Laws & Taxes

HARRISBURG, PA - February 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Tom Corbett today cautioned Pennsylvania consumers to be alert for possible scams linked to online ads for rental homes and apartments, along with Internet "for sale" ads and auctions for cars, motorcycles and other items.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said today that 3,400 North Dakotans have used the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit passed last year by Congress as part of a major economic recovery bill.

Washington, D.C. - January 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada's Third District released the following statement today on the news that the economy grew 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the fastest pace since 2003.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - January 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida CFO Alex Sink is urging Florida taxpayers to find out if they may be one of the estimated 10,000 Floridians who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a federal tax credit for low-income working individuals and families, on Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day 2010. Eligible Floridians are due back an estimated $15 billion, on top of what they already may be claiming on their taxes, if they all claimed the EITC.

CINCINNATI, OH - January 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A two-year investigation by the Greater Cincinnati Mortgage Fraud Task Force has resulted in a seven-count indictment charging two Cincinnati area home builders, a former Huntington National Bank vice president, and a self-employed tax preparer and interior designer with participating in a mortgage fraud scheme to sell four high-end luxury properties to “straw buyers.”

New York, NY - January 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Manhattan real estate developer MICHAEL HERSHKOWITZ was sentenced today to four years in prison for his participation in a $27 million Ponzi scheme involving fraudulent loans secured by nonexistent mortgages.

More than half of home buyers in the 2009 Profile of Illinois Home Buyers and Sellers were first-time buyers, due in large part to the first-time homebuyer tax credit stimulus and increased affordability in home prices in the last year. The survey results released by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) found 51% of buyers were first-time buyers, compared to 47% nationwide (a figure which has averaged closer to 40% nationwide since 2001). When asked about the primary reason for timing of the home purchase, 46% of first-time buyers said it was just the right time.

Melville, NY - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Susan D. Cunningham, CPA, has been named Partner in the Tax Advisory Services and Real Estate Services groups at Marcum LLP. She is responsible for providing a wide-scope of tax services including planning, consulting, structuring, research and compliance to large and small business owners.

AUSTIN, TX - January 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has announced a funding award to help finance the redevelopment of an existing affordable rental property in East Austin that will allow the apartment complex to continue to provide low income tenants with decent, affordable housing while providing a shot in the arm to the local economy.

Vancouver, WA - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Doug Lasher, Clark County Treasurer, announced that a Property Tax Foreclosure Auction will be conducted on Friday, February 5, 2010, at 9 a.m. on the 6th Floor Hearing Room, Clark County Public Service Center Building, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver, Washington. Lasher stated, “As of January 25, there are 12 parcels subject for sale this year; however, this could change daily.”

DAYTON, OH - January 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Four participants in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme that affected 210 residential properties including 205 in Montgomery County were sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Dennis G. Sartain of Hilliard, Ohio; and Bonnie Helt, of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit mortgage fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

COLUMBIA, Md. - January 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (Enterprise), a national leader in affordable housing and community development, and National Community Fund I, LLC, an affiliate of United Fund Advisors, LLC, recently closed on a $22.3 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction.

COLUMBUS, OH - January 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Board approved over $49 million of Tax Credit Exchange (TCE) and Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP) dollars created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) together with more than $4 million from OHFA’s Housing Development Assistance Program (HDAP).

DES MOINES, IA - January 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Chet Culver today will sign three bills designed to protect Iowa taxpayers and maximize state aid for schools

LANSING, MI - January 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, State Senator Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing), originally of Cascade, announced that her entire December legislative expense account was donated to a Grand Rapids foreclosure assistance program to highlight the need for government reform and more transparency in state spending.

CINCINNATI, OH - January 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal grand jury here has indicted six members of a family and one of their employees charging them with operating a mortgage fraud conspiracy between 2004 and 2009.

New York, NY - January 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"),

NEWARK, NJ - January 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A former Jersey City Housing Department employee was indicted today on charges in connection with his acceptance of $50,000 in corrupt cash payments in exchange for his official influence and assistance on real estate development matters in Jersey City, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

STATEHOUSE - January 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representative Jack Lutz (R-Anderson) released the following statement today in response to the passage of HJR1, the constitutional amendment to permanently cap homeowners' property taxes. The measure passed the House by a vote of 75 to 23.

Pittsburgh, PA - January 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Acting United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar announced today, January 8, 2010, that Robert Danenberg, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of Wire Fraud Conspiracy in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme.

Washington, DC - January 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) joined Bonnie Saletta, President of Midtown Realty in Fredonia, NY and other local realtors to remind residents about the opportunity to receive up to an $8,000 tax credit with the purchase of a home.

ALEXANDRIA, VA - January 6, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Robert E. Atwood, 52, of Nazareth, Penn., pleaded guilty today to scheming to defraud Alexandria-based AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

January 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Long Beach residents are invited to a "Home Ownership and Credit" workshop on Wednesday, January 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at the Neighborhood Resource Center, 425 Atlantic Ave.

SACRAMENTO, CA - January 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- California homebuilders applauded Governor Schwarzenegger for his determination to reinvigorate the state’s economy by focusing on jobs, streamlining the construction permitting process and establishing a new homebuyer tax credit.

Deborah VanAmerongen Brings Wide Range of Experience in Housing and Community Development. (New York, NY - January 4, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- International law firm Nixon Peabody LLP announces the addition of Deborah VanAmerongen to its Affordable Housing practice. Ms. VanAmerongen will join Nixon Peabody as a strategic policy adviser as of February 1, 2010. She will be resident in the New York City office. Ms. VanAmerongen will work closely with attorneys in the firm's Affordable Housing practice to provide advice to developers, owners and managers of affordable housing, as well as their financing partners, in the preservation and production of affordable housing nationwide.

BISMARCK, ND - December 30, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The North Dakota Industrial Commission has approved the 2010 Low Income Housing Tax Credit Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), providing more than $2.4 million worth of federal tax credits to support affordable housing development next year. The program is administered by the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA).

BISMARCK, ND - December 30, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The North Dakota Industrial Commission has approved the 2010 Low Income Housing Tax Credit Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), providing more than $2.4 million worth of federal tax credits to support affordable housing development next year. The program is administered by the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA).

MADISON, WI - December 29, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Due to a recent decision by Congress, Wisconsin homebuyers will once again stand to benefit from an extended and expanded federal home tax credit program.

December 30, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Learn about fair housing practices and laws at a free three-hour workshop from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, Jan. 15, at the Phoenix City Hall, 200 W. Washington St., assembly room A. This workshop will offer ADRE-authorized fair housing REALTOR® re-licensing credit and is presented in partnership with the Southwest Fair Housing Council.