Yearly Archives: 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that Bank of America will pay $45,000 as part of Conciliation Agreements resolving allegations the lender discriminated against pregnant women seeking mortgage loans. HUD had alleged that the Bank of America refused to refinance the mortgages of two couples in California and Texas, because the women were on maternity leave

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Although the housing market has shown a healthy recovery over the past two years, unnecessarily restrictive mortgage lending standards are preventing some financially qualified buyers from reaching their dreams, especially singles and first-time buyers, according to an annual study released today.

WASHINGTON - November 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Choosing a community is one of the most important factors for consumers as they consider buying home, and research by the National Association of Realtors® has consistently revealed that Americans prefer walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods and shorter commutes.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following the Senate's October 31st cloture votes regarding Patricia Millett's appointment to the D.C. Circuit and U.S. Representative Mel Watt's appointment to the Federal Housing Finance Agency the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law released the statement below

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- On November 1st, the Patrick Administration announced the first funding awards under its new High Leverage Asset Preservation Program (HILAPP), aimed at supporting the comprehensive modernization and preservation of the state’s public housing stock. The Program provides grants to local housing authorities that are able to secure matching funds from local and/or other non-DHCD sources

WASHINGTON - November 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Riverside Plaza, a historic housing development in Minneapolis, earned the prestigious 2013 National Trust/HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. This award recognizes efforts that advance the Nation’s historic preservation goals while providing affordable housing and economic development opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents.

Washington D.C. - November 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges and an emergency asset freeze against a group of Pasadena, Calif.-based companies at the center of an ongoing real estate investment scheme.

Torrance, CA - November 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- BH Properties LLC, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investment firm, has acquired three industrial buildings totaling 32,602-square-feet in an industrial park located in the Bankside Business Center at 36405, 36555 Bankside and 36605 Sunair in Cathedral City, Calif

CHICAGO, IL - November 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Henry Hanna, CCIM, SIOR, Senior Advisor with Sperry Van Ness – Miller Commercial Real Estate in Salisbury, MD recently attended the SIOR Fall World Conference in Chicago, IL at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors is the leading professional commercial and industrial real estate association and is a professional affiliate of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). More than 3,000 members have the prestigious SIOR designation, which is the symbol of the highest level of knowledge, production, and ethics in the real estate industry.

CHICAGO - November 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Prudential Jack White/Vista Real Estate, the market leading real estate firm in Alaska, has announced that it is becoming an independent firm, effective November 1. The company will operate as Jack White Real Estate and is affiliating with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE), the world's largest network of leading independent real estate brokerages producing over one million transactions annually

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, a minority of U.S. Senators prevented the full Senate from voting on the nomination of Representative Mel Watt (D-NC) to be the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Once again, the threat of a filibuster by Republicans has prevented an up or down vote in the Senate on a matter of great national importance. Because Mr. Watt’s nomination was not allowed to go forward, an acting director will remain in charge of this vital federal agency.

Reston, Virginia - November 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today reported that a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit last month ruled in favor of MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. and its co-defendants, affirming a lower court’s decision dismissing the plaintiff’s claims of wrongful foreclosure. The Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas

DENVER, CO - November 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) - For the sixth year in a row, RE/MAX, LLC has been named one of the Top 50 Franchises for Minorities by the National Minority Franchising Initiative through the World Franchising Network.

NEW YORK - October 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Dozens of workers, community members and tenants in costume joined a rally and march in support of building workers at luxury buildings along the High Line in Manhattan Thursday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Revised rules proposed by federal regulators will help ensure rigorous and effective underwriting while also providing creditworthy homebuyers with access to safe mortgage financing, according to the National Association of Realtors®

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) held a hearing titled “Housing Finance Reform: Essential Elements of a Government Guarantee for Mortgage-Backed Securities.”

BARRE - October 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Joel Rhodes has joined Home Share Now for the next eleven months as an AmeriCorps member via the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board. Rhodes is a recent graduate of Juniata College in Pennsylvania and has studied in Ireland, done sustainable forestry in Oregon, renovated houses at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and served at a daycare in Mexico. “I am excited to be serving with an organization that actively and creatively finds housing solutions for a range of wants and needs,” said Rhodes

WASHINGTON, - October 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nearly 1.6 million homeowners have received foreclosure prevention counseling by local nonprofits, national intermediaries and state housing finance agencies participating in the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program. The NFMC program is administered by NeighborWorks® America, one of the nation's largest community development corporations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nails, paint, energy efficient light bulbs and countless helping hands will come to the aid of six U.S. veterans scatter across the country. In the week leading up to and following Veterans Day, hundreds of Caesars Entertainment and Rebuilding Together volunteers will honor Veterans Day in a big way by performing safety upgrades and beautification projects on four homes, a local high school and a community Veterans of Foreign Wars Post building

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Building on two years of grantmaking aimed at strengthening American democracy, the MacArthur Foundation today announced nine grants totaling more than $1.2 million to support information sharing and research on the role of money in politics and efforts to improve election administration.