Archives

FORT WORTH, TX - September 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Centex joined Operation FINALLY HOME, recently, to announce that retired U.S. Air Force Captain Jason Vest, his wife, son (age 7) and daughter (age 5) will be able to stop dreaming of a new home – they will be able to start living in one as recipients of a house in the Centex community of West Fork Ranch in North Fort Worth, Texas.

August 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Rubén Hinojosa will be on hand at the grand opening of the new Mercedes Housing Authority building on Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. at 306 West 5th Street in Mercedes.

AUSTIN, TX - August 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today announced that it will finance the development of 38 affordable rental properties throughout the state that will combine an affordable rent with the aesthetic qualities of high-end developments. These properties will expand housing options for the state’s growing population of retirees and younger working families while generating a significant impact on the economy.TDHCA will provide $39.5 million in financing through the 2011 Housing Tax Credit Program allocation cycle, helping create an estimated 3,457 units of affordable rental housing designed to serve Texans earning no more than 60 percent of the area median family income.

DENTON, TX- August 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fire protection for your house and safety for your family can be increased if you follow some key guidelines before dry weather and high winds bring the threat of wildfires to your area.

HOUSTON, TX - July 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Vincent Wallace Aldridge, a former fee attorney for First Southwestern Title Company, has been sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment for wire fraud and money laundering arising from a scheme to defraud residential mortgage lenders of more than $3.7 million in loans in connection with home purchases in the Houston area, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today, along with FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen L. Morris and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Rodney E. Clark.

DALLAS, TX - July 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal grand jury in Dallas has returned a four-count indictment this week charging three individuals, Vathany Teng, Lina Ma and Jerry Goh each with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two substantive counts of bank fraud in relation to a loan fraud scheme they allegedly ran in the Dallas area from August 2007 to April 2008. In addition, defendant Jerry Goh, a lawyer, is also charged with one count of witness tampering. All three defendants are expected to surrender to federal authorities and appear tomorrow, July 22, 2011, at 2:00 p.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

AUSTIN, TX - July 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today announced a series of major funding awards designed to help homeless Texans secure permanent housing and strive toward self-sufficiency, bringing greater stability to individuals and the communities in which they live.TDHCA awarded a total of $4.9 million in federal funds to 44 nonprofit organizations renovating or converting buildings for use as emergency shelters, as well as to help provide an array of essential services to homeless individuals.

Washington, DC - July 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) announced recently that the Housing Authority of the City of Austin will receive $366,540 in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist homeless veterans obtain affordable housing in the Austin area. The grants, funded under the HUD-VASH program, combines HUD Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

July 14, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Rubén Hinojosa announced federal grants totaling $3,865,238 will be distributed to Housing Authorities throughout Congressional District 15 of Texas for projects which include new construction of homes, renovations and upgrades of old homes and create computer centers in public housing neighborhoods. Twenty five housing authorities in the Congressional District 15 of Texas will benefit from this grant.

Washington, DC - July 14, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Johnson announces that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in conjunction with NeighborWorks America has launched the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) to help homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure in Texas

DALLAS, TX - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- An August 29, 2011 trial date before Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater has been set for three defendants charged with running a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme in the Dallas area, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Gregory Lashon Thomas, Aja D. Crawford (aka Aja Abercrombie), and Ernest Ohenekitiwa McMillan were arrested on conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud charges outlined in a four-count indictment returned last month. All three pleaded not guilty and have been released on bond.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Rubén Hinojosa announces a new federal program, the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP),that will directly help qualifying homeowners with their mortgage.

28th District of Texas, TX - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program announced assistance for homeowners in Texas who have experienced a substantial loss of income (a reduction of at least 15 percent) due to unemployment, underemployment or a medical condition that has caused people to fall behind on payments.

HOUSTON, TX - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Claymon “Butch” Trammell, along with his wife, Jeannettea Williams, and daughter, Michelle Trammell, have all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their roles in a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today. The three residents of Houston entered their pleas yesterday in federal court before United States District Court Judge Vanessa Gilmore.

AUSTIN, TX - July 1 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today announced a funding award to a Houston-based nonprofit organization helping eligible persons with disabilities residing in Harris County secure affordable rental housing while working toward personal and financial independence.TDHCA awarded $300,000 in rental assistance funds to Services of the Emergency Aid Resource Center for the Homeless, Inc. (SEARCH) to help an estimated 60 qualifying individuals with their monthly rent payments.

AUSTIN, TX - July 1 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Del Valle resident Leticia Leal in May helped make state housing history when she became the first homebuyer assisted through an innovative pilot program offered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). The new program provides up to $20,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance in conjunction with a mortgage loan originated through a conventional lender.

AUSTIN, TX - July 1 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) used the occasion of June’s national designation as Home Ownership Month to name its “Lenders of the Year” and “Loan Officers of the Year” in recognition of the important role lenders play in helping increase home ownership opportunities for Texans through state-sponsored homebuyer programs.

SINTON, TX - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today charged a residential roofing contractor with deceiving Texas homeowners and unlawfully soliciting roof repairs.

Laredo, TX - June 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) announced today that the South Texas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (STCADA) received federal funding from a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant in the amount of $893,614. In addition to the HUD grant, Webb County District Attorney Chilo Alaniz and Sheriff Martin Cuellar both contributed $48,667 each and Mr. Javier Santos, on behalf of the Fernando A. Salinas Trust, contributed $50,691 bringing the total amount of funding for the project to $1,041,639

Washington, D.C. - June 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) announced that the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending (the Department), Mortgage Division, has received a certificate of accreditation for mortgage supervision, certifying that the Department maintains the standards and practices in state mortgage supervision set by the CSBS and AARMR Accreditation Program. The Department is the ninth to receive accreditation for mortgage supervision, and the first non-banking department to receive the mortgage accreditation