Monthly Archives: July 2010

Albany, NY - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) recently helped celebrate the grand opening of Opportunity for Broome, Inc.’s new Liberty Street Apartments in Binghamton. The new facility will provide 12 units of permanent housing for homeless families and individuals.

COLUMBUS, OH - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) today announced the 2010 Housing Tax Credit Program recipients who will each receive a portion $19.2 million in housing tax credits for the acquisition, development and rehabilitation of affordable housing units in Ohio.

EUGENE, OR - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Steve Volkers Group, out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has created a unique real estate website with the help of their customized IDX Broker software. This software allows real estate agent Steve Volkers and Grand Rapids residents and home seekers to utilize the Grand Rapids MLS (GRAR) quickly and efficiently in searching for properties online. The website of Volkers now hosts one of the most comprehensive online real estate searches in the nation, thanks to the IDX Broker software.

EUGENE, OR - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Melissa Sites, of Realty World Marketplace, and IDX, Inc. have launched a joint venture to her real estate website. The addition of IDX Broker software has made for a simple and easy-to-use online property search by syncing the Western North Carolina Regional MLS (WNCRMLS), which Sites is a member of, with the listings she represents, to give home seekers in Asheville, North Carolina a comprehensive and complete online database of local home listings. Now more than ever before, finding a home in Asheville is easier, on Melissa Sites real estate website.

Washington, DC - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) hailed today’s subcommittee approval by the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of a FY 2011 spending measure that includes $75 million for state-of-the-art technology to prevent train collisions.

Douglas leads MERIT’s Orange County community association team for master planned and single family communities. Aliso Viejo, CA - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERIT Property Management, a leading provider of professional community association and rental management services, promoted Bree Douglas, CCAM® to Executive Director of Orange County’s Team A. Douglas oversees over 2,900 units in portfolio and master-planned communities throughout Orange County. She is responsible for MERIT’s current association community management clients and will now coordinate and manage new contracts, maintain client relations and spearhead MERIT’s continued growth. Douglas also supervises a staff of five including three community managers and two support staff.

July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., the esteemed national real estate auction house, sold more than half of all the condominiums in the Wildwoods during the past quarter

TALLAHASSEE, FL - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Gerald Bailey today announce the arrest of 10 members of a criminal mortgage fraud and identity theft operation. The group is charged with defrauding numerous financial institutions out of more than $8 million, and using the identities of unsuspecting individuals as part of the conspiracy to obtain the mortgages and properties. The arrests are the result of a four-year investigation conducted by FDLE’s Miami Regional Operations Center and the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution. The individuals arrested face charges including racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, grand theft, and title insurance fraud

ST. PAUL, MN - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Minnesota Department of Commerce has taken action against two out-of-state loan modification companies for operating in Minnesota without a license and allegedly engaging in deceptive practices. "These two cases are just further examples of why we encourage all consumers to exercise caution when making decisions related to their financial situations," says Manny Munson-Regala, Deputy Commissioner of Market Assurance. So far this year, the department has taken more than 50 enforcement actions against mortgage-related businesses, helping to ensure Minnesota consumers are protected from irresponsible and deceitful practices.

PEARL, MS - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- President Barak Obama signed the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 which Congress passed yesterday. This now extends the NFIP through September 30 and is retroactive to cover the lapse period which began June 1

July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association is proud to announce the first class of members who have met all the qualifications and have received their Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional designations

WASHINGTON, DC - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Eligible taxpayers who contracted to buy a home, qualifying for the first-time homebuyer credit, before the end of April now have until Sept. 30, 2010 to close the deal, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Raleigh, NC - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Building designers, facility managers and construction professionals will want to be in attendance at the RCI 2010 Symposium on Building Envelope Technology, November 8-9, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency on the Riverwalk at Paseo Del Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Robert E. Story, Jr., CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) hailed yesterday’s passage in the Senate of legislation to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through September 30, 2010. The bill, which is retroactive to June 1, 2010, when the program expired, passed the House last week and will go to the President for his signature.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) today approved funding legislation for the next fiscal year.

Hartford, CT - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Starting July 1st thousands of seniors across Connecticut who are struggling to stay in their homes will have the opportunity to receive additional support from the state—and Senate Democratic leaders calls it a win-win for seniors and taxpayers.

TAVARES, FL - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- When Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law Senate Bill 1752 “Jobs for Florida” last month, not only did it provide tax incentives and tax breaks for qualified businesses, but it allowed developers and property owners to extend Lake County development orders that have an expiration date between Sept. 1, 2008, and Jan. 1, 2012, for two years. The extension applies to building permits, preliminary plat approvals, construction plan approvals and site plans.

TAVARES, FL - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new trailer equipped with a 280-gallon tank is allowing the Lake County Department of Environmental Utilities, Water Quality Services Division, to pump out old home-heating oil tanks more cost effectively.

BROCKTON, MA - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Marshfield woman has been indicted in connection with allegedly trying to delay or avoid foreclosure of a home mortgage by falsely reporting the death of a child to her mortgage company, and thereafter knowingly falsifying information in an affidavit filed in Brockton Superior Court, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced.A Plymouth County Grand Jury returned indictments against Donna Larson, age 52, on charges of Attempted Larceny and Perjury

ANNAPOLIS, MD - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Maryland’s new Foreclosure Mediation law will take effect, giving mortgage challenged homeowners another tool to help them save their homes. The program aims to give homeowners more time and a better opportunity to work with their lender, help qualified borrowers get relief through a loan modification and provide an independent party to help both sides come to a resolution

BALTIMORE, MD - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that the Court of Special Appeals has issued an opinion upholding the Consumer Protection Division’s finding that John P. Seisman and his company, Leedom, Inc., t/a Modular Home Express, violated Maryland’s home builder and consumer protection laws by selling modular homes to consumers without being registered as a home builder.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Most families with young children live within a mile of a public elementary school. The most common home heating fuel in the U.S. is gas. Only a third of American homes have a working carbon monoxide detector. These are just some of the findings of a comprehensive national sample of the more than 130 million residential housing units released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

WASHINGTON, DC - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a new policy that provides lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and families with further assistance when facing housing discrimination. The new guidance treats gender identity discrimination most often faced by transgender persons as gender discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, and instructs HUD staff to inform individuals filing complaints about state and local agencies that have LGBT-inclusive discrimination laws. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the new guidance at HUD’s LGBT Pride Month Celebration.

Washington, DC - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Realtors® today commended Congress for timely passage of two bills to extend the home buyer tax credit closing deadline and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. Both bills, strongly supported by NAR, had cleared the House earlier and were passed by the Senate last night. They now head to the president for his signature.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following a surge driven by the home buyer tax credit, pending home sales fell with the expiration of the deadline for qualified buyers to sign a purchase contract, according to the National Association of Realtors

Washington, D.C. - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- NeighborWorks America announced that it has awarded $35 million to 117 local NeighborWorks organizations and two NeighborWorks-affiliated capital corporations – Community Housing Capital and NeighborWorks Capital -- to rehabilitate or finance the rehabilitation of affordable housing nationwide, including smaller and rural communities with affordable housing needs.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- HOPE LoanPort™, the groundbreaking new web-based housing counselor tool that streamlines the submission of completed loan modification applications, announced today that 62 additional housing counseling offices are now live on its system and able to submit loan modification applications directly to participating mortgage servicers

WASHINGTON D.C. - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Congressman Dan Boren announced today the award of a $325,000 “Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing” grant to Little Dixie Community Action Agency in Hugo, Ok.

July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Despite four years of declining U.S. housing starts, the structural insulated panel (SIP) industry has avoided the full force of the economic recession, according to a recent survey conducted by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA). Results indicate that the industry experienced a modest 12 percent decrease in residential production volume in 2009, compared to a 28 percent drop in U.S. single family housing starts over the same time period

McLean, VA - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.58 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 1, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.69 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.32 percent