News

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is accepting entries for the Best in American Living Awards (BALA), the premier award program for the home building industry.Sponsored by NAHB's Design Committee, BALA recognizes exceptional design and uses the example of trend-setting designs to educate builders and improve residential design in all aspects of the housing industry

SACRAMENTO, CA - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- California housing production rose sharply in May and posted the highest monthly permit total for the year on the strength of the multifamily sector, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

HARRISBURG, PA - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Wondering where your property tax or rent rebate payment is? State Treasurer Rob McCord provided an answer today when he said Treasury will issue approximately half a million payments totaling $240 million to Pennsylvanians on July 1.

White Sulphur Springs, WV - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rhonda Loudermilk has a smile on her face as she talks about her new heating system in her White Sulphur Springs home. Ms. Loudermilk qualified for loan funds through USDA Rural Development’s rural housing programs late last year.

BURLINGTON, VA - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- More Vermonters will be able to purchase homes using Vermont Housing Finance Agency’s low-interest mortgages thanks to new income and purchase price limits put in place last Friday

WASHINGTON, DC - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Executives from the private, public and nonprofit sector today joined Events DC (Washington Convention and Sports Authority) and Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise) for the launch of Greenspace, NCR, the District’s first green learning and resource center located at Nationals Park in the Capital Riverfront neighborhood. During the event, Greenspace unveiled its plans for a $2 million, 12,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility designed to meet the LEED platinum standard of the U.S. Green Building Council. Leveraging an exceptional network of partnerships, Greenspace intends to build the skills, knowledge and capacity of professionals, policymakers and the public to create ground breaking green communities across the region.

SINTON, TX - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today charged a residential roofing contractor with deceiving Texas homeowners and unlawfully soliciting roof repairs.

MEMPHIS, TN - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Memphis Chapter of the Women’s Council of REALTORS® has been recognized nationally for its outstanding recruitment efforts. The WCR Memphis Chapter won first place in recruitment in the large cha...

New York, NY - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Housing Committee Chair Vito Lopez today announced passage of legislation to extend the rent laws and expand rent protections for tenants for the first time since 1993.

Arlington, VA - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thayer Long, president and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Institute, issued the following statement on in the IBIS World, Inc. research report falsely characterizing the state of the manufactured housing industry.

New York, NY - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced today the passage of the Affordable Housing Act (A.8518) that would provide relief for working families across the state by capping growth in local property tax levies at two percent. The legislation also includes significant mandate relief for local government and school districts.

June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Senate today passed historic property tax relief legislation that enacts a cap on the growth of local property taxes. The bill (S.5856), sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos, will cap school and local government taxes to less than two percent or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower. Mandate relief is also included, with $127 million in savings to local governments, in addition to the creation of a Mandate Relief Council to identify and repeal unsound, unduly burdensome laws and regulations

NEW YORK, NY - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today was awarded recognition for best practices in efficient building management by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) at an event in Washington, D.C. The BOMA 360 Performance Building designation recognizes commercial properties that demonstrate best practices in all major areas of building operations and are managed to the highest standards of excellence. The award recognizes the New York Fed’s locations main headquarters in the Financial District and East Rutherford Operations Center (EROC) in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

KANSAS CITY, MO - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As the Missouri and North Platte Rivers continue to be in various levels of flood, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urges residents to continue making preparations for more possible flooding.

Washington, D.C. - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jack Hartings, president and CEO of The Peoples Bank Co. in Coldwater, Ohio, and a member of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) Executive Committee, today told Congress that the secondary mortgage market must be impartial and provide equitable access and pricing to all lenders regardless of size or lending volume. He also stressed that all originators must have the option to retain servicing after the sale of a loan.

NORFOLK, VA - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kathleen Harps, 51, of Chesapeake, Va., was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation today after a federal grand jury indicted her on June 21, 2011 on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and three counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.

WASHINGTON, DC - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kimberly Wize, a U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) senior advisor for public housing programs, will serve as the new administrative receiver and one-person board of commissioners for the Virgin Islands Housing Authority (VIHA) effective July 1st. HUD announced Wize replaces Mirza Negron Morales, a HUD Deputy Regional Administrator, who served two years in this capacity.

June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sen. Bernie Sanders announced funding today for the construction of 25 affordable rental homes for seniors in Vergennes, Vt., that will both address the shortage of affordable housing for seniors and utilize advan...

TRENTON, NJ - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that the Division of Criminal Justice has obtained indictments charging three former administrators and a former shop foreman at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission with directing subordinate employees to complete repairs or improvements at the private homes of the administrators or people close to them while the subordinates were on duty for the PVSC.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Edward G. And Jacqueline McCusker, both 47, of New Hope, PA, were convicted today in connection with a $14.6 million mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in at least 35 fraudulent mortgage loans, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The couple was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, six counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. Edward McCusker was also convicted of an additional count of mail fraud. The McCuskers operated Axxium Mortgage, Inc., along with co-defendant John Bariana who pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Co-defendants Jeffrey A. Bennett and Stephen G. Doherty, owners of the Doylestown law firm Bennett & Doherty, P.C., also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing