WASHINGTON, DC - March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today U.S. Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) announced that South Carolina will be eligible to receive as much as $138 million in targeted federal assistance for states that are disproportionately affected by the economic downturn and a decline in housing values.

BISMARCK, ND - March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Industrial Commission announced today that the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA) has selected seven projects for a demonstration program.

BISMARCK, ND - March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Industrial Commission of North Dakota has approved the distribution of nearly $450,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations statewide through the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency’s (NDHFA) Helping Housing Across North Dakota (Helping HAND) program.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- At the request of U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the Obama Administration today announced they are expanding their “Hardest Hit” federal housing aid program to Rhode Island, providing an additional $43 million in foreclosure prevention funding throughout the state.

March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- As part of the City of Long Beach's effort to create and implement strategies to reduce total energy use, improve energy efficiency in buildings and reduce fossil fuel emissions, the City is launching a Residential Energy Efficiency Rebate Program. This program will be administered by the Department of Development Services and will be available beginning Monday, April 19, 2010 to applicants who install qualifying energy efficient products such as Energy Star rated solar hot water-heaters, tank-less water-heaters, windows, doors, skylights and roofs.

Jefferson City, MO - March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Chris Koster said today his office has obtained judgments against two foreclosure rescue companies who allegedly took money from distraught homeowners and failed to provide promised services.

New York, NY - March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With no sign of a new contract, apartment building workers in Queens will vote Tuesday on empowering their bargaining committee with the authority to call a strike. Failure to reach a new contract by April 20, 2010 could lead to a strike of 3,500 apartment building workers at more than 550 buildings throughout Queens.

BEDFORD, N.H. - March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority recently named its 2009 top 10 loan originators.

ALBANY, NY - March 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor David A. Paterson today called on Legislative Leaders to consider his property tax cap proposal as part of budget negotiations.

New York, NY - March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Chief Service Officer Diahann Billings-Burford, Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo and Commissioner of Department of Consumer Affairs Jonathan Mintz today launched a new NYC Service initiative to provide free legal support for New Yorkers at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure.

62 Mixed-Income Loft Development Will Boast ‘Green’ Efficiencies; Create 100 Construction Jobs March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Thomas M. Menino and city officials today celebrated the start of construction at the Oliver Lofts, a $25 million housing development on Mission Hill’s Terrace Street. The project involves the adaptive reuse of two, four and five-story historic mill buildings, previously vacant for 25 years. The completed project will add 62 new units of mixed-income, LEED-Silver housing – a total of nearly 95,000 square-feet of living space – to the neighborhood.

COLUMBUS, OH - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In response to the Obama administration’s announcement to provide additional aid to homeowners facing foreclosure through government-backed refinancing and temporary payment reductions for eligible borrowers, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray issues the following statement:“

LANSING, MI - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michigan Senate Democrats continued to combat the negative impact of home foreclosure on Michigan families today with their effort to lower property taxes for homeowners in communities hit hard by foreclosure. The amendment to Senate Bill 395 would have required tax collectors to consider foreclosed homes in a neighborhood when determining property values and taxes. The amendment was defeated by the Republican Majority on a party line vote.

TALLAHASSEE, FL- Florida CFO Alex Sink today issued the following statement urging the Florida Legislature to pass Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) legislation. Utilizing local government bonding capacity, this innovative approach lends money to residential and commercial property owners who are seeking financing for more efficient, clean-energy property retrofits and wind-resistant improvements

WASHINGTON, DC - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) issued the following statement today after the Obama Administration announced a new plan, paid for out of TARP funding, to confront home foreclosures:

Washington, D.C. - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nevada Senator Harry Reid today applauded the administration’s announcement of a new initiative that will provide much-needed relief to responsible Nevada homeowners who are underwater and struggling to make payments on their mortgage.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chuck Grassley said today that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded grants totaling $930,884 to Iowa through the Family Self Sufficiency Program.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chuck Grassley said today that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded grants totaling $930,884 to Iowa through the Family Self Sufficiency Program.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thanks to a little-known federal program, 46 low-income seniors who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina received a grand welcome home celebration today in New Orleans at the Terraces on Tulane senior housing community that will ultimately house 200 families

WASHINGTON, DC - March 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that public housing authorities in Utah successfully met a critical funding deadline outlined in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).

March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The co-chairs of the General Assembly’s Banks Committee—state Senator Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) and Representative Ryan Barry (D-Manchester)—today praised action by the legislature’s Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee yesterday that will restore an exemption to the state’s real estate conveyance tax on foreclosures by sale, short sales and transfers in lieu of foreclosure.

NEW YORK, NY - March 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) paid out millions of dollars ($152.7 million in FY08) to non-contracted service providers based on an "honor system" of unwritten agreements, invented rates and duplicate clients lists, according to an audit initiated under former Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. and just completed by Comptroller John C. Liu.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that public housing authorities in Montana successfully met a critical funding deadline outlined in the American Reinvestme...

WARWICK, RI -- March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Jim Langevin, in conjunction with Rhode Island Housing, will host a Foreclosure Counseling Workshop at the Community College of Rhode Island Liston Campus on Saturday, March 27.

Phoenix, AZ - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today pledged a broad and intensified fight to prevent, prosecute and punish mortgage fraud in Arizona, aided by an additional $1.7 million in federal funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Charlie Melancon (La.-03) has sent a letter to committee leadership urging them to support an important Gulf Coast affordable housing provision as they work to finalize legislation extending various tax credits. This provision would boost the construction of affordable housing along the Gulf Coast. It could help rebuild more than 6,000 homes along the Gulf Coast – resulting in $715 million in local income and more than 13,500 local jobs in the region. Specifically, the provision would extend by two years the length of time tax incentives are available for rebuilding affordable housing in hurricane-damaged communities in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

BOSTON, MA - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- An evaluation by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute has concluded that MassHousing’s Tenancy Preservation Program (TPP) is highly effective in preventing homelessness among tenants with mental disabilities.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representatives of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, including Attorney General Eric Holder, met in Phoenix today for the second of a series of Mortgage Fraud Summits. The task force, established by President Barack Obama in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, is comprised of representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement

March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today returned to the La Ventana Homes project in Fresno where he kicked off his campaign to extend and expand the hugely successful homebuyer tax credit to sign legislation that will do just that. AB 183, authored by Assemblymember Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) and Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield), will provide a tax credit of up to $10,000 to Californians who are buying their first home or purchasing a brand new home.

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) today praised California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his leadership in signing the Homebuyer Tax Credit legislation into law.