Monthly Archives: November 2010

November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), which operates the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) on behalf of state mortgage regulators, today announced unique state test components are now available for all 50 states and two territories—the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.

Washington, DC - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Lamar Smith announced today that Comal County has been awarded a federal grant of over $10 million to help to reduce flood levels of Dry Comal Creek in southern Comal County, Texas.

Washington, D.C. - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) --Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, issued the following statement Tuesday after the committee’s hearing on the major problems in the national mortgage servicing industry:

November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, November 14-20, is being honored at an all-day event hosted by the Governor’s Committee to End Homelessness on Thursday, November 18, at the state capitol. The theme of this year’s event and poster contest is “A Home for Everyone.”

JEFFERSON CITY, MO - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (ZWY-ful) announced today he has returned $370,000 in Unclaimed Property to a Top 50 Missouri employer. The return was comprised of multiple accounts received over time. As always, when done directly with Treasurer Zweifel, the Unclaimed Property return was made free of charge. The business is not being identified for privacy reasons.

WORCESTER, MA - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- An Oxford man has been sentenced to State Prison after pleading guilty in Worcester Superior Court for his role in a complex scheme in which fraudulent documents were used to defraud homeowners and mortgage lenders in numerous real estate transactions involving distressed properties in the Worcester County area, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced today.

Albuquerque, NM - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Canyon Gate Real Estate Services, an Associa company, is proud to announce that Casey Link has earned his Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) designation. The CMCA designation is issued by the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM)

Doddsville, MS - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Residents of Doddsville and the surrounding area are invited to attend a free homebuyer fair on November 30, 2010, at the Doddsville Community Center, 133 Eastland St., from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. hosted by the Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC), BDT Housing Services Enterprise, USM Institute for Disability Studies, ECD/Hope Community Credit Union, and the City of Doddsville. The homebuyer fair will be open to the public and provide attendees the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of homeownership and details of the home buying process.

Torrance, CA - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates, one of the largest national commercial real estate providers with regional expertise, has negotiated the $1.3 million lease of a 41,650-square-foot industrial property at 16121 S. Carmenita Road, in the Los Angeles suburb of Cerritos. The concrete tilt-up building is part of a larger facility sitting on more than one acre of land.

Washington, DC - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today renewed his push to help Colorado families stay in their homes by pressing for more transparency and clarity and a new appeals process in foreclosures.

CHICAGO, IL - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A national listing of energy efficient commercial buildings in the United States that are included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR program is now available on a new mobile phone application offered by LessEn, an Urban Land Institute (ULI) initiative to help lessen energy consumption in commercial buildings around the globe

Los Angeles, CA - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc (NYSE:CBG) today announced that NYSE Euronext (NYX), a leading global operator of financial markets and provider of innovative trading technologies, has selected CB Richard Ellis as its exclusive outsourcing provider of global real estate transaction management services and its preferred provider of global facilities management services.

WASHINGTON, DC - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Commercial real estate visionaries from both academia and industry painted a fairly optimistic picture of what the industry will look like in the next ten years during 2020: A Vision for Commercial Real Estate, a thought leader symposium presented by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Foundation and the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies and its Masters of Professional Studies in Real Estate Program held last Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Their predictions point to a future in which property management is increasingly important, buildings are carbon neutral and shifting demographics create a greater demand for real estate.“Our inaugural Thought Leader Symposium was an inspiring glimpse of what our industry will look like a decade from now,” commented BOMA Foundation Chair Marilyn Wilbarger, director of property management, City of Key West, Fla. “Attendees heard from the best and brightest minds in real estate, finance and sustainability and walked away with a better idea of how to prepare for future success.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 12, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 14.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. The results do not include an adjustment for Veterans Day. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 15.0 percent compared with the previous week.

Chicago, IL - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A broad and diverse coalition of over 30 organizations active in countries around the world announced a Call for Partners today for an international alliance advocating for sustainable building practices as a key strategy for combating climate change

Chicago, IL - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), developers of the LEED green building program today announced LEED Automation, a new program in collaboration with leading technology companies that is designed to streamline and create capacity for the LEED building certification process. LEED Automation enables LEED Online, the online tool projects use to submit documentation and certify LEED projects, to interact with third party technology platforms.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing starts declined 11.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 519,000 units in October, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. The decline was primarily registered in the more volatile multifamily sector, where starts retreated 43.5 percent to an 83,000-unit rate, while single-family starts posted a more modest 1.1 percent decline to 436,000 units."Home builders continue to be very cautious about starting new projects at this time," said Bob Jones, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. "That said, in markets where consumer demand for new homes is reviving, builders are finding it almost impossible to obtain construction financing, and this frustrating situation is producing an unnecessary drag on both new home production and economic growth."

Washington D.C. - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) proudly recognized outstanding chapters and exceptional volunteer leaders with the annual Awards of Excellence. Awarded in Chicago at USGBC’s Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the awards are presented to chapters and individuals that excel in providing local green building outreach and education, and in fostering best practices among the green building community. The chapter award categories are Community Building and Education, and award categories for chapter leaders include: Green Building Community Champion; Premier Volunteer Programmer; Outstanding Emerging Professional; and Outstanding Green Advocate. Since the inception of the program, the awards have been supported by USGBC national member Milliken & Company.

Chandler, AZ - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Real Estate lead generation involves connecting with homeowners that are desperate or very motivated to sell their house(s) now. WeHaveHomeLeads.com is a reputable real estate lead service and how they work is: motivated sellers contact them asking for help in finding an investor to buy their property

EUGENE, OR - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tyler MLS (GTARMLS) listings just became easier to search through on the newly upgraded real estate website of agent Misty Reynolds. IDX, Inc. has enabled IDX Broker software on the website of Reynolds in an effort to bring thousands of listings to the fingertips of her clients and home seekers utilizing her website throughout their online property search. With her customizable IDX solution Reynolds can offer potential buyers around Tyler, Texas a unique and thorough home search on her website.

Washington, DC - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The latest independent audit of the Federal Housing Administration shows the agency’s financial condition has improved from last year, when it announced its capital reserve fund had fallen below the 2 percent level mandated by Congress. The annual audit shows that the capital ratio for the single-family portfolio rose from 0.42 percent to 0.79 percent over the past year.

EUGENE, OR - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Boston, Massachusetts homes just became easier to search for online, with the latest partnership between IDX, Inc. and real estate agent Laura Cahill. Massachusetts MLS (MLSPIN) property listings are now conveniently displayed on the website of Cahill, giving her clients access to thousands of detailed property listings, which they can search through. Cahill, the number one real estate agent in Milton, has once again made the right decision for her real estate business and for her clients, by adding a customizable IDX solution to her professional website.

Washington, DC - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Although the recent trend of rising long-term borrowing rates may mean higher mortgages for consumers in the coming months, the greater obstacles to housing market recovery are job creation and availability of credit, according to a National Association of REALTORS® analysis.

Chicago, IL - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Bank of America announced the ten recipients of the Affordable Green Neighborhoods Grant Program. Funded by a $500,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the program awards financial and educational resources to help neighborhood projects that have affordable green housing components in their plans pursue LEED for Neighborhood Development. LEED for Neighborhood Development is a green rating system from USGBC that certifies whole neighborhoods, portions of neighborhoods or multiple neighborhoods. The selected development projects were announced at the Affordable Housing Summit at USGBC’s Greenbuild International Conference & Expo

WASHINGTON, DC - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) held an oversight hearing investigating problems in the mortgage servicing industry. The Committee heard testimony from state officials, industry executives, and experts in law and consumer protection, and explored how mortgage servicing practices may have prevented modifications and even resulted in unjustifiable foreclosures.

November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates is proud to announce that Hank Antis has joined the San Diego-UTC office as a senior associate. He specializes in industrial real estate in both tenant/purchaser representation and project leasing.

AUSTIN, TX - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Texas State Representative Roberto R. Alonzo (Dallas) was informed by the Texas Department of Community Affairs (TDHCA) of some valuable resources and assistance the state agency is making available to all Texans who may find themselves with foreclosure problems and other related issues associated with homeownership. The TDHCA is the state's homeownership agency, and as such the staff there is committed to helping Texans achieve homeownership, as well as helping home owners avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes. To make all Texans aware of the various resources currently available throughout the state, TDHCA has prepared a valuable foreclosure prevention brochure and other resourceful materials that can be easily accessed by visiting the website at: http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/homeownership/foreclosure/. Or you may call toll-free at 1-888-995-HOPE (4673). You may also visit the TDHCA state agency website (www.tdhca.state.tx.us and click on the 'Disaster Recovery Assistance" link on the bottom right hand corner. All these materials and resources are free.

WASHINGTON, DC - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager today invited non-profit groups and public entities to apply for loans to rehabilitate multi-family housing in rural areas.

LUBBOC, TX - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is charging two Lubbock mortgage companies and their owners with orchestrating a complex scheme to defraud Texas property owners. The State’s enforcement action names Enhance Mortgage Corp. and Templeton Mortgage Co. Inc. as defendants and charges both with violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

MADISON, WI - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen today announced that his office has filed a civil environmental prosecution against William Haus, Bauer & Raether Builders, Inc., and D.L. Anderson's Lakeside Leisure Co., Inc., for their alleged unlawful construction of a three‑story lake access structure on the shore of Lake Mendota in the Village of Shorewood Hills, behind the home of Mr. Haus. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had asked the Wisconsin Department of Justice to prosecute them for violating a state law which prohibits the placement of fill material or structures on the bed of a lake without first obtaining a permit from the DNR authorizing such activity.