were also down on a year-over-year basis, median prices were up for the third straight month. Condominium month-to-month sales and median prices were both up as well.

SHELBYVILLE, IN - July 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller was in Shelbyville today to file a complaint against a California-based foreclosure consultant company. According to the lawsuit, homeowners in seven India...

Washington, DC - July 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Hawaii Congresswomen Mazie K. Hirono and Colleen Hanabusa and Alaska Congressman Don Young today introduced a bipartisan bill to continue programs providing housing assistance for low-income Native H...

TAVARES, FL - July 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Beginning Monday, Aug. 1, the Lake County Department of Growth Management, Building Services Division, located on the fifth floor of the Lake County Administration Building at 315 W. Main St. in Tavares, will change the days that building inspections are performed to Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

WASHINGTON and FT. WASHINGTON, Pa. - July 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Business Solutions, a subsidiary of the American Bankers Association, named Aklero Risk Analytics, a provider of automated data and document validity assurance for the mortgage industry, the exclusive provider of mortgage quality control services to its members.

Los Angeles, CA - July 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Marking its entrance into the Los Angeles market, national landscape services provider The Brickman Group has acquired Dworsky Cos., one of L.A.’s leading commercial landscape services firms. The acquisition of Dworsky, a family-owned company founded in 2002, gives Brickman a stronger foothold in the Southern California market — with more than 1,000 employees — as it builds upon its nationwide expansion. Dworsky is headed by Founder Dave Dworsky, who in his 20 years in the industry has stamped an expansive mark servicing the Greater Los Angeles area. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.