Laws & Taxes

CHICAGO, IL - August 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- August 1, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today signed a bill into law to reform property assessments for millions of Illinois homeowners and provide property tax relief for Cook County residents.

Pittsburgh, PA - July 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Acting United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar announced today, July 27, 2010, that Mark Hipsley of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh,

Des Plaines, IL - July 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) played a critical role in the inclusion of the “Consumer Protection with Home Inspection” law in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed by President Obama on July 21. ASHI hails this legislation as an innovative and low-cost means to help homebuyers weigh their options when looking to obtain a home inspection.

TOPEKA, KS - July 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Affordable housing advocates, the Kansas Housing Conference Early Bird Deadline is fast approaching! If you want to save $49 off the full-conference registration fee, sign up by Saturday, July 31st. On August 1st, fees increase to $199.

EMERYVILLE, CA - July 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Despite slowdowns in home sales across the country, California is still the nation’s hottest spot for home buying activity, with homes fetching multiple offers and selling above list price, according to the Q2 2010 Home Hunter report released today by ZipRealty (ZIPR).

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - July 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal grand jury has indicted DERRICK REUBEN SMITH, MICHAEL GIPSON, and TRINA TAHIR on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with fraudulent mortgages, announce...

Washington, DC - July 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With the scheduled closing deadline for the home buyer tax credits, existing-home sales slowed in June but remained at relatively elevated levels, according to the National Association of Realtors

CORSICANA, TX - July 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The fourth member of a multi-county mortgage fraud scheme today pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony for his role in a multimillion dollar enterprise that defrauded government-backed mortgages.

Denver, CO - July 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Tax Credit brought a lot of buyers out last fall and again this spring, which gave a real shot in the arm to real estate. While that heightened volume cannot be sustained, home sales and prices still remain higher than last year due to interest rates at historically low levels and the lowest home prices seen in years. A monthly survey of 54 metropolitan areas reveals that closed transactions in June were 5.6% higher and prices 3.5% higher than during June 2009

LAS VEGAS, NV - July 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A former Las Vegas resident has pleaded guilty to conspiracy for his involvement in a Nevada mortgage fraud scheme involving straw buyers and falsified mortgage loan documents, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - July 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- July 12, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today signed two bills into law that will protect consumers from deceptive home repair and remodeling practices. Senate Bill 3645 and Senate Bill 2540 protect homeowners and individuals who have disabilities from fraudulent home repair projects

Washington, D.C. - July 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Door and Hardware Institute (DHI) announced that is has joined the ConsensusDOCS coalition, which creates standard contract documents for use by all participants in the construction industry

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - July 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Reno-Sparks saw a 16 percent increase in homes sold in the first half of 2010 and experienced an eight percent decrease in average and median prices, according to Chase International’s mid-year report. Carson Valley experienced a 21 percent increase in homes sold.“A lot of first-time home-buyers took advantage of the federal tax credit,” said Sue Lowe, corporate vice president of Chase International. “There’s been a lot of movement in the last six months and while prices are still down, inventory is going down, so we’re hoping to see things flatten out soon.”

Washington, D.C. - July 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Financial Services Roundtable supports the passage of H.R. 5623 the “Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010”. The legislation will extend the deadline for closing a home sale in order to be eligible for the first-time homebuyer tax credit, until October 1, 2010. The new extension becomes effective and applies to residencies purchased after June 30, 2010. The bill will enable consumers who have signed a contract to purchase a home to complete the transaction and utilize the credit

WASHINGTON, DC - July 6, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The owners and operators of Ivanhoe House Apartments, an apartment complex in Ann Arbor, Mich., have agreed to pay $82,500 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department alleging that they had discriminated against African-American home-seekers, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 6, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- After careful review and over a year of working with federal and state government agencies, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has determined that certain energy retrofit lending programs present significant safety and soundness concerns that must be addressed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Specifically, programs denominated as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) seek to foster lending for retrofits of residential or commercial properties through a county or city’s tax assessment regime. Under most of these programs, such loans acquire a priority lien over existing mortgages, though certain states have chosen not to adopt such priority positions for their loans.

COLUMBUS, OH - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) today announced the 2010 Housing Tax Credit Program recipients who will each receive a portion $19.2 million in housing tax credits for the acquisition, development and rehabilitation of affordable housing units in Ohio.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Eligible taxpayers who contracted to buy a home, qualifying for the first-time homebuyer credit, before the end of April now have until Sept. 30, 2010 to close the deal, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Hartford, CT - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Starting July 1st thousands of seniors across Connecticut who are struggling to stay in their homes will have the opportunity to receive additional support from the state—and Senate Democratic leaders calls it a win-win for seniors and taxpayers.

Washington, DC - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Realtors® today commended Congress for timely passage of two bills to extend the home buyer tax credit closing deadline and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. Both bills, strongly supported by NAR, had cleared the House earlier and were passed by the Senate last night. They now head to the president for his signature.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following a surge driven by the home buyer tax credit, pending home sales fell with the expiration of the deadline for qualified buyers to sign a purchase contract, according to the National Association of Realtors

Washington, DC - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced legislation today to reinstate federal unemployment insurance benefits and extend the purchase closing date for new homebuyers to qualify for tax credits.

Washington, DC - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) voted to pass legislation that would extend the closing deadline for the homebuyer tax credit, benefiting families who are in the process of purchasing a home.

Washington, DC - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) voted to pass legislation that would extend the closing deadline for the homebuyer tax credit, benefiting families who are in the process of purchasing a home.

Washington, DC - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Baron Hill supported a straightforward and paid-for bill today that will directly help those Hoosiers who entered into a contract to buy a home to access the first-time homebuyer tax credit by April 30. H.R. 5623, the Homebuyers Assistance and Improvement Act, extends until October 1 the deadline for closing in order to be eligible for the credit. Under current law, these homebuyers were required to close by June 30 to receive the credit.“As of mid-April, about 40,000 Hoosiers had taken advantage of this tax credit,” Hill said. “It’s a targeted and timely credit that has rendered real success. I’ve heard from many constituents who asked me to support this extension in order to ensure they can get the credit.”

Washington D.C. - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The House of Representatives today voted to extend the closing deadline for taxpayers seeking the homebuyer’s tax credit. H.R. 5623, the Homebuyers Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010 would extend the current deadline from June 30 to September 30, 2010, enabling an estimated 180,000 additional homebuyers to utilize the credit. Taxpayers must have entered into a written, binding contract prior to May 1st to claim the credit. The legislation also includes an important provision to crack down on reported instances of fraud identified in a recent report by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Washington, DC - June 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Rep. Michael E. McMahon continued a fight he has been championing since early 2009 – extending the $8,000 first-time homebuyers’ tax credit.

HOUSTON, TX - June 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Adrian Levale Cole has pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and false representation of a Social Security number arising from a $10 million mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

TRENTON, NJ - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Paula T. Dow announced today that a New Jersey loan modification company and its owners have agreed to a judgment of $5,051,253 to settle civil charges they defrauded homeowners who sought help in avoiding mortgage foreclosure.

WALTHAM, MA - June 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Up to 3,930* Massachusetts home buyers will lose their tax credit through no fault of their own if Congress fails to pass an extension to the home buyer tax credit closing deadline of June 30. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) also estimates that up to 180,000 home buyers across the country would lose out on the tax credit