WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), senior member of the House Financial Services committee and Ranking Member of its Capital Markets Subcommittee, today wrote the Comptroller of the Currency and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve following a recently released GAO report on the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) process and the regulators’ disclosure in late March that it would be an additional four to eight weeks before these borrowers receive payments under the IFR settlement with major banks announced in January.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 3, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- New report from NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy finds New York City home prices rose two percent in the final quarter of 2012, while foreclosure activity increased 53 percent over the final quarter of 2011; The Bronx sees promising signs of renewed building activity

BUFFALO - February 18, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In Buffalo, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the results of the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), a $60 million initiative to support housing counselors and legal services providers working with homeowners at risk of foreclosure across the State of New York. Attorney General Schneiderman reported that in just the first three months of the program, 547 at-risk homeowners in the Buffalo-Niagara region have received assistance, and roughly 3,600 have been served throughout New York State. Schneiderman also announced the creation of a statewide hotline 1-855-HOME-456 to provide help for homeowners facing foreclosure.

New York, NY - January 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- With a growing need for affordable housing, Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano announced a program that enables the county’s partners in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to rehabilitate foreclosed houses with Federal funds for purchase by first-time home buyers.

NEW YORK, NY - November 28, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- In its latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced that in the third quarter, non-real estate household debt jumped 2.3 percent to $2.7 trillion. The increase was due to a boost in student loans ($42 billion), auto loans ($18 billion) and credit card balances ($2 billion).

NEW YORK, NY - November 19, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Eric T Schneiderman today warned Wells Fargo to reverse a new policy that temporarily suspends review of mortgage relief applications from New York homeowners, many of whom are still struggling to recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In a letter to Wells Fargo, Attorney General Schneiderman warned the bank that its directive to suspend “all home preservation reviews and decisions” across the Northeast “in order to await further instructions from FEMA” likely violates the terms of the National Mortgage Settlement

Albany, NY - November 7, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that several major state-chartered banks and mortgage servicers have agreed to offer relief for home mortgage borrowers in the areas affected by Storm Sandy, including, in many cases, no foreclosures and no late fees for 90 days.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 31, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of New York and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes due to Hurricane Sandy.

YONKERS, NY - August 10, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano is calling upon volunteers in Yonkers and the Westchester County area to assist seniors with foreclosure prevention. Yonkers Office for the Aging and Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO) will host an informational session for volunteers Tuesday, August 21 from 2pm to 3:30pm at the Chema Center at 430 Riverdale Avenue in Yonkers to discuss the foreclosure prevention outreach.

Albany, NY - July 11, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Department of Financial Services, in partnership with...

ALBANY, NY - June 22, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman released the following statement today on the overwhelming passage of The Foreclosure Fraud Prevention Act of 2012 in the state Assembly:

New York, NY - June 22, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Judiciary Committee Chair Helene Weinstein today announced the passage of the Foreclosure Fraud Prevention Act of 2012. This historic measure would protect New York's working families from fraudulent business practices perpetrated during the foreclosure process, by instituting misdemeanor and felony-level penalties for those who intentionally engage in or tolerate such conduct

ALBANY, NY - June 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the introduction of his bill in the state Legislature that would protect New Yorkers from fraudulent business practices like "robosigning" in the foreclosure process. The Attorney General’s legislation, the Foreclosure Fraud Prevention Act of 2012, will define “residential mortgage foreclosure fraud,” and impose tough new criminal penalties that include jail time for those who intentionally engage in such conduct, including managers of residential mortgage businesses who knowingly tolerate fraudulent foreclosure practices committed by their employees and agents.

New York, NY - June 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Judiciary Committee Chair Helene Weinstein today announced the approval of legislation that would help homeowners facing foreclosure by ensuring that lenders bringing foreclosure cases have a legal right to do so. It will also resolve the growing "shadow docket" of cases which lenders refuse to advance while the cases accrue costs and fees.

NEW YORK, NY - March 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced an agreement with Steven J. Baum P.C. (“Baum Firm”), Pillar Processing, LLC (“Pillar”), Steven J. Baum, and Brian Kumiega requiring them to pay $4 million to New York State in penalties, costs and fees, which will be used in part for programs that offer assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure or victims of predatory lending practices. The agreement stems from abuses in their foreclosure-related legal work. Baum Firm founder Steven J. Baum and managing partner Brian Kumiega also agreed to not represent lenders or servicers in new foreclosure-related cases for a period of two years. Until ceasing most of its operations on or about December 31, 2011, the Baum Firm was the largest foreclosure firm in New York State.

WASHINGTON, DC - September 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State Of New York and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following Tropical Storm Lee.

CHICAGO, IL - July 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels today reported that the volume of hotel investment transactions that closed in the Americas market in the first six months of 2011 reached $7.4 billion—a robust increase of approximately 180 percent on the same prior-year period. The numbers represent preliminary totals from Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels’ Hotel Investment Highlights Americas report due to be released later this month. The firm’s research tracks hotel asset transactions in excess of $10 million, and excludes note sales, recapitalizations and foreclosures.

Westbury, NY - June 13, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano announced today that a once foreclosed, termite-infested property in Westbury is being completely rehabilitated to become a brand new energy-efficient home. This is a joint effort with Nassau County, Unified New Cassel Community Revitalization & the United Way of Long Island. Rehabilitation of this property is possible due to nearly $400,000 in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds obtained by Nassau County from the Federal and State governments. The home will be rehabilitated by certified professionals, working alongside student trainees from the United Way’s YouthBuild initiative.

New York, NY - May 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy’s Quarterly Housing Update reports that housing prices declined between the last quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 in every borough except Queens, where prices remained essentially flat. Manhattan home prices declined 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2011, but were still 2.5 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2010, and only 11 percent lower than in the peak of the market. Home values in the Bronx and Queens have each depreciated by almost a third since their peaks in the second quarter of 2007 and fourth quarter of 2006, respectively.

NEW YORK, NY - April 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Comptroller John C. Liu issued the following statement regarding the NYC Pension Funds’ proposal that the bank’s board of directors launch an independent audit of its mortgage and foreclosure practices. The proposal is on the agenda at Citigroup’s annual meeting in New York City tomorrow:

New York, NY - April 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Much attention has been given to the recent foreclosure crisis, in particular to its causes and impacts on communities. Considerably less attention, however, has been given to the collateral costs on children, in particular on their educational experiences. As children around the country leave their homes due to foreclosures, we look at whether they leave their schools as well.

NEW YORK, NY - March 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jones Lang LaSalle is marketing a $30.5 million defaulted loan for sale. The loan, which is collateralized by 4,950-square-foot land development site at 276-280 Third Avenue in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan, is scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction on March 30.

NEW YORK, NY - March 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens) and Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan & the Bronx); Mike Hickey, Executive Director of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods; Willie Rapfogel, CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty; Mitchell Kent of the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs; Bisoondaye Maharaj, a struggling Queens homeowner who has benefitted from federal mortgage programs; and housing advocate Seema Agnani, Executive Director of the Chhaya Community Development Corporation, gathered at City Hall to release a report detailing the impact on New York City of Republican efforts to terminate federal foreclosure-avoidance programs. At a time when our economy and real estate market remain fragile, Republicans have offered no alternative plans to stem the foreclosure crisis.

BRONX, NY - March 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- State Senator Jeff Klein (D- Bronx/ Westchester) and Senator Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx) joined Foreclosure Prevention Providers at the Bronx County Courthouse on Friday to call for the renewal of funds for the Foreclosure Prevention Services Program in the 2012 Executive Budget.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today introduced an amendment in the House Financial Services Committee to H.R. 839, "The HAMP Termination Act of 2011" sponsored by Patrick McHenry (R-NC), whose bill would abolish the “Housing Affordable Modification Program” which was established to assist three to four million homeowners in achieving mortgage modifications. The Maloney Amendment would extend the program to accommodate 500,000 more mortgages before it ends.