Monthly Archives: November 2010

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tooele County has received approval from the Utah Division of Housing and Community Development’s Private Activity Bond Board for a $11.4 million allocation of Recovery Zone Bonds for use in building a new county jail.

NEW YORK, NY - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York City Comptroller John C. Liu, on behalf of the trustees of the New York City Pension Funds, is calling on directors at Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) to conduct an independent audit of their banks’ mortgage and foreclosure practices. The four banks are the largest mortgage servicers in the country representing 56 percent of the nation’s $10.64 trillion mortgage industry

NEW YORK, NY - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services today announced that it has been appointed by True North Management Group LLC to provide real estate fund administration services for its True North High Yield Investment Fund II which closed in April 2010 with $330 million of equity commitments and is expected to finish with $500-$600 million of equity commitments.

New York, NY - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) announced today that leases covering 141,887 square feet with new or expanding tenants have been signed within the past 30 days

BOSTON, MA - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing has awarded $453,037 in financing to help create or preserve more than 100 units of affordable sober housing in eight communities across Massachusetts.

November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Governor’s Committee to End Homelessness (GCEH) has selected Sedalia as the host city for its 2011 Project Homeless Connect Event to be held in the fall of 2011. The event is designed to serve the homeless population of Pettis County and the surrounding areas.

LOS ANGELES, CA - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Housing affordability among first-time home buyers improved slightly in the third quarter of 2010, both on a quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year basis, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. The percentage of first-time buyers who could afford to purchase an entry-level home in California stood at 66 percent in the third quarter of 2010, according to C.A.R.’s First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI). In the second quarter of 2010, the Index was a revised 65 percent and was 64 percent in the third quarter of 2009

NAMPA, ID - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nampa residents are benefiting from newly rehabilitated affordable housing at Galway Apartments. Tomlinson & Associates is celebrating the grand reopening of this 56-unit complex with an open house from 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16 on site at Galway Apartments, 2201 W. Karcher Road. A ribbon cutting will be held at 3 p.m., followed by tours of the units and the new clubhouse throughout the afternoon and evening

LITTLE ROCK, AR - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Dustin McDaniel today announced that he has joined a multistate review into possibly improper practices within the mortgage service industry.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Conducted quarterly since 1972, MBA's National Delinquency Survey covers more than 40 million loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties, representing more than 80 percent of all first-lien residential mortgage loans outstanding in the United States.

November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage Cadence, LLC, a leading provider of Enterprise Lending Solutions (ELS), Loss Mitigation Technology and Document Services for the financial services industry, announces the direct integration with EarlyCheck in support of Fannie Mae’s Loan Quality Initiative (LQI). EarlyCheck provides users with access to Fannie Mae’s data checks at any point in the lender’s business process. Validating critical data prior to delivering a loan to Fannie Mae provides increased certainty for the lender and ultimately reduces funding and pooling delays after submission

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A $55,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from Bank of the Ozarks and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) will assist the Fayetteville Housing Authority with much needed repairs to apartments for very low-income residents.

November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a proposal by Fidelity National Financial, Inc. to sell rights to certain assets used in conducting real estate title searches. Fidelity is required to sell these rights to comply with an FTC Order that settled charges that Fidelity’s 2008 acquisition of three LandAmerica Financial subsidiaries reduced competition in markets for real estate title information services. This proposal resolves Commission concerns that Fidelity would be the only provider of title plant information services in the Detroit, Michigan, metropolitan area

Chicago, IL - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Congressman Russ Carnahan (D-MO) and Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-IL), members of the House Committee on Science and Technology and Co-Chairs of the Congressional High-Performance Buildings Caucus, held a field hearing to discuss ongoing efforts to expand renewable energy integration in buildings.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Congressional Oversight Panel today released its November oversight report, "Examining the Consequences of Mortgage Irregularities for Financial Stability and Foreclosure Mitigation." The Panel reviewed allegations that companies servicing $6.4 trillion in American mortgages may in some cases have bypassed legally required steps to foreclose on a home. The implications of these irregularities remain unclear, but it is possible that "robo-signing" may have concealed deeper problems in the mortgage market that could potentially threaten financial stability and undermine foreclosure prevention efforts

Upper Marlboro, MD - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The NAHB Research Center, in its capacity as an ANSI-approved standard developer, has announced that preparations for the development of the next version (2012) of the National Green Building Standard are now officially underway. The Research Center will again act as the secretariat, or administrator, of the standard development process. Once completed, the updated standard will again be submitted to ANSI for approval.

Biloxi, MS - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U. S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour today announced the approval of a $132 million disaster recovery plan proposed by the State of Mississippi that will direct federal funding to Hurricane Katrina housing recovery in southern Mississippi. Primarily funded through HUD supplemental disaster recovery Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, the program supports the long-term recovery in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The plan includes a new Neighborhood Home program that will repair low-and-moderate-income homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina and assist qualified low-and-moderate-income families to occupy Mississippi Cottages and find rental housing.

WASHINGTON, DC - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today released its annual report to Congress on the financial status of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund, FHA’s principal insurance account that includes all single-family and reverse mortgage activity. FHA’s study finds that since last year, the capital reserve ratio held steady, insurance claims declined significantly, and the economic value of FHA’s single-family insurance program grew by more than $1 billion, from $3.6 billion in 2009 to $4.7 billion in 2010

EUGENE, OR - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. welcomes Sue Westergard to the growing team of real estate professionals choosing to enable a custom IDX solution on their realty websites. Agents and brokers, like Westergard, have long had access to detailed property listings. Now, thanks to IDX Broker software, Westergard can support thousands of Spirit Lake MLS (SLMLS) listings directly on her real estate search page. Her website serves home seekers and their every need, by hosting a thorough and comprehensive database of property listings online.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved slightly in November, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI rose one notch to 16 from a downwardly revised level of 15 in the previous month.

November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Republican Conference Leader Jon Bramnick said Monday’s scheduled Assembly committee hearings are more noteworthy for bills that are not listed on the panels’ agendas instead of the items that will be considered. Six committees will convene, but none will be evaluating any of the property tax reform legislation contained in the Tool Kit.

November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Democrats have cancelled four committee meetings on Monday, while the other six will consider 19 bills, none of which deals with the property tax reform measures contained in Governor Christie’s Tool Kit. Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic, said today it can’t be any clearer that the majority party does not believe that the issue of property taxes is the number one priority of New Jersey taxpayers.

NEW YORK, NY - November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chase announced today that it more than doubled its Small Business Administration loan volume in fiscal 2010 to become the nation's largest SBA lender, helping 250 more businesses than the next largest lender.

November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement. Robertson faces a maximum penalty of 30 years on the conspiracy and mail and wire fraud counts, 10 years on the counts charging engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity and 10 years on the false statement count.

WASHINGTON, DC - November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report requested by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Economic Policy Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, on the practice of "abandoned foreclosures," also commonly referred to as "bank walkaways." This is the practice whereby banks decline to take possession of properties after initiating the foreclosure process, most often because the costs — from legal fees to maintenance — exceed the value of the real estate

Nashville, TN - November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Morris Property Management, an Associa company, was recently named Accredited Management Organization (AMO) “Real Estate Management Company of the Year” by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) Chapter No. 71. Company of the Year is awarded to the company that demonstrates dedication, promotion and outstanding contribution to the advancement of Real Estate Management in the Nashville area

FRANKFORT, KY - November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The State Property and Buildings Commission (SPBC) will hold a meeting on Monday, Nov. 15, 2010 at 3 p.m. in Room 182 of the Capitol Annex, Frankfort, Ky

LEXINGTON, KY - November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- First Lady Jane Beshear today visited the home of Lexington residents Larry and Melissa LeVine to see firsthand the energy-efficiency improvements being made as a part of KY Home Performance, a comprehensive, energy-efficiency program designed to help Kentucky homeowners save energy while increasing the comfort of their homes.“I encourage Kentuckians to take advantage of this unique program to make home improvements just as Steve and I have done in the Governor’s Mansion and in our own home,” said Mrs. Beshear. “KY Home Performance assists Kentucky families in financing energy-efficiency upgrades to make their homes more energy efficient while also creating opportunities for green jobs.”

SOUTH BEND, IN - November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The costs of the death penalty and the impact of mortgage foreclosures will be subjects of a two-day summit on criminal and civil justice on November 15 and 16 at the University of Notre Dame

Detroit, MI - November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Quicken Loans Inc., the nation’s largest online lender and top-five retail mortgage lender, and Quizzle LLC, a free online tool that helps consumers better manage their home, money and credit, today announced they ranked #1 in the Detroit Free Press’ Top Workplaces in Michigan 2010 list