Archives

OLYMPIA - February 21, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In the year since state Attorneys General and the federal government reached a historic consumer protection settlement with the nation’s five largest banks, the banks report they have provided nearly $46 billion in gross relief to more than 550,000 borrowers, according to an independent monitor’s report released this morning

Washington, D.C. - February 14, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned Arne Duncan, Secretary of the Department of Education, and Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, about the potential impacts of cuts to education and housing in the looming sequester. Senator Murray is working to replace the sequester with a balanced approach that avoids these damaging cuts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 14, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The City of Tacoma Public Works Department has been awarded three Quick Response Safety Program Grants from the Washington State Department of Transportation. The grants, totaling more than $1.9 million, were awarded based on the cost-effectiveness of proposed safety improvements and based on the City’s ability to deliver the projects quickly.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 14, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Doug Lasher, Clark County Treasurer, announced that first-half 2013 property tax statements have been mailed. Property tax statements include property tax levy amounts, special assessments, and certain fees. There were 97,070 statements mailed and 72,277 postcards mailed for those taxpayers whose mortgage company pays their taxes.

Washington, D.C. - February 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Housing Appropriations Subcommittee, applauded an announcement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that Washington state will be among 13 state housing agencies to receive federal rental assistance funding for low-income persons with disabilities through the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Program. Senator Murray fought to include funding for this demonstration in the Fiscal Year 2012 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development bill. This announcement marks a transformation of the 811 program to bring state housing and health care agencies together to better integrate persons with disabilities into our community that would otherwise be in an institutional setting or homeless

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Landmarks Preservation Board will consider landmark nominations for the Melrose Building at 301-309 E. Pine Street and the Pinevue Apartment Hotel at 313-321 E. Pine Street in Seattle. The meeting will be on Wednesday, February 20 at 3:30 p.m. in the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Avenue, 40th Floor in Room 4060

SEATTLE - February 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Alliance to Save Energy’s Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy announced this morning at a National Press Club media briefing its plan to double the United States’ energy productivity by the year 2030. Alliance co-chairs U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) and National Grid U.S. President Tom King released the commission’s

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort that combines outreach with education, the City of Tacoma is connecting with property owners across 15 neighborhood business districts to help them identify and preemptively address any possible code violation issues on their respective sites, while also letting them know about the many City resources currently available to them

Washington, DC - February 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus announced that Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA) will serve as Caucus Co-Chairs in the 113th Congress.

OLYMPIA - February 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bob Ferguson today joined a group of state attorneys general and the U.S. Dept. of Justice in filing suit against Standard & Poor’s. The group alleges the credit rating agency misled investors with regard to structured finance securities backed by subprime mortgages that were at the center of the national financial crisis

Vancouver, WA - February 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The average Clark County resident sends 3.1 pounds of waste to a landfill every day.

SEATTLE - February 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- First-time homebuyers in East King County will again have access to downpayment assistance through the House Key Plus ARCH Downpayment Assistance Program.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 29, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A former senior vice president and loan officer at Pierce Commercial Bank was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in the collapse of the bank, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. Shawn L. Portmann pleaded guilty September 18, 2012, to conspiracy to make false statements in loan applications and to make false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and one count of making a false statement in loan applications.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 28, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- If you’re looking to buy your first house in East King County, where housing prices are tough for the working class and middle class, there’s a program in King County that can help people back home in the 45th District.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 24, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Doug Lasher, Clark County Treasurer, announced that a Property Tax Foreclosure Auction will be conducted on Friday, February 1, 2013 at 9 a.m. in the 6th Floor Hearing Room, Clark County Public Service Center Building, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver, Washington. Lasher stated, “As of January 22, 2013, there are 33 properties subject for sale this year; however, this could change daily.” Interested persons may obtain a foreclosure property list from the Clark County Treasurer’s web site at w

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Three Pierce County women who played important roles in a mortgage fraud scheme that crippled now defunct Pierce Commercial Bank were sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. All three of the women worked for years with scheme leader Shawn Portmann, whose fraudulent loans resulted in losses of more than $10 million. Portmann will be sentenced later this month. U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle will determine restitution later this year.

Washington, D.C. - January 10, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) applauded the Air Force’s decision today naming Fairchild Air Force Base as a candidate base to serve as one of the first “main operating bases” (MOB) to host the next-generation KC-46A refueling tankers. This is a huge win for Fairchild, which now moves on to the next round in the competition for these missions. As a next step, the Air Mobility Command will begin conducting site surveys at Fairchild and the other candidate bases. Next year, the Air Force will make its final basing decision for the first MOB

SEATTLE - December 21, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Seattle City Light has significantly exceeded its energy conservation and renewable energy targets for the first compliance periods of Initiative 937 and is well on its way to meeting the state’s renewable energy targets through 2020

SEATTLE - December 20, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Mike McGinn and Councilmember Nick Licata today announced more than $19.5 million in capital funding for the construction of five new apartment buildings that will serve homeless individuals, low-income individuals graduating from high-service need housing, seniors, rent-burdened and homeless families and low-wage workers. The investment, primarily Seattle Housing Levy funds, will help create 302 new permanent apartments, including some set-aside to serve veterans. In addition, the funds will preserve 272 units of existing affordable housing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 11, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD), made the following statement after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, released the 2012 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR). The report showed a 7.2 percent decline in veterans homelessness since 2011 and a 17.2 decline since 2009. However, the report also details a 1.4 percent increase among persons in families.