RealEstateRama

NORFOLK, VA - June 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Partnering for their first joint promotion, For Rent Media Solutions™ and Homes Media Solutions™ launch the ForRent.com® and Homes.com® “Coolest Space in Your Place” photo contest for a chance to win a $2,500 prize! Both apartment renters and homeowners are encouraged to enter the contest by submitting a photograph of a favorite space in the contestant’s residence.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- CHFA is currently accepting 2011 applications for the Housing Tax Credit Contribution (“HTCC”) Program.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As students across the country receive their final grades for the semester, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty has released a report card grading the United States on its response to homelessness and its compliance with the human right to housing. "Simply Unacceptable": Homelessness and the Human Right to Housing in the U.S. issues failing grades in more than one category, according to international standards.

SAN MARCOS, TX - June 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Local lumber and hardware retailer McCoy’s Building Supply was listed by IDG’s CIO Magazine as one of the top 100 companies in the world that is using information technology (IT) to deliver a competitive advantage for their company.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kenneth W. Edwards, Policy Counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending, presented the following remarks at a press briefing held to discuss the impact of the proposed Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) rule on consumers. Other groups participating in the conference were the Mortgage Bankers Association, Consumer Federation of America, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the National Housing Conference

NEW YORK, N.Y. - June 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage rates fell for an eighth consecutive week, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate falling to 4.69 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.39 discount and origination points.

WASHINGTON, DC - June 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Vincent C. Gray today announced that the District will hold the 3rd Annual D.C. Housing Expo and Foreclosure Clinic on Saturday, June 4, 2011, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The Expo includes resources for all District residents, including information for renters, homeowners, potential homeowners, landlords and those facing foreclosure.

WASHINGTON, DC - June 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced Green Refinance Plus a program between HUD's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Fannie Mae to allow owners of existing affordable rental housing properties to refinance into new mortgages that include funding for energy- and water-saving upgrades, along with other needed property renovations

WASHINGTON, DC - June 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced 122 grants totaling more than $28 million to provide approximately 17,000 veterans who are homeless or at risk of being homeless with job training to help them succeed in civilian careers.

Greenbelt, MD - June 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Bozzuto Management Company, a subsidiary of The Bozzuto Group of companies, today announced the addition of 11 additional properties to its portfolio. The assets, totaling 3,200 units, are a combination of new openings and property takeovers, and collectively increase the company’s portfolio to 33,000 units. Bozzuto Management is honored to now serve 55 clients in 115 properties across eight East Coast states from Richmond, Virginia to Boston, Massachusetts.

MILFORD, CT - May 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- TMS Funding, the wholesale residential lending channel of Total Mortgage Services, LLC, announced today the hiring of five additional Wholesale Account Executives, with 72 years of combined experience in developing new business relationships and supporting high quality mortgage brokers. These new hires increase the number of Wholesale Account Executives at TMS Funding to 12, servicing 10 states.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 27, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The latest National Delinquency Survey issued by the Mortgage Bankers Association for the first quarter shows late mortgage payments and foreclosure starts have been dropping since the end of 2009. However, when you view the bigger picture, the housing market remains shaky, with millions of homeowners still at risk of losing their home.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 27, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced she has subpoenaed Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS), as part of her continuing probe into "robosigning" of mortgage documents and other illegal activities in the mortgage servicing industry, especially misconduct affecting borrowers facing, or in the midst of, foreclosure

NEW YORK, NY - May 27, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chase this month opens three of the 31 new centers it will add this year to help even more borrowers in hard-hit communities stay in their homes. Chase counselors already have met face to face with 144,000 struggling homeowners in centers since 2009.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department today announced settlements with two lenders under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to resolve allegations that the lenders wrongfully foreclosed upon active duty servicemembers without first obtaining court orders, in violation of the SCRA. Combined, the settlements provide more than $22 million in monetary relief for the victims

CHICAGO, IL - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Though not ready to declare the economy is on the upswing, Wells Fargo Securities economist Mark Vitner told attendees at the recent midyear conference of The Counselors of Real Estate® in San Diego that the economic decline—at least in commercial real estate—is over. Members of the invitation-only The Counselors of Real Estate (CRE®) association are top advisors in real estate matters throughout the U.S. and abroad.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that among those who moved between 2009 and 2010, more than four out of 10 (16.4 million or 43.7 percent) did so for housing-related reasons, such as the desire to live in a new or better home or apartment, according to data from Geographical Mobility: 2010. Among other reasons for moving, people cited family concerns (30.3 percent), such as a change in marital status, employment needs (16.4 percent) and other factors (9.5 percent).

NEW YORK, N.Y. - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage rates dropped again, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate falling to 4.77 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.4 discount and origination points.

PLEASANTON, CA - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ellie Mae®(NYSE Amex:ELLI), the provider of software and automation solutions for mortgage bankers, community banks, credit unions and other mortgage lenders, announced today that it has launched the Total Quality Loan (TQL) program, a new initiative to promote total loan quality for loans originated through Encompass360® Mortgage Management Solution. This program builds upon the company's strategy to provide a comprehensive mortgage solution that extends beyond standard loan origination functions by offering supplemental services that enhance loan quality and compliance, and help reduce many of the major risks throughout the mortgage cycle.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service has announced an $8.3 million grant competition to provide job training, counseling and placement services (including job readiness, and literacy and skills training) to expedite the reintegration of homeless veterans into the labor force through its Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.