Pennsylvania RealEstateRama

Harrisburg - August 9, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Tom Corbett today announced that Pennsylvania has received the $66.5 million cash portion of the previously announced $25 billion state-federal settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage loan servicers.

HARRISBURG - August 8, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for projects to improve the availability and affordability of housing in the Marcellus Shale region of the state.

WASHINGTON, DC - August 7, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) alerted Pennsylvanians who may have wrongfully lost their homes that they could qualify for financial compensation via the Independent Foreclosure Review process. The program is set to expire in September 30, 2012.

August 7, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) is expected to introduce the Housing Subsidy Fairness Act in early September. This bill would provide dedicated funding for the National Housing Trust Fund with savings generated by reform of the mortgage interest deduction.

HARRISBURG - August 1, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) today for projects to improve the availability and affordability of housing in the Marcellus Shale region of the state.

Harrisburg - July 17, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Residents who find a letter from the Pennsylvania Treasury in their mailboxes in coming weeks may be entitled to unclaimed property, State Treasurer McCord noted today as his department prepares to send more than 40,000 notification letters to potential owners of the newest unclaimed property in its database.

Harrisburg PA - July 13, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- In 2009, the enactment of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) was a major step forward in achieving housing stability for renters living in a property in foreclosure. The Act ensures that most tenants can stay in their homes for the remainder of their leases or for at least 90 days post-foreclosure. Prior to PTFA, such tenants were often required to move with as little as a few days' notice.

Harrisburg PA - July 12, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- On Saturday, June 30, Pennsylvania became the 30th state in the country to have a state historic tax credit when Governor Tom Corbett signed the FY 2013 Commonwealth Budget and established the Historic Preservation Incentive Act. This tax credit will be a companion to the very successful federal tax credit program.

Harrisburg - July 2, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Older Pennsylvanians, widows and widowers, and people with disabilities who are expecting a state property tax or rent rebate should receive that payment next week, according to State Treasurer Rob McCord, who said the Treasury Department will issue more than half a million of those payments on July 2. The payments total nearly $238 million, he added.

Norristown - June 21, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Local officials across the Commonwealth, faced with a greater demand for services as state funding declines, should check to see if their governments may be owed unclaimed property, Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord reminded municipal leaders today as he returned more than $49,000 to Montgomery County

PITTSBURGH - June 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 55 months of incarceration on his conviction of wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

June 12, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- House returns HEMAP funding bill to Senate for chamber’s expected approval. A bill to provide a multi-year funding stream to the state’s currently idled Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) is on its way back to the state Senate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 31, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michael J. Smith, 31, of Springfield, Pennsylvania, was charged today by indictment with participating in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that caused losses of over $600,000, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Specifically, Smith is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and forfeiture. According to the indictment, Smith, who was a mortgage broker at the time, conspired with John C. Lucidi, Jr. and Eric Maratea, both of whom are charged elsewhere, as well as numerous other individuals, in a scheme to buy properties at inflated prices so that buyers could receive kickbacks of tens of thousands of dollars. Smith was one of the alleged buyers.

Harrisburg, PA - April 11, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Treasury last month collected nearly $25.4 million, more unclaimed property than it had in any March in the past seven years, State Treasurer Rob McCord noted today as he announced Treasury will accept reports from entities subject to the state’s unclaimed property law through Monday, April 16 because the statutory deadline of April 15 falls on a Sunday this year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 4, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-04) today announced that the Allegheny County Housing Authority and Housing Authority of the County of Butler will receive $293,898 in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH). The award is part of a $72.6 million grant to public housing agencies across the country to provide permanent housing to the more than 10,000 homeless veterans in America.

April 4, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- On March, 12, 2012, the final negotiated agreements between the states, the federal government and Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan Chase, Ally/GMAC, and Wells Forgo were filed with the Court. In addition to requiring changes in the way the banks service their loans, the settlement provides approximately $25 billion for loan modifications, refinancing, payments to people who lost their homes to foreclosure, and direct payments to the states.

Pittsburgh, PA - March 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- As school districts across Pennsylvania face state funding cuts and budget deficits, Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord reminded public school officials to see if their districts may be owed unclaimed property, and he returned more than $12,000 to the Pittsburgh Public Schools today.

HARRISBURG - March 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency held its annual homeownership program awards ceremony today at its headquarters to honor its leading lenders. These lenders assist homebuyers throughout the state in the application, processing, and closing of PHFA loans. Brian Hudson, executive director and CEO, recognized these outstanding organizations in their efforts to assist Commonwealth families and individuals achieve the American dream of homeownership.

BETHLEHEM, PA - February 9, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Liberty Property Trust has named commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. as exclusive leasing agent for a 1.2 million-square-foot, $62 million speculative industrial property now under construction in Bethlehem. The project, part of Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII, is transforming one of the nation’s largest brownfield sites into sustainable, Class A distribution product; it is one of the most significant industrial projects in Pennsylvania and one of the largest currently underway in the United States.

January 24, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a fourth defendant connected to a mortgage fraud scheme was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik to spend five months in federal prison.