Monthly Archives: February 2011

COLUMBIA, MD - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (Enterprise), a national leader in affordable housing and community development, today announced that Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) has given the company approval to originate affordable multifamily loans nationally on its behalf. The new license granted to Enterprise rounds out the company’s agency platform, which already includes capacity to sell and service loans for Fannie Mae and FHA. Enterprise is among a handful of lenders approved to sell and service targeted affordable housing loans nationwide. These are loans on apartment properties with rents that are affordable to low- and very-low income individuals whose incomes are at or below 80 percent or 60 percent of the area median income, respectively.

AUSTIN, TX - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- State Representative Eric Johnson (Dallas) has filed three bills to better protect Texans who stand to lose their property through eminent domain.

Orlando, FL - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Joseph A. Smith, Jr., North Carolina Commissioner of Banks, will address the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) User Conference & Training today on the future of state mortgage regulation

Washington, D.C. - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Yesterday, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, sent a letter to Holly Petraeus, head of the Office of Servicemember Affairs in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at the U.S. Treasury Department, in response to concerns that some financial institutions were not offering protections to servicemembers provided under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Among the safeguards in the SCRA, which is under the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, are a number intended to ease concerns over financial situations at home for servicemembers. Recently, however, it has come to light that some servicemembers have been improperly overcharged on their mortgages or even been foreclosed upon by lenders

WASHINGTON, DC - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The United States has filed six lawsuits in five states to stop tax return preparers from fraudulently claiming the first-time homebuyer tax credit and the earned-income tax credit, the Justice Department announced today. The filings of those civil injunction complaints coincided with the indictment of a Philadelphia man on criminal charges of fraudulently claiming the first-time homebuyer credit. All of these actions are part of the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to halt tax scams involving false claims for tax credits and to prosecute those who fraudulently file tax returns containing those claims.

Providence, RI - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Lincoln D. Chafee today announced his plans to reactivate the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH), which establishes a mechanism for Cabinet- and Director-level staff to come together to discuss better coordination of state activities for housing and homelessness. The ICH also develops strategies to address the problems associated with homelessness, makes recommendations aimed at reducing the number of homeless people in Rhode Island, and promotes and supports development of permanent supportive housing

February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today unveiled the development plan for Hunter’s Point South, the largest new affordable housing complex to be built in New York City since the 1970s. A development team, consisting of Phipps Houses, Related Companies and Monadnock Construction, has been selected through a competitive process to build the residential portion of the first phase of the Queens waterfront complex, which includes two mixed-use buildings comprising more than 900 housing units and roughly 20,000 square feet of new retail space

BOSTON, MA - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing has awarded $171,963 in financing to help create or preserve affordable sober housing in Boston, Hingham and Northampton.

Santa Clarita, CA - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Colliers International, the second largest global real estate services organization, facilitated the investment sale of Northpark Village Square, an 87,094-square-foot neighborhood shopping center located at 27706 – 27760 McBean Parkway, Santa Clarita, Calif. to an institutional buyer with offices in Orange County California

WASHINGTON, DC - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International’s Board of Governors recently passed two new policy positions in response to important, emerging issues. Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) Policy Position: BOMA International supports amending, if not the outright repeal of, FIRPTA to increase the amount of foreign capital invested in the U.S. commercial real estate market

February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- During an awards ceremony held at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida, the NAHB Research Center recognized twelve of the nation’s leading energy-efficient builders and remodelers with the Energy Value Housing Awards (EVHA). Now in its 16th year, the EVHA challenges builders to elevate standards for energy-efficient construction. Winners are selected from projects in three climate regions (Cold, Moderate, Hot) and five categories (Affordable, Custom/Demonstration, Multifamily, Production, and Existing Homes)

EUGENE, OR - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Garden State MLS (GSMLS) listings are now seamlessly integrated onto the website of Mercure Volt, thanks to IDX, Inc. and their dynamic IDX Broker software. As a New Jersey real estate agent, Volt has long had access to GSMLS listings. Now, her clients and other home seekers can scan the GSMLS with the same ease afforded to Volt and hundreds of agents and brokers around New Jersey. With the innovative IDX solution Volt has chosen to employ, potential buyers can experience an unprecedented online property search

February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- USAA Real Estate Company is pleased to welcome Len O’Donnell as President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing all operations of the company. O’Donnell comes to USAA Real Estate Company with more than 25 years of extensive real estate experience as President and CEO of Crimson Capital Ltd and Principal of Crimson Real Estate Fund, based in Houston. Prior to Crimson, Len spent 10 years as a leading investment sales broker in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware.

EUGENE, OR - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. is pleased to announce Arizona Realtor Jill Grasky has joined the elite group of real estate agents and brokers who have adopted a customizable IDX solution. As a subscriber to IDX Broker software, Grasky can sync her website automatically with the Tuscon MLS (TARMLS), displaying thousands of properties instantly on the website she hosts. With her IDX solution Tuscon home seekers can explore an immense database of detailed property listings without ever leaving the convenience of Grasky's website. The online property search has been simplified forever for Grasky and her clients, thanks to her IDX solution

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 4, 2011. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3.9 percent compared with the previous week.

San Diego, CA - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today awarded Catherine Rodewald, Vice President of Prudential Mortgage Capital Company, with the CREF Distinguished Service Award at the Association's 21st Annual Commercial Real Estate Finance (CREF)/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo held in San Diego, CA. The award was given to Rodewald in recognition of her dedication and prominent service to MBA and the mortgage lending industry.

EUGENE, OR - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. announces Diana Dwyer of World of Real Estate has adopted a customizable IDX solution for her professional website. Dwyer joins the growing network of agents and brokers who have already transformed their own online real estate websites with the innovative IDX Broker software. Dwyer can now sync her website to the Massachusetts MLS Property Info Network (MLSPIN), making thousands of properties available for home seekers around Boston to search through. Never before has such a comprehensive and thorough online real estate solution been so readily available to agents, broker or potential buyers online

SACRAMENTO - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the City of Sacramento announced today that the Sacramento City Unified School District will be one of the first to obtain a Center for Green Schools Fellow.

DANBURY/BETHEL, CT. - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Two of the popular housing styles at The Villages at Timber Oak will be on display when Baker Residential hosts a special tour of the “Quick Delivery” residences now available for sale at the suburban residential community rising in the Fairfield County towns of Danbury and Bethel

LOWER TOWNSHIP, N.J. - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representatives of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) today joined local officials to celebrate the completion of Conifer Village, an affordable senior housing community located at 3805 Bayshore Road in Lower Township, Cape May County. The HMFA, an affiliate of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), provided $1.4 million in permanent financing for the project and also awarded federal tax credits and tax credit subsidies.

February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that the State of Ohio has entered into a proposed consent order with Raymond Croxford, doing business as Knollwood Mobile Home Park (U.S. Route 50 West, Athens County). The order resolves allegations of violations related to unauthorized wastewater discharges from the park’s wastewater treatment plant into Margaret Creek

BEDFORD, N.H. - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- At its recent meeting, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s Board of Directors approved the commitment of just over $1 million in federal HOME Investment Partnership funds that will be used to add 25 new affordable rental units to the state’s housing supply. In addition, this project will retain or create approximately 60 construction-related jobs during these challenging economic times.

Pierre, SD - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- South Dakota Housing Development Authority (SDHDA) is now accepting applications for the Emergency Shelter Grants Program. The Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) Program, which is funded by the U.S. Depar...

PIERRE, S.D. - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Citizens across South Dakota are invited to review and provide comments on South Dakota Housing Development Authority’s (SDHDA) Neighborhood Stabilization Program Plan (NSP) and its appropriation ...

February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DAVID RAMNAUTH, the former president of the Queens mortgage brokerage GuyAmerican Funding Corp. ("GuyAmerican"), was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in a massive mortgage fraud scheme in which over $23 million in fraudulent loans were processed in connection with over 44 properties in the New York metropolitan area. RAMNAUTH pled guilty to his role in the mortgage fraud scheme in August 2010

NEW YORK, NY - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released Subprime Foreclosures and the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform, the latest article in its Economic Policy Review series from the Research and Statistics Group.

New York, NY - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Senate today passed three mandate relief bills that would give local governments more authority and flexibility and help save taxpayer dollars. “As the Senate works to enact a property tax cap, it’s important that we also pass mandate relief measures to give municipalities the ability to allocate resources on community priorities, rather than to address state mandates that may not be needed,” Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said. “The bills we passed today are simple, common sense legislation to save money.

Torrance, CA - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ground has broken on the $10 million renovation of Heritage Plaza, a 226,998-square-foot retail center in Irvine, Calif., owned by Regency Centers (www.regencycenters.com), the leading national owner, operator, and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers. The renovation of this Ralph’s-anchored center is scheduled for completion in November 2011.

MILFORD, CT - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- TMS Funding, the wholesale residential lending channel of Total Mortgage Services, LLC, announced today the hiring of John O’Brien as Wholesale Account Executive. Mr. O’Brien, an experienced mortgage professional with many years of successful sales leadership in start-up and territory expansion, has been hired to develop new business relationships and educate, train and support high quality mortgage brokers in their respective markets. In his new role, Mr. O’Brien will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers throughout the New York marketplace.

Chicago, IL - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network once again led the seven-county metro Chicago real estate market in home sales during the year just ended. RE/MAX agents sold 12,678 listed residences, easily outdistancing any other brokerage organization. RE/MAX has held the number one position, based on listings sold in the metro Chicago real estate market, since area-wide data was first collected in 1994.