Monthly Archives: January 2011

New York, NY - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) today announced it has purchased City Investment Fund (CIF)'s 49.9% interest in 521 Fifth Avenue, thereby assuming full ownership of the building. The transaction values the consolidated interests at $245.7 million or approximately $502 per square foot.

New York, NY - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) announced today that it will release earnings for the fourth quarter and full year 2010 on Monday, January 24, 2011 after market close

WASHINGTON, DC - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department announced today that it has settled its suit against the town of Garner, N.C., and the town’s Board of Adjustment alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act when refused to allow up to eight men recovering from drug and alcohol addictions to live together as a reasonable accommodation.

Vancouver, WA - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Washington Homelessness Housing and Assistance Act mandated in May 2005 the creation of 10-year homeless housing plans for each of the state’s counties. Clark County’s Homelessness Plan Task Force invites neighborhood leaders, elected officials, landlords, educators, low-income people and all other interested citizens to attend a planning session on Wednesday, January 12, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Center for Community Health, 1601 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Bldg. 17, Vancouver

Raleigh, NC - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A so-called foreclosure rescue company that previously operated in Charlotte and Colfax, NC and its owner are banned from ever doing foreclosure assistance work in North Carolina, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced today.

TRENTON, NJ - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that a former local administrator of the New Jersey Home Energy Assistance (HEA) Program was sentenced to prison today for stealing from the program

WASHINGTON, DC - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today announced that Paterson will receive a $6.387 million federal investment to expand access to affordable housing for low-and moderate-income families through various housing development, community revitalization, and emergency homeless shelter programs. The grants, awarded and administered through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), are part of four HUD initiatives: The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, the HOME Investment Partnership, the Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program, and the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program

BISMARCK, ND - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The 20th Annual Statewide Housing Conference, “It Starts with a Home,” will be held Feb. 9-10, 2011, at the Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck, ND.

JEFFERSON CITY, MO - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (ZWY-ful) today announced he is on a record setting pace for Unclaimed Property returns in fiscal year 2011. In the first six months, $18 million in Unclaimed Property was returned – an 8 percent increase over the same period the previous year. More than 60,000 accounts have been returned as well, a 32 percent increase year over year

Washington, DC - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- NeighborWorks America, a Congressionally chartered nonprofit and one of the nation’s largest community development corporations, announced today that Leila Finucane Edmonds has joined the corporation as director of National Initiatives

January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG) Acting Director Andrew S. Levin warns Michigan licensed residential builders, and maintenance and alteration contractors to be aware of a possible scam that involves a mailing they may have received which looks deceptively like a mailing from DELEG.

January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Effective January 1, 2011, the Bridgton District Court will retain all of the foreclosure cases filed in Bridgton that are referred to the Foreclosure Diversion Program for mediation. Bridgton District Court will hold informational sessions and mediations. Previously, Bridgton foreclosure cases on the diversion track were permanently transferred to the Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland.

Jackson, MS - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- EastGroup Properties (NYSE-EGP) announced today that it will hold its Fourth Quarter Conference Call and Web Cast on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 11:00 A.M. Eastern Time. On the call, David Hoster, President and CEO, and Keith McKey, CFO, will review the fourth quarter results and discuss EastGroup's current operations

TALLAHASSEE, FL - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced the arrest of mortgage fraud scammer Guillermo Fraginals Parra, 37, of Hialeah, on charges of first degree grand theft. Parra, the 18th individual arrested in this scam, was a real estate appraiser at the time the crimes occurred and was being paid on the side to inflate the value of various condominiums in the Brickell Bay Condo Community

Washington, DC - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) responded to today’s ruling of the Massachusetts Supreme Court in the Ibanez case, in which the court ruled that US Bancorp and Wells Fargo did not have standing to foreclose on a borrower because they failed to follow proper legal procedure in the mortgage transfer and securitization process

West Hartford, CT - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) Jan 20, Feb 2, and Feb 9 - 6:00 to 9:00 PM Comfort Inn. 900 East Main Street, Meriden, CT $140 for CT REIA members | $180 for Not-yet-members Tuition includes a 81 page real estate investment course manual

Takoma Park, MD - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Montgomery Housing Partnership, Inc. (MHP), a private nonprofit housing developer, today announced the year-end acquisition of the Parkview Towers apartments at 7667 Maple Avenue. MHP purchased the 11-story building for $6.895 million from a private owner on December 23, 2010. The broker of record on the transaction was Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services.

ATLANTA, GA - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As 2010 gave way to 2011, The Southeastern Home Team became the Southeastern Realty Group, Georgia's newest full-service real estate brokerage. With the brokerage comes a renewed commitment to providing a real estate experience that goes well beyond the expectations of buyers, sellers and agents.

Torrance, CA - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gumbiner Savett Managing Director Michael Savoy, CPA, has been appointed to the California Board of Accountancy (CBA), the entity that regulates the state’s accounting profession for the public interest. Savoy’s appointment was one of Governor Schwarzenegger’s final acts before his term ended Jan. 2.

FAIRFAX, VA - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Credit Union Mortgage Association (CUMA) today announced an innovative residential mortgage product that allows the consumer to initiate the change in their interest rate mortgage

Chicago, IL - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The newest user review and social networking website donotrent.com went live late November 2010. The review platform is based on tenant experiences, past or present, renting apartments, on or off campus student housing, rental homes, vacation rentals and more. The site allows users to search and post reviews in every city in the United States. Users can also post pictures of the apartment and rate it using a unique 5-star rating system that ranges from “Not That Bad” to “Absolute Nightmare.” Although the name, donotrent.com, implies and actually encourages negative reviews, users can also post positive reviews.

Las Vegas, NV - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nevada Real Estate Agents will soon notice major changes to the short sale approval letter issued by Bank of America. Bank of America has changed the verbiage of their standard short sale approval letter, deleting verbiage referring to the bank’s right to pursue a defiency judgement against a homeowner.

Washington, D.C. - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Winter’s chill pervades much of the nation, and escalating gas prices are putting their own chill down the spines of U.S. consumers. But until the spring thaw arrives, simple energy-efficiency steps at home and on the road – potentially supplemented by federal income tax credits for specific energy-efficiency home improvements – can take the sting out of high energy bills, says the Alliance to Save Energy

EUGENE, OR - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Searching the Santa Fe MLS (SFARMLS) just got easier for home seekers, thanks to the partnership between IDX, Inc. and real estate agent Teddie Sue Mooday. Potential buyers can now experience an online home search unlike any other with the IDX solution now employed by Mooday. By utilizing the unique search features on search page Mooday hosts, home seekers can engage in a thorough and comprehensive online property search. Never before has a simpler or easier to use real estate website been available to Los Alamos, New Mexico buyers.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) will deliver industry-leading educational sessions at the 2011 NAHB International Builders' Show January 12–15 in Orlando. CEDIA will offer three of its most popular courses for design and build industry professionals and will exhibit in booth #W5047.Visitors to the CEDIA booth can learn about working with a professional electronic systems contractor (ESC) to execute home technology projects. CEDIA representatives will also share information about the Home Technology Alliance, of which CEDIA is a founding partner. In addition, visitors to CEDIA’s booth can enter to win tickets to the 2011 Indianapolis 500

Boston, MA - January 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The national vacancy and availability rates in the U.S. office and industrial markets, continued to decline in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2010, according to the latest analysis from CBRE Econometric Advisors (CBRE-EA). In Q4, the national office vacancy rate fell by 20 basis points (bps) to16.4%, the second consecutive quarterly decline. The national industrial availability1 rate decreased by 30 basis points in Q4 to 14.3%, marking the second consecutive decrease in availability and providing further proof that the industrial sector continues to heal.

EUGENE, OR - January 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The iPhone enabled IDX Broker software is now also available on the website of Sylvia Sotomayor, thanks to her collaboration with IDX, Inc. Now simpler than ever before, IDX Broker extracts raw listing data from the East Bay Regional Data/MAX MLS (MAX/EBRD) and displays it seamlessly on the website Sotomayor hosts. The once complicated online property search is now simpler than ever, when potential buyers utilize the incredible IDX enabled website Sotomayor manages

EMERYVILLE, CA - January 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The number of home listings within 26 major U.S. metropolitan areas slipped 5.27 percent in December 2010, compared to a month prior, according to a monthly report of homes listed for sale on Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in the markets surveyed by national real estate brokerage, ZipRealty (www.ziprealty.com; NASDAQ: ZIPR).

Washington, D.C. - January 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is conducting a pilot project in collaboration with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) to help reverse mortgage borrowers who are struggling to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) WHAT: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Annual State of the Real Estate Finance Industry Media Conference Call.Among the issues MBA representatives will discuss are the state of the industry, MBA's legislative and regulatory agenda for 2011 (including Dodd-Frank Act Implementation, GSE/secondary market reform, tax reform and residential loan servicing) and MBA's new three-year macro-economic and mortgage finance/housing forecasts.