April 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The City of Hartford, Office of Human Relations will host the 3rd Annual Fair Housing Month celebration. This year’s theme is “Knowledge is the Key.” The event takes place on Friday, April 23, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Hartford Public Library, Seminar Room 2nd floor, located at 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103

Harford, CT - April 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- State Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney helped to lead passage of a bipartisan bill that not only resolves most of the state’s budget deficit for the current year but also extends the state’s landmark foreclosure mediation program for an additional year.

WASHINGTON, DC - April 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and a bipartisan group of legislators on Wednesday introduced the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act, calling it critical job-creating legislation.

Partnership between MassHousing, city of Haverhill and Haverhill Bank will help create opportunities for qualified buyers who purchase properties in need of repair. BOSTON, MA - April 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing, Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini and Haverhill Bank announced a new initiative today to make grant funds available to first-time homebuyers who purchase foreclosed homes in Haverhill. Qualified homebuyers who obtain a MassHousing Mortgage through Haverhill Bank will be eligible for a second loan to assist in rehabilitating the foreclosed property. The second loan will be funded through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), which was created in federal economic recovery legislation.

Washington, D.C. - April 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Keith Ellison (D-5th Congressional District) recently received the 2010 Edward W. Brooke III Housing Leadership Award from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) for advancing the cause of affordable housing.

LANSING, MI - April 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Granholm Administration today unveiled the state's proposed plan to distribute $154.5 million in federal funds beginning this summer that should help more than 17,000 Michigan households avoid foreclosure, including 11,000 homeowners who are currently drawing unemployment benefits and are struggling to make monthly mortgage payments.

April 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) announces availability of approximately $60,000,000 for construction and permanent Tax-Exempt Bond (TEB) financing for multifamily rental housing developments. TEB financing is typically paired with 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) as a source of investor equity. Under this notice of funding availabilty, CHFA will be accepting both TEB financing and 4% LIHTC applications

COLUMBUS, OH - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) is the leader in developing effective programs that strengthen Ohio communities and address affordable housing needs throughout the state. OHFA is recognizing the best in innovative and quality initiatives across the affordable housing industry with the Spirit of Homeowner Excellence Awards (SHEAs).

Albany, NY - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) today announced that owners of rent regulated apartments in New York State can now fulfill their Annual Rent Registration requirement completely online, avoiding time-consuming errors and eliminating paperwork and the need to mail forms or disks to DHCR

BOSTON, MA - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing Executive Director Thomas R. Gleason testified before the House Committee on Financial Services in Washington, D.C., today, advocating for reform of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other socalled GSEs, and urging Congress to make sure future GSEs commit themselves to supporting affordable housing

Citibank Sponsored Event United Seven Upper Manhattan Small Business Support Groups. New York, NY - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) — The Harlem Community Development Corporation (Harlem CDC), in partnership with leading small business development organizations, hosted a small business conference at the Gospel Uptown Supper Club on Saturday, April 10th.

April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In recognition of Fair Housing month the Sioux City Human Rights Commission, Siouxland Human Investment Partnership (SHIP)and the Four Directions Community Center are hosting a symposium “How To Be Your Best Advocate” will be held Thursday, April 22nd at the Four Directions Community Center, 613 Water Street, between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

San Antonio, TX - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kurt Hudspeth, a Texas real estate agent, has teamed up with Housing For Military.com ® to provide military housing relocation services to Randolph Air Fore Base personnel and other military installations in the San Antonio area

San Antonio, TX - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kurt Hudspeth, a Texas real estate agent, has teamed up with Housing For Military.com ® to provide military housing relocation services to Randolph Air Fore Base personnel and other military installations in the San Antonio area

Washington, DC - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a senior member of the Florida Congressional Delegation, has recently signed on to letters, along with a bipartisan group of her fellow Members of Congress, expressing their concern with the failure to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

Washington, DC - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) reminded constituents today that Connecticut taxpayers are seeing significant relief as a result of new tax breaks for middle and low-income families. As noted by former Reagan policy advisor Bruce Bartlet, ?“…federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president.” All totaled, Congress has enacted over $800 billion in tax cuts, including the Making Work Pay, First-time Homebuyer, and new residential energy tax credits, with another $285 billion in cuts also making their way through Congress, such as permanent estate tax relief and the R&D tax credit to spur business innovation.“The tax cuts we enacted this past year are putting money back in the pockets of hard-working Connecticut families and individuals,” said Himes. “I encourage everyone who is eligible to take advantage of this year's new tax cuts.”

April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gov. Steve Beshear was joined today by Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway as he signed into law HB 166, a consumer protection bill that addresses debt-adjusting contracts that are often entered into by desperate homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments and are seeking a quick, easy solution to their financial problems

EUGENE, OR - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The IDX Inc. team is pleased to welcome Susanne Grogan of Long Realty Company in Tucson, Arizona to the ever expanding group of real estate agents and brokers choosing to modernize their clients' home search with customized IDX solutions. As a member of the Tuscon MLS (TARMLS), Grogan is simplifying her website, while helping home seekers to access thousands of detailed property listings through IDX Broker's software.

EUGENE, OR - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With new accounts being added daily, IDX Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of Bill Gaffney, of Change Realty in Lake Oswego, Oregon to the forward thinking group of real estate agents and brokers who are enhancing and simplifying their websites with custom IDX Broker software. Gaffney's clients now have the unique ability to customize their home searches, with even the most specific features, in order to find their ideal property. As a member of the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS), Gaffney's website offers potential home buyers a broad range of the most up-to-date listings in Lake Oswego, with an ease not found on other agents' websites

Edison, NJ - April 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®) is proud to announce various endeavors to educate and empower New Jersey's consumers. Through its Helping Hands Towards Homeownership program, the NJAR® Housing Opportunity Foundation, Inc. (NJARHOF) will be partnering with TD Bank and HOMEcorp to present a financial literacy series on April 13th and April 20th at the Montclair Library.

Baltimore, MD - April 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) will hold a Foreclosure Prevention Workshop in Overlea on April 26, 2010. Home foreclosures in Maryland and are up 80 percent from last year, while foreclosures in the rest of the country have stabilized, according to Realty Trac, Inc.,a California-based research firm.“This struggling economy has been tough on Maryland families. If you are in danger of losing your home, we can help. Please join me at my Foreclosure Prevention Workshop where you will have the chance to sit down, one-on-one, with housing counselors, mortgage lenders and other experts to discuss your options to keep you in your home,” said Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger.

BOSTON, MA - April 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a lawsuit against Christian Hayes, of Danvers, a former mortgage loan officer with Bank of America, alleging he deceptively funneled loan modification requests originally directed to Bank of America to his company Foreclosure Alternatives where he demanded illegal fees from distressed homeowners before assisting them with their troubled mortgages. The Attorney General’s Office is seeking a preliminary injunction prohibiting Hayes and his business from soliciting or advertising foreclosure-related services to Massachusetts residents, destroying any records or transferring assets.“Homeowners who were struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments went to their lender seeking expert advice and we allege that those homeowners were mislead and taken advantage of,” said Attorney General Martha Coakley. “Under first-in-the-nation regulations that our office issued, it is illegal for a mortgage professional to require up-front fees to assist struggling homeowners. Our office will continue to hold accountable individuals and businesses who attempt to exploit struggling homeowners in this unfair and deceptive manner.”

SPRINGFIELD, MA - April 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The owner of a four-unit residential apartment building in West Springfield has been sued for violating state anti-discrimination laws, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced. The Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint against Mary Anna Cosentini in Western Division Housing Court alleging that she refused to rent to a prospective tenant and her family because the woman participates in the Section 8 housing subsidy program administered through a local agency.“In the current economy, the need for rental or transitional housing assistance is particularly great and these programs are important as families are facing job losses and critical housing needs” said Attorney General Coakley. “Landlords in Massachusetts must understand that it is illegal to refuse to rent to a person holding a Scection 8 voucher or to refuse to do business with an agency administering housing vouchers.”

Irvine, CA - April 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jamboree Housing Corporation of Irvine, CA, has been presented the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2010 ENERGY STAR Regional Award for Excellence for the company’s commitment to energy efficiency in its affordable housing projects. Each year, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy present the award to honor organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency programs and products. Jamboree is the only California affordable housing developer to receive this year’s award and it’s the third consecutive year that Jamboree has received the prestigious energy award.

April 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Missouri’s Largest Lost & Found will be open to the media Thursday, April 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (ZWY-ful) will host a media open house as Unclaimed Property opens recently received safe deposit boxes. These safe deposit boxes often contain coins, stamps, jewelry, wills and savings bonds. Many items will be on display, including some of the more unusual items received by Treasurer Zweifel’s office. This year, Treasurer Zweifel will display a sampling of the 94 military medals his office is holding

EUGENE, OR - April 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Prudential California Realty professional, Adrian Cafuentes of Norwalk, California, has recently upgraded and advanced his website, by adding the innovative IDX Broker software. With this new IDX incorporation, potential home buyers can now easily search an endless amount of the most current and up-to-date property listings within the California Real Estate Technology Service MLS (CARETS), through five unique and informative search categories, including: a basic, advanced, map, address, and listing ID search. This custom IDX solution has the technology to extract raw data from the CARETS, and then formats the information to be viewed as a seamlessly integrated part of Cafuentes' website. This CARETS listing information is automatically updated, on a daily basis, providing him with more time to spend personalizing the online property search process for each individual consumer.

EUGENE, OR - April 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Enhancing his website with unique IDX, Inc. services, Krieg and Associates' very own Tony Krieg of Tuolumne, California incorporates a custom IDX solution into the search functionality of his website. With this new and innovative IDX feature addition, home seekers will be able to execute a much quicker and more efficient online real estate search. This custom Internet Data Exchange (IDX) software works by extracting raw data from the Tuolumne MLS (TCAR), and then formats and transfers the information to indistinguishably match his Krieg's already existing page preferences and specifications. Not only do prospective home buyers never have to veer from his website during their real estate search, but they are also viewing the most current and up-to-date listings on the market, with the way that IDX automatically updates Krieg's website the second a property is added to, or removed from the TCAR

April 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Montgomery County Office of Human Rights will host an educational forum on Friday, April 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Building 2 at the University of Maryland at Shady Grove, 9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville

April 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In the fall of 2008, America suffered a devastating economic assault. It left deep wounds: millions lost their jobs; millions lost their homes. Good businesses shut down. Financial markets froze, the stock market plummeted, and once valuable securities turned worthless. Storied financial firms teetered on the edge or went under. The contagion spread worldwide. And in October 2008, American taxpayers were hit with a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.

COLTS NECK, NJ - April 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Chris Smith today announced the U.S. Navy plans to suspend its 2009 record of decision (ROD) which would have opened military housing inside Naval Weapons Station Earle to civilians who would not be checked or vetted for security risks.