Washington RealEstateRama

SEATTLE, WA - March 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today Mayor Mike McGinn announced he is appointing Rick Hooper as the director for the Office of Housing. Hooper was previously serving as the interim director. Hooper's appointment is subject to Council confirmation.

March 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Doug Lasher, Clark County Treasurer, announced that a Property Tax Foreclosure Auction will be conducted on Friday, March 18, 2011, at 9 a.m. in the 6th Floor Hearing Room, Clark County Public Service Center Building, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver, Washington. Lasher stated, “As of March 7, there are 13 parcels subject for sale this year; however, this number may be reduced if payment is made by 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 17.”

March 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Doug Lasher, Clark County Treasurer, announced that first-half 2011 property statements have been mailed. Property statements include property tax levy amounts and special assessments. There were 108,796 statements mailed. “Taxpayers whose taxes and assessments are not paid through a mortgage company and have not received their statement within ten days should visit the web site at www.clark.wa.gov/treasurer or call the Treasurer’s Office at (360) 397-2252.” Taxpayers are responsible for paying their first-half property taxes by Monday, May 2, in order to avoid interest and penalties.”

Seattle, WA - March 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Seattle City Council unanimously adopted legislation Monday to address overgrown vegetation and junk storage on Seattle's residential properties by streamlining enforcement. The new changes create a consistent set of standards to help negligent property owners understand the rules and clean up their yards.

Vancouver, WA - February 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Clark County property owners soon will receive their 2011 property tax statements in the mail, and the Department of Assessment wants to inform them about the impact ballot measures approved last year will have on their tax bills.

Washington, D.C. - February 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman, Senator Patty Murray, released the following statement on the Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development’s joint report on veterans homelessness which was released today.

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

SEATTLE, WA - February 4, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) --A power outage this morning in Ballard affected nearly 5,400 homes and businesses. The outage started about 10 a.m. when a wire fell during maintenance work near Ione Place and Tallman Avenue. Crews expected to have most customers back in service by 10:45 a.m. and estimated full restoration of service would happen about 1 p.m.

SEATTLE, WA - January 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Office of Housing today announced nearly $23 million in capital funding, divvied up amongst eight nonprofit housing developers, to create and preserve affordable apartments. The investment will help create 375 new units for seniors, homeless individuals and low-income working families, plus rehabilitate another 291 apartments currently home to seniors and people with disabilities

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

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - December 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- International real estate investment and services firm Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW) today announced that the company has refinanced The Onyx Apartments, a 400-unit multifamily community in Redmond, Washington. The Onyx is owned in a partnership with the LeFrak Organization. The partnership, which is a 50/50 venture between Kennedy Wilson and the LeFrak Organization, includes a total of 2,912 apartment units, all of which were purchased in 2010. The $42.5 million Onyx financing has a seven-year term and carries a fixed interest rate of 4.67%. Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, through its Fannie Mae DUS lending program, served as the lender on the transaction

Olympia, WA - December 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) is pleased to announce a settlement has been reached in a consumer protection case regarding Countrywide Home Loans (CHL) that has been ongoing for more than two years

SEATTLE, WA - December 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The start of the wet season has begun in Seattle and heavy rain can increase the chance of landslides due to soil saturation, which reduces slope stability. Property owners of landslide-prone sites are advised to clear drains and take other simple preventive measures, such as: checking downspouts, to make sure they are functioning and routed to a safe location; and inspecting sloping areas of their property for indications of slope movement (such as cracks in the ground, and newly tilting trees) and erosion.

SEATTLE, WA - November 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A cul-de-sac of new homes tucked behind a new multifamily apartment building at the corner of South Rose Street and Rainier Avenue South was on the verge of becoming another fatality of the foreclosure epidemic sweeping the nation.

SEATTLE, WA - November 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The start of the wet season has begun in Seattle and heavy rain can increase the chance of landslides due to soil saturation, which reduces slope stability. November is Seattle’s wettest month. Since Nov. 1, 2.51 inches of rain has fallen at Sea-Tac Airport—exceeding the seasonal average by 1.2 inches, and pushing the area over the landslide threshold.

OLYMPIA, WA - November 5, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Washington Supreme Court issued a decision today in which justices unanimously agreed with the Washington Attorney General’s Office that the financial privacy provisions of the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) don’t preempt the state Public Records Act. The ruling also clarified that information about individual mortgage borrowers is still protected as intended under federal law due to exemptions set forth under state law.

November 4, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The entire 24-acre Capehart Housing Area at Discovery Park became the property of the City on Friday, October 22, 2010. The $11.1 million purchase was funded by a combination of state and county grants, as well as from proceeds from the sale of surplus City property

OLYMPIA, WA - November 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Attorney General’s Office today settled a lawsuit against the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBA-K&S) for violating the state’s campaign finance disclosure law.

VANCOUVER, WA - October 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Vancouver-based exterior home remodeler that allegedly built up sales by misleading customers agrees to comply with state consumer protection laws. Northwest First Choice settled claims brought by the Washington Attorney General’s Office.

October 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Doug Lasher, Clark County Treasurer, stated that second-half 2010 property taxes are due on Monday, November 1, because October 31 falls on a Sunday this year. “If you have not received your 2010 second-half tax statement or have lost it, you can visit our web site at www.clark.wa.gov/treasurer or call 397-2252 for a duplicate statement.”

SEATTLE, WA - October 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna announced today that his office has uncovered evidence that suggests foreclosure trustees are ignoring consumer protection laws in Washington, adding a new layer to a stack of problems reported in the mortgage-servicing industry. He sent letters today to 52 trustees outlining his concerns and calling on them to suspend any questionable foreclosures in the state.

SEATTLE, WA - October 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna and Scott Jarvis, director of the state Department of Financial Institutions, announced that they have joined attorneys general and banking regulators nationwide in forming a multistate group to investigate whether mortgage servicers have improperly submitted affidavits or other documents related to foreclosure in their states

OLYMPIA, WA - October 6, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna announced today a settlement with Wells Fargo Bank that provides loan modifications for residents in Washington and seven other states who obtained problematic mortgages from Wachovia Bank and Golden West Corp., which did business as World Savings Bank.

Olympia, WA - September 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) Division of Securities obtained a Preliminary Injunction in King County Superior Court against the Seattle-based Chesterfield Mortgage Investors, Inc. (CMI). A receiver, Mel R. Codd, was appointed for CMI.

EUGENE, OR - September 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- John Day and IDX, Inc. have teamed up to upgrade the real estate website of Day with his own personalized IDX Broker software. Now, Metropolitan Regional Info Systems (MRIS) listings are automatically displayed on his unique search page. This integration of thousands of MRIS properties gives Day an unprecedented advantage in customer service. His website quickly and simply finds potential buyers homes in and around the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.

Vancouver, WA - September 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Reserved space is still available for Clark County’s Aging Readiness task force workshop next week, when the panel will seek public ideas and professional expertise about the community’s current situation and future needs regarding housing.

Roswell, NM - August 31, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- PrimeSource Mortgage, Inc. (PSMI), a leading mortgage brokerage and banking company, and a wholly owned subsidiary of PSM Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: PSMH) today announced the opening of a new office in Spokane, WA.

EUGENE, OR - August 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. is pleased to announce Jessie Ellis, Realtor from Coldwell Banker Ocean Beach Properties, is among the latest to adopt a customized IDX solution in an effort to increase the traffic and functionality of her professional real estate website. Ellis, a resident of Ocean Shores, Washington, strives to deliver her clients with a positive and fruitful property search experience. Now, her IDX enabled website uses Northwest MLS (NWMLS) listings to bring thousands of homes to ready buyers quickly and conveniently. Seattle area properties and those along the beautiful coastal inlets of the greater Northwest making for a beautiful living environment, and the website Ellis sponsors helps to make potential buyers owners of those very homes

OLYMPIA, WA - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following concerted efforts to prevent unnecessary foreclosures, the Washington Attorney General’s Office and a group of other state attorneys general and banking regulators say they’ve seen improvements in programs designed to help homeowners.

OLYMPIA, WA - July 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) is pleased to announce the successful implementation of the new mortgage licensing requirements as required by the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (the “S.A.F.E. Act”).