Monthly Archives: April 2011

EUGENE, OR - April 121, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Realtor Kathy Sheehan has enabled the IDX, Inc. premier technology, IDX Broker software, onto her real estate website, creating an unparalleled database of Greater Greenville MLS (GGMLS) listings, conveniently on her website. Sheehan has made it so simple for South Carolina home seekers to experience an online property search that is both effective and efficient at matching buyers with their dream home. The IDX solution Sheehan has adopted has forever changed the way she does business online

EUGENE, OR - April 121, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- California Real Estate Technology Service (CARETS) listings are now easily displayed online, thanks to IDX, Inc. and real estate agent Vicki Pedersen. Thousands of Los Angeles, California area properties listings are seamlessly integrated onto the search page Pedersen employs, with the dynamic technology her IDX solution supports. The online real estate search is now monumentally simpler for home seekers and real estate professionals alike on the comprehensive and complete website Pedersen supports. The CARETS database has never been so accessible to potential Los Angeles buyers, than now on the IDX enabled website of Pedersen.

Santa Rosa Beach, FL - April 121, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Housing appreciation will take a number of years to materialize again after the downturn in most local U.S. housing markets, according to the findings of a new Housing Predictor survey. Consumers are cautiously optimistic about the market with more than 1 out of 3 surveyed saying it will take more than five years for the market to appreciate.

April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new program that allows housing lenders and borrowers to easily exchange information is aimed at helping both sides work out a settlement agreement in foreclosure cases. The program centers on the launch of a secure online network that enables parties to more efficiently exchange documents during mediation. Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard explained the importance of the network. “The success of settlement conferences can depend on whether all the necessary paperwork is in place. We are giving both sides another tool to collect and review all the information needed to work out an agreement.”

April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- To help raise awareness of building safety, Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting Services (DPS) is celebrating Building Safety Month by offering free deck maintenance inspections for single-family detached homes, townhouses and duplex dwellings. The inspections are available to all Montgomery County residents – excluding those in the City of Rockville and the City of Gaithersburg. The inspection will include a checklist for homeowners to help them maintain a safe and sound structure

ORLANDO, FL - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Don’t wait to enter Florida Realtors® annual Environmental Award program, or you may be green with ENVY when the winner is chosen. Popularly known as the “ENVY” award, the honor goes to a development that best preserves Florida’s natural quality of life. The award may be given in two categories: one for residential development and one for commercial development.Oakland Park, a traditional neighborhood development between the historic towns of Oakland and Winter Garden in Central Florida, won Florida Realtors’ 23rd ENVY Award in 2010. The community includes about 258 acres stretching from the shores of Lake Apopka to Oakland Avenue.

CHICAGO, IL - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As an indication that the commercial real estate sector is in a slow but steady recovery, the U.S. office market recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of occupancy gains with 4.5 million square feet of space absorbed in the first quarter of 2011.

West Haven, CT - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Every year complaints against contractors pour into State and Federal Consumer Complaint Agencies and the BBB. As a matter of fact, according to the 2010 Annual Consumer Complaint Survey contractorsranked numbers 3 & 6 out of all complaints. The economy is compounding the problem. Contractors desperate for work with unscrupulous morals are taking advantage of customers at an alarming rate, and with budget cuts across the board, the agencies that service consumers don't have the resources required to be effective.

CHICAGO, IL - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Luxury Portfolio International™, the luxury face of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, is proud to welcome six new brokerage members and four new developments to its’ luxury brand during the first quarter of 2011. The positive signs indicated by the program growth show a commitment to high end space as well as Luxury Portfolio’s success in helping its members market their listings through innovative technology and tools not offered by other luxury real estate networks.

AUBURN, ME - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Reliant Mortgage Company, LLC. is proud to announce the alliance of Janice Wescott and Brendan Fontaine’s team (formerly New England Home Loans) to establish a very exciting, powerful mortgage banking...

Manasquan, NJ - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Well, now you have in your hands an inspection report listing material defects, maintenance recommendations and reams of information items. As a buyer, what is your next step? If your inspector was worth their salt, you will understand the issues clearly after reading the report. If not, you probably called your real estate agent to interpret the report for you, and he or she may be equally confused. Remember, it is not the agent's responsibility to decide for you what inspection items are important, however they can be a real help in knowing the mindset of the particular seller and what they are likely to do.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, two companies and three individuals are banned from the mortgage relief services business and must relinquish $2.2 million in assets for consumer refunds. The action is part of the FTC’s ongoing effort to stop scams that target financially strapped homeowners seeking mortgage relief.

LOS ANGELES, CA - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Charles Dunn Company, one of the largest full-service regional real estate firms in the Western United States, has completed five leases totaling 63,000 square feet of space within two major office buildings in the Tri-City office market. The five leases have an aggregate lease value of approximately $10.2 million.

WASHINGTON, DC - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it will launch an effort to better address national origin based housing discrimination during Fair Housing Month in April. HUD will initiate a national media campaign and a series of community discussions on topics ranging from rental practices to mortgage lending. HUD's first Immigrant Housing Conference, which will educate the public and housing providers about their fair housing rights and responsibilities, will be conducted in Omaha, Nebraska, April 14

VALENCIA, CA - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A newly constructed, 30,000-square-foot shopping center at 28656 The Old Road in Valencia, CA was sold to a private investor, according to Larry Twomey, Paul Capra and Mike Tingus at Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, a full-service commercial real estate brokerage and member of the Lee & Associates group of companies.

EUGENE, OR - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) listings are now more accessible than ever before, thanks to IDX, Inc. and Kevin Conners. The dynamic duo of real estate, has supplied Chicago, Illinois home seekers with the IDX enabled website of Conners. MRED listing data is extracted via IDX Broker software and seamlessly displayed on the search page Conners represents. Never again will potential buyers experience a fruitless or complicated online property search, thanks to the ease and efficiency Conners provides with his IDX solution. His custom real estate search page with IDX Broker has forever changed the way Chicago buyers search for homes online.

Torrance, CA - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates, one of the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the country, has taken another important step in strengthening its Midwest presence by opening an office in Kansas City, Kan.

EUGENE, OR - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, IDX, Inc. announces Ryan White of Re/Max Wilmington is the most recent real estate professional to adopt a customizable IDX solution for his website. Now, Trend MLS listings are conveniently inte...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz issued the following statement regarding this week’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upholding the FTC’s order in the RealComp matter.

April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Research Center Partners with Local Home Builder Associations on April 13th to Deliver Builder Education on Green Home Building & Marketing. That: North Carolina has long been recognized as one of the nation's leaders for building high-performance, green homes

Las Vegas, NV - April 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Question: There are many short sale properties on the market in Nevada. Is it legal for a buyer to place multiple offers on multiple homes?

April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In July 2010, the Loudoun County Treasurer’s Office was among the first in the Commonwealth of Virginia to offer individual taxpayers the opportunity to receive their personal property tax bills electronically. Since that time, more than 12,000 citizens have registered and received their personal property tax bills through e-mail.

April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The city’s foreclosure prevention website, www.StopNVForeclosures.org, is now available in Spanish as well as English. Simply click the desired language at the top left of the website. The city designed the website to provide borrowers the opportunity to complete a short online form and request assistance from local Department of Housing and Urban Development approved housing counseling agencies. It also helps unsuspecting homeowners steer clear of unscrupulous businesses that target those facing foreclosure by offering fraudulent services. This website was made possible through a grant from Fannie Mae.

Washington, DC - April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide Ohio with an additional $61.8 million to help low-income homeowners and renters meet home energy costs under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

EUGENE, OR - April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Massachusetts MLS Property Info Network (MLSPIN) listings are now seamlessly integrated onto the website of agent Mark Holt, thanks to IDX, Inc. and the dynamic IDX Broker software. A customized IDX solution makes it so easy for Boston home seekers to search for properties online. With the website Holt now hosts, potential buyers can instantly search thousands of listings without ever leaving the convenience of the website Holt supports. Finding a Boston area home has never been so easy, thanks to the IDX enabled website of Holt and the detailed listings he presents to home seekers.

WASHINGTON, DC - April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Administration's Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) today announced a settlement agreement with a Massachusetts mortgage lender for failing to fully verify whether borrowers could sustain their mortgage payments prior to refinancing their loans. Among the alleged violations, the MRB claimed First American Mortgage Trust (FAMT) of Brookline, Massachusetts refinanced mortgage loans for borrowers with serious credit delinquencies without properly analyzing the households' ability to manage credit

LANSING, MI - April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Rick Snyder today announced appointments to the Residential Builders and Maintenance Alteration Contractors Board. The board licenses and regulates individuals engaged in the construction of residential structures or the combination of residential and commercial structures

BOSTON, MA - April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing announced $14.9 million in loan closings today to preserve affordability at the 110-unit Framingham Green Apartments in Framingham and the 150-unit Valebrook Apartments in Lawrence, which were in danger of converting to market rate rents

URBANA, IL - April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Chicago-area man, Salvatore DiBenedetto, 52, of Downers Grove, appeared in federal court in Urbana today after his arrest on a 16-count indictment charging him with defrauding an Arcola, Illinois bank of approximately $2.5 million from April 2008 to February 2010. The indictment had remained sealed pending DiBenedetto’s arrest and court appearance. DiBenedetto was ordered detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending a hearing scheduled on Apr. 12.

Atlanta, GA - April 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) --On April 6, 2011, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (“Department”) entered into a Consent Order with BDK Mortgage & Investments, Inc. (“BDK Mortgage”), License Number 11800, Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System Number 166983, located at 201 Tallman Drive, Martinez, Georgia 30907 and its owners, Jackie H. Spires and James Spires, to resolve allegations pertaining to violations of the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act and agency rules.