February 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A 33-year-old Long Beach man who operated a number of ventures that he used to solicit money with false claims of profitable investments in real estate has pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge.

RICE LAKE, WI - February 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Seventh District Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI) was in Rice Lake today to participate in the grand opening of Glenwood Commons, student housing to serve UW-Barron County and Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC) students.

Richmond, VA - February 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- If you have made improvements to your home designed for increased accessibility, livability and visitability, you may qualify for Virginia’s Livable Homes Tax Credit (LHTC)

HARRISBURG, PA - February 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Foreclosure relief checks totaling more than $2.7 million have been mailed to several hundred Pennsylvania consumers as part of a multi-state settlement with Countrywide Financial Corporation.

BISMARCK, N.D. - February 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A group of 11 state and federal agencies and nonprofit developers are working together to develop solutions to North Dakota’s housing challenges.

February 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- State Historic Preservation Office architect Bryan Lijewski will meet with Monroe property owners and developers at a free workshop on Thursday, February 18. The event is being presented by the Monroe Historic District Commission.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - February 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Testifying before members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and the House Environmental Matters Committee, Governor Martin O’Malley and Congressman Elijah Cummings, today called for the passage of a foreclosure mediation bill that protects Maryland homeowners. In his 2010 legislative package, Governor O’Malley has introduced the emergency legislation that would give every Maryland family facing foreclosure the legal right to mediation with the lender seeking the foreclosure.

February 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley announced that on February 19, 2010, the Foreclosure Diversion Program will hold its first informational session for homeowners facing mortgage foreclosure in Cumberland County. The Foreclosure Diversion Program is the result of the recently enacted P.L. 2009, ch. 402, An Act To Preserve Home Ownership and Stabilize the Economy by Preventing Unnecessary Foreclosures. In accordance with the new law, the Supreme Judicial Court established a statewide program to provide mediation services in certain residential foreclosure actions in Maine.

SACRAMENTO, CA - February 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Housing affordability in California continued to fall throughout most of the state during the fourth quarter of 2009, the California Building Industry Association said today.

Los Angeles, CA - February 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) has named CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (CBRE) to The 2010 Global Outsourcing 100 for the fourth straight year. The list recognizes the world's best outsourcing service providers across all industries, and is based on applications received and evaluated by an independent panel of judges organized by IAOP.

Trenton, N.J. - February 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today Governor Chris Christie signed Executive Order 12 creating the Housing Opportunity Task Force, which will initiate an immediate review of the Commission on Affordable Housing and its continued existence.

KIRKSVILLE, MO - February 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (ZWY-ful) was in Kirksville today to announce that since January 2009 his administration had made more than $36 million in low-interest loans to farms and small businesses in the northeast Missouri. While at a stop at the Bank of Kirksville, Treasurer Zweifel said 469 loans had been made impacting 398 jobs and 387 farmers in the region. Borrowers in the region will save an estimated $608,000 in interest annually using loans made through the Missouri Linked Deposit Program.

WALTHAM, MA - February 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) today announced that members reported solid improvement in market conditions over January 2009 according to results of its new Massachusetts REALTOR® Market Index (RMI). The monthly Massachusetts RMI quantifies the opinions of members who are working with buyers and sellers each day in the Massachusetts real estate market.

BOSTON, MA - February 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- February 16, 2010 – As part of an ongoing effort to make it easier for the rental housing industry to interact with the Agency, MassHousing launched masshousingrental.com, a new website that consolidates information, documents, and applications for the Agency’s rental housing business partners to one location. Masshousingrental.com is part of a larger effort to make it easier and more efficient for property owners and managers, rental housing developers, general contractors, auditors and other rental housing partners to do business with MassHousing. Previously, MassHousing’s business partners had to visit one of four Agency websites to conduct different types of business.

SACRAMENTO, CA - February 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The pace of home sales at California new-home communities was moderately lower than levels seen a year ago, the California Building Industry Association reported today.

February 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Local residential construction started off the New Year with a 9 percent jump in new-home permits in January, according to statistics compiled by the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City (HBA). The organization tracked a seasonally adjusted total of 220 single-family homes permitted last month, up from a revised 198 units for December.

COLUMBUS, OH - February 10, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Director of the Ohio Department of Development, today announced that Habitat for Humanity of Ohio and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio will receive grants totaling $337,500 through the Ohio Housing Trust Fund Discretionary Grant Program, administered by the Department’s Office of Housing and Community Partnerships.

February 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following an investigation by Maine’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection and the Attorney General’s Office, State officials have taken legal action against a Massachusetts-based debt management company. The State alleged that 123 Fix My Loan, LLC was not licensed to operate in Maine nor properly bonded and therefore acting illegally

Boise, ID - February 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Based on recently released national fourth-quarter financial performance statistics, Idaho-based financial institutions are not immune from the effects of the recession. Gavin Gee, director of the Idaho Department of Finance, reported that Idaho-headquartered commercial banks have experienced increased amounts of non-current loans and loan charge-offs, an increase in foreclosed real estate properties and, as a group, negative earnings for the year. In his budget presentation to JFAC this morning, Gee said, “Our Idaho financial institutions are caught in an economic upheaval that they did not create, one caused by a culture of risk carried out by large money center institutions, not traditional lenders like those we have in Idaho.

February 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With the help of a few key partners, the YWCA Greater Los Angeles (YWCA GLA) and its LA Job Corps program have successfully embarked upon building a new Urban Campus which will be the prototype for Job Corps programs around the country.

LOS ANGELES, CA - February 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The percentage of households that could afford to buy an entry-level home in California remained at 64 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with 61 percent (revised) for the same period a year ago, according to a report released today by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).

HOUSTON, TX - February 5, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal jury found David Vasser, 61, a Houston area resident, and Shirely Adger, 52, a Dallas area resident, guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.

New York, NY - February 4, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA) approved an incentive package that will help Hindustan Granites Inc. acquire and renovate a 31,000-square-foot industrial facility in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn.

Hattiesburg, MS - February 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC) will host a Financial Health Workshop on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at the Jackie Dole Sherrill Community Center, 220 West Front Street in Hattiesburg. MHC will host the free workshop from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. The workshop will be particularly helpful for individuals who are worried about losing their home, are having trouble making ends meet, who believe they have a mortgage that is unfair, or simply want to learn how to manage their finance better. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet trained counselors who can review their finances, find other programs that can over assistance, and learn how to avoid financial pitfalls in the future.

HELENA, MT - February 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Steve Bullock on Friday announced that, under the terms of a settlement between his office and Countrywide, 79 Montana consumers who lost their homes to the foreclosure of Countrywid...

BOSTON, MA - February 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thursday, February 11, 2010 – As part of the Patrick-Murray Administration's Massachusetts Recovery Plan, Governor Deval Patrick today announced that the state will utilize $7.06 million in federal weatherization recovery funds to replace old, inefficient heating systems with new state-of-the-art units for 19 local public housing authorities across the Commonwealth.Those upgrades will mean lower energy costs for tenants of family developments in Bedford, Belmont, Brockton, Clinton, Dedham, Easthampton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Greenfield, Marblehead, Mattapoisett, Medford, Methuen, North Andover, North Attleborough, Stoneham, Stoughton, Uxbridge and Westfield. The improvements will also lead to an improved living environment through the delivery of smart, clean, energy-efficient warmth to their homes (award details below)

AUGUSTA, ME - February 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor John E. Baldacci today swore in Dale McCormick as Director of MaineHousing. The Governor had nominated McCormick for reappointment on Jan. 5, and she was confirmed by the full Senate on Feb. 4.

BATON ROUGE, LA - February 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Bobby Jindal announced the appointment of John Marlow to the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Board of Directors.

FRANKFORT, KY - February 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The State Property and Buildings Commission (SPBC) will hold a meeting on Monday, February 15, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 182 of the Capitol Annex, Frankfort, Kentucky.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - February 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Senate Appropriations committee voted 9 to 2 Thursday to approve House Bill (HB) 1021 sponsored by State Senator John Broden (D-South Bend) that would allow for exemptions to be made in bankruptcy matters. The bill would allow a debtor's Indiana Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to be considered exempt property under the bankruptcy property exemption statute