WASHINGTON, DC – April 121, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that it is making grants available to help eliminate lead-based paint and other housing related health hazards from lower income homes. The funding will help protect young children as well as other vulnerable populations.

WASHINGTON, DC – April 11, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it will launch an effort to better address national origin based housing discrimination during Fair Housing Month in April. HUD will initiate a national media campaign and a series of community discussions on topics ranging from rental practices to mortgage lending. HUD’s first Immigrant Housing Conference, which will educate the public and housing providers about their fair housing rights and responsibilities, will be conducted in Omaha, Nebraska, April 14

WASHINGTON, DC – April 8, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Federal Housing Administration’s Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) today announced a settlement agreement with a Massachusetts mortgage lender for failing to fully verify whether borrowers could sustain their mortgage payments prior to refinancing their loans. Among the alleged violations, the MRB claimed First American Mortgage Trust (FAMT) of Brookline, Massachusetts refinanced mortgage loans for borrowers with serious credit delinquencies without properly analyzing the households’ ability to manage credit

WASHINGTON, DC – April 5, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it is launching a national media campaign to kick off Fair Housing Month, celebrated across the country each April to commemorate the passage of the Fair Housing Act. The “Live Free” campaign will use newspaper and magazine ads, as well as the latest digital media, including social networking sites, to increase the Department’s efforts to educate the public and housing providers about their fair housing rights and responsibilities

WASHINGTON, DC – April 4, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the March edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard. Officials caution that the latest housing figures underscore fragility in the housing market and the need to continue efforts to help American families stay in their homes. The housing scorecard is a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market

WASHINGTON, DC – April 1, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary Sandra B. Henriquez announced today that two public housing agencies– Boulder Housing Partners in Colorado and Lexington-Fayette Urban County in Kentucky – have been selected to participate in HUD’s Moving To Work Program (MTW).

WASHINGTON, DC – March 31, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Six federal agencies are seeking comment on a proposed rule that would require sponsors of asset-backed securities (ABS) to retain at least 5 percent of the credit risk of the assets underlying the securities and would not permit sponsors to transfer or hedge that credit risk. In crafting the proposed rule, the agencies sought to ensure that the amount of credit risk retained is meaningful, while reducing the potential for the rule to negatively affect the availability and cost of credit to consumers and businesses

WASHINGTON, DC – March 30, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — How will the United States work to solve homelessness? The latest issue of Cityscape, a quarterly magazine published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, examines homelessness and the organizations that are working to assist America’s homeless population

WASHINGTON, DC – March 29, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that, effectively immediately, it is taking control of the Housing Authority of the City of Lafayette (HACL), citing num…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 29, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The staffs of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (together, the agencies) announced that the agencies this week are considering for approval a notice of proposed rulemaking that addresses section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

WASHINGTON, DC – March 25, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a commitment to insure a mortgage loan to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. The $66 million loan is made possible through the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program.

WASHINGTON, DCv – March 24, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Housing and Urban Development posted a Notice of Funding Availability(NOFA) today for the six entities that were last week named finalists to receive the first Implementation Grant funding through HUD’s new Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CN).

WASHINGTON, DC – March 24, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that public housing agencies across the United States will receive nearly $54 million to link low-income families with the necessary education and job training to put them on the path to self-sufficiency.

WASHINGTON, DC – March 24, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today issued a report summarizing efforts to the measure the extent of “worst case housing needs” among very low-income renter households with disabilities. HUD’s 2009 Worst Case Housing Needs of People with Disabilities finds that approximately 1 million households that included nonelderly people with disabilities had worst case needs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 18, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are issuing an updated remediation protocol for homes with problem drywall. A study conducted on behalf of CPSC by Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, finds no evidence of a safety hazard to home electrical systems. Sandia simulated long-term exposure of wiring and other electrical components to hydrogen sulfide gas, which is associated with problem drywall.

WASHINGTON, DC – March 18, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that 17 communities will be the first recipients of Planning Grant funding through the Department’s new Choice Neighborhoods Initiative.

WASHINGTON, DC – March 17, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that Charles Schwab Bank has agreed to pay $30,000 settling allegations that the bank refused to accept a loan application from the adult son of a Metairie, Louisiana woman with disabilities. The son, who was acting with his mother’s power of attorney, tried to apply for a loan on his mother’s behalf, but was told that the bank did not accept powers of attorney for “incapacitated borrowers.”

WASHINGTON, DC – March 11, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Millions of U.S. families face health and safety hazards like mold, lead, pest infestation and the physical deterioration of their homes. These problems are particularly common among some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations: children, seniors, the disabled and low-income families.

WASHINGTON, DC – March 10, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — America’s cities are better prepared to be sustainable economic engines according to a new report just released by the Department of Housing & Urban Development. The report titled The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Working for America’s Cities found that the Recovery Act has helped position American cities to out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build our competitors. The collaborative and innovative approaches initiated during the implementation of the Recovery Act have laid the foundation for American cities to win the future.

WASHINGTON, DC – March 2, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the February edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard. The latest housing figures show increased existing home sales as home affordability remains high, but officials caution that the market remains fragile, as prices are unsettled.