Monthly Archives: October 2009

Latest HUD Grant Emphasizes Boston’s Continued Success of “Lead Safe Boston” Program. October 14, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Menino today announced that the City will be awarded over $3M in federal Lead Based Paint Hazard Control funds to reduce the hazards of lead-based paint in homes located in the City’s low and moderate income neighborhoods. The award from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) is the tenth competitive federal funding award that the City’s Lead Safe Boston program has received since 1993. The funding, totaling more than $30 million, has enabled Boston to provide lead abatement services to more than 2000 homes citywide.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 14, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Last week, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL) voted to extend the First-Time Homebuyer tax credit for members of the Armed Services who served abroad this past year. H.R. 3590, which extends the credit for qualifying military personnel through November 30, 2010, passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly by a 416-16 vote. The current tax credit is set to expire on November 30, 2009.

October 14, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The state of housing – both across the nation and in Idaho – will be discussed by experts, local leaders and housing industry professionals at the 2009 Idaho Conference on Housing. This conference, to be held Oct. 19-20 at the Doubletree Hotel Boise-Riverside, features national speakers who will bring the topic of housing full circle - from the national perspective to a look at the challenges faced by Idaho's housing market. Local speakers will also contribute expertise from their communities. More than 350 people are already registered, and there is still time to take part in the conference. Attendees can register online at www.2009housingconf.com. Registration is $125 per person for nonprofit attendees and $175 for all others.

Orlando, FOL - October 14, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Alan Grayson, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, and Mayor Buddy Dyer toured a neighborhood and highlighted two successful programs helping resolve the problems of foreclosure and slumping property values today in Orlando.

$530,473 Grant Will Work to Improve Urban Housing in Milford. Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT) today applauded the announcement by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that a $530,473 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) will be made available to help improve low and moderate-income housing in the City of Milford, Connecticut.

San Francisco, CA - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently honored innovative green building design ideas that reduce the environmental and energy impacts of buildings. These concepts aim to help architects and builders reduce more than 88 million tons of building-related construction and demolition debris sent to U.S. landfills each year and the climate impacts of buildings and building materials

October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gavin Gee, director of the Idaho Department of Finance, announced his department’s participation as a co-sponsor in the “2009 Idaho Conference on Housing,” scheduled for October 19th and 20th at the Doubletree Hotel in Boise, Idaho. This event is organized by Idaho Housing and Finance Association. The Idaho Conference on Housing entitled “Mapping the Future” is the state’s largest and most comprehensive housing conference that will encompass important issues facing Idaho’s housing industry and the challenges set forth in the current economic environment.

October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gavin Gee, director of the Idaho Department of Finance, announced his department’s participation as a co-sponsor in the “2009 Idaho Conference on Housing,” scheduled for October 19th and 20th at the Doubletree Hotel in Boise, Idaho. This event is organized by Idaho Housing and Finance Association. The Idaho Conference on Housing entitled “Mapping the Future” is the state’s largest and most comprehensive housing conference that will encompass important issues facing Idaho’s housing industry and the challenges set forth in the current economic environment.

October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gavin Gee, director of the Idaho Department of Finance, announced his department’s participation as a co-sponsor in the “2009 Idaho Conference on Housing,” scheduled for October 19th and 20th at the Doubletree Hotel in Boise, Idaho. This event is organized by Idaho Housing and Finance Association. The Idaho Conference on Housing entitled “Mapping the Future” is the state’s largest and most comprehensive housing conference that will encompass important issues facing Idaho’s housing industry and the challenges set forth in the current economic environment.

TALLAHASSEE, FL- October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Housing's upcoming Board of Directors' Meeting will be held on Friday, October 23 in Tallahassee. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. For Board Package information,

PHOENIX, AR - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- McCoy’s Building Supply was recognized by Home Channel News (HCN) magazine as the 2009 Pro Dealer of the Year during their annual Pro Dealer Industry Summit, held October 7 to 9 in Phoenix, Arizona.From HCN’s listing of the top 500 building supply pro dealers in the nation, McCoy’s was the largest retailer to show an increase in sales during 2008, despite the current economic recession and upset in the U.S. housing market

Barrington, RI - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- This afternoon, Rhode Island Housing, East Bay Community Development Corporation (East Bay CDC), the state Housing Resources Commission (HRC), and other partners celebrated the completion of 14 new homes that working families in Barrington can afford to rent.

Salem, OR - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- In its ongoing effort to protect consumers from mortgage lending fraud, the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) has revoked the license of Tigard-based Pacific Rim Mortgage, Inc. and issued a cease-and-desist order against its owner, Victoria Bigham.

Medford, OR - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Oregonians concerned about losing their home to foreclosure can receive help Saturday, Oct. 17, at an event in Medford organized by several government agencies, nonprofits, and real estate organizations.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - October 6, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development agency has awarded two grants totaling $148,998 to Snow Belt Housing Company, Inc. of Lowville.

Jamestown, NY - October 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- With the backdrop of a foreclosed house acquired by CHRIC in Jamestown’s PRIDE neighborhood, Congressman Brian Higgins announced today that Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation is receiving $26,640 to support the agency’s foreclosure prevention counseling efforts.

NEW YORK, NY - October 6, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The City of Jamestown will receive $421,657 in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to stimulate its economy and produce affordable housing.

Houston, TX - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mayor’s Office of Veteran Affairs today hailed the awarding of $2.1 million in grants from the Veteran’s Administration to two local agencies to help house homeless veterans in Houston.

Vancouver, WA - October 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Clark County's Homeless Engagement Collaboration (CHEC) project has been awarded the 2009 National Association for County Community and Economic Development (NACCED) Award of Excellence in the category of Homeless Coordination/Assistance.

Bill ensures that men and women serving overseas get equal access to tax credits and benefits. Washington, DC - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Late last week, Congressman Baron Hill voted in support of the Service Members Home Ownership Act of 2009, H.R. 3590. The bill was passed by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote on the evening of Thursday, October 8, 2009.H.R. 3590 ensures that our service members, particularly those deployed overseas, will get equal access to the first-time homebuyer tax credit. For example, the legislation would ensure that certain payments under the Department of Defense Housing Assistance Program (HAP) are exempt from tax. And, the bill guarantees that services members will not have to repay the first-time homebuyer credit if they are called up for service overseas and forced to sell their home within three years of purchasing.

Washington, DC - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13, Congressmen Robert Wexler (FL-19), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), and Ron Klein (FL-22) and State Senator Ted Deutch will be joined by President Barack Obama’s Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, Shaun Donovan, for a tour of a Boynton Beach home afflicted by contaminated drywall. Reps. Wexler and Diaz-Balart, the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Contaminated Drywall, will emphasize to Secretary Donovan the devastating impact the tainted drywall has had on the lives of the Roberts family, who own a home in the community of Cobblestone Creek. Dr. Steve Roberts and his wife Jennifer Roberts have struggled with their 16 month-old daughter’s frequent respiratory infections, and the fact that their home has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in value as a result of this toxic product

TALLAHASSEE, FL - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Reports recently received by Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) show a significant increase in the number Floridians finding affordable rental housing using www.FloridaHousingSearch.org, which is the Corporation’s FREE online rental housing locator. According to the data in the report, provided by Socialserve.com®, 39 percent of the rented units on the state’s Search.org affordable rental housing locator were located by consumers using www.Floridahousingsearch.org or the Locator's call-center.

SANTA ANA, CA - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- First American CoreLogic, a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies and America’s largest provider of advanced property and ownership information, analytics and services, today introduced its free patent-pending ePropertyWatch Professional service, which is designed to help real estate and mortgage industry professionals stay in touch with customers and drive repeat business and referrals.

SANTA ANA, CA - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- First American CoreLogic, a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies and America’s largest provider of advanced property and ownership information, analytics and services, today announced that it has built the mortgage industry’s most comprehensive national fraud data repository to help clients combat all types of mortgage fraud and to further enhance the predictive performance of its anti-fraud solutions.

Washington, D.C. - October 8, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis today supported the House of Representatives effort to make first-time homebuyer tax credits more flexible for members of our Armed Forces.

New York, NY - October 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, ANDREW CUOMO, the Attorney General of the State of New York, JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), RICHARD H. NEIMAN, the Superintendent of Banks for New York State, BRIAN G. PARR, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Secret Service ("USSS"), and RONALD J. VERROCHIO, the Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service ("USPIS"), announced today the unsealing of a seven-count Indictment charging 12 individuals—including mortgage brokers, loan officers, and attorneys—with engaging in a scheme to defraud various lending institutions by using fictitious identities and documents to obtain more than $9 million in residential mortgages. All 12 defendants were arrested this morning and are expected to be presented in federal court later today.

TRENTON, NJ - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- More than 2,600 New Jersey homeowners have received counseling assistance through the State's Foreclosure Mediation Program, Governor Jon S. Corzine said today.

Trenton, NJ - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assemblyman Scott Rumana today warned the state’s middle class homeowners to brace themselves for another round of property tax increases in light of Governor Jon Corzine’s revelation he intends to cut state aid to local school districts to plug an expected $8 billion budget deficit.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 8, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to provide those serving in the armed forces with the full housing benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today voted in support of bipartisan legislation that expands housing benefits to uniformed service members and other federal employees.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 8, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to provide those serving in the armed forces with the full housing benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today voted in support of bipartisan legislation that expands housing benefits to uniformed service members and other federal employees.