New York, NY - June 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) today announced that it has successfully refinanced 919 Third Avenue, which it owns in a joint venture partnership with New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS). The new 12-year, $500 million mortgage, was originated jointly by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Pacific Life Insurance Company.

New York, NY - May 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- GFI Mortgage Bankers, one of the largest independent mortgage banking firms based in New York, announces its selection as the preferred lender for condo buyers of Kirkman Lofts. A former soap factory, Kirkman Lofts is located in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, NY and is a 45-unit condo building with a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom units. The building maintains the original aesthetic from its former days as a factory keeping the original steel silos for the entrance to each unit as well as the industrial windows and the brick façade.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, today hailed the start of a process by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to harmonize and streamline mortgage disclosure forms required under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act.<

NEW YORK, NY - May 12, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- On May 9, 2011, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, along with other interested stakeholders, participated in a meeting sponsored by the Uniform Law Commission, the American Law Institute and the Permanent Editorial Board of the Uniform Commercial Code to explore legal issues involved in the recent problems experienced in the secondary mortgage market.

April 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Darryl C. Towns was officially named Commissioner/CEO of NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) as his selection was approved by the boards of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) and the Housing Finance Agency (HFA).

New York, NY - April 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Access to conventional refinance loans in New York City sharply declined in communities of color between 2008 and 2009, at the same time that it significantly increased in predominantly white neighborhoods, according to a report released today by NEDAP and six partner organizations across the U.S.

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 - 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.

Reston, Virginia - March 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx on March 3 held that the mortgage document granted broad powers to MERS to act as an agent for the lender, including the power to foreclose on the loan and to assign it.

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.

February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DAVID RAMNAUTH, the former president of the Queens mortgage brokerage GuyAmerican Funding Corp. ("GuyAmerican"), was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in a massive mortgage fraud scheme in which over $23 million in fraudulent loans were processed in connection with over 44 properties in the New York metropolitan area. RAMNAUTH pled guilty to his role in the mortgage fraud scheme in August 2010

MILFORD, CT - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- TMS Funding, the wholesale residential lending channel of Total Mortgage Services, LLC, announced today the hiring of John O’Brien as Wholesale Account Executive. Mr. O’Brien, an experienced mortgage professional with many years of successful sales leadership in start-up and territory expansion, has been hired to develop new business relationships and educate, train and support high quality mortgage brokers in their respective markets. In his new role, Mr. O’Brien will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers throughout the New York marketplace.

New York, NY - February 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mesa West Capital has provided the new owners of 5 Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan with $47 million in first mortgage financing secured by the 25-story, 333,000 square-foot office building, according to Mesa West Principal Raphael Fishbach who originated the financing

NEW YORK, N.Y. - February 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage rates showed little movement this week, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching higher to 5.02 percent according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.40 discount and origination points

BUFFALO, NY - January 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Steven Carlson, 52, of Jamestown, New York, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, to evading the payment of taxes and mortgage fraud. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both

New York, NY - January 12, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CHEDDI GOBERDHAN, a real estate attorney, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge SHIRA A. SCHEINDLIN in Manhattan federal court to a seven-count Indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and six counts of bank fraud, in connection with a scheme that defrauded banks out of more than $23 million in home mortgage loans. GOBERDHAN made hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit profits from the scheme, in which he worked closely with corrupt loan officers of GuyAmerican Funding, a mortgage brokerage firm in Queens, New York. GOBERDAN is the ninth defendant convicted of participating in this mortgage fraud scheme

New York, NY - December 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Rene Febles, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in New York, John F. Pikus, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Lt. John D. Durling of the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit announced that Michael Cassadei was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy in Albany to twenty-seven (27) months in prison, to be followed by three years’ supervised release, for his role as organizer of a local mortgage fraud scheme.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released Why Is the Market Share of Adjustable-Rate Mortgages So Low?—the latest article in its series Current Issues in Economics and Finance.

December 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and JANICE K. FEDARCYK, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), announced charges against four defendants in a two-year scheme in which the defendants obtained fraudulent mortgages exceeding $3 million

Washington, DC - December 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) led a full committee hearing on "Foreclosed Justice: Causes and Effects of the Foreclosure Crisis," in which the Committee discussed with invited witnesses the government’s response to the country’s foreclosure crisis.One of the witnesses, a New York bankruptcy judge, testified that he had routinely encountered in his court foreclosure attorneys who: failed to know who they represented, lacked the underlying note evidencing their entitlement to seek foreclosure, failed to establish the legal chain of title establishing the standing of their client-mortgagees, and submitted to the court false affidavits attesting to the ownership of the note and mortgage

November 11, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York; Rene Febles, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in New York; John F. Pikus, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Lt. John D. Durling, of the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit, announced that Elmer J. "Joe" McIndoo was sentenced today by United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy in Albany to six months of home detention and five years of supervised release for his role in a local mortgage fraud scheme. McIndoo also was ordered to make full restitution in the amount of $135,148.45, due jointly and severally with the other defendants convicted in the case, and he was required to surrender his New York state real property appraiser's license as a result of his conviction.

MILFORD, CT - November 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Total Mortgage Services, LLC, a leading national mortgage lender and broker that offers some of the lowest mortgage rates available, announced today that it has received its state of New York Mortgage Banker License from the State of New York Banking Department.

November 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the third quarter of 2010, which shows that consumer debt continues its downward trend of the previous seven quarters, though the pace of decline has slowed recently. Since its peak in the third quarter of 2008, nearly $1 trillion has been shaved from outstanding consumer debts

October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ms. Caldwell, you and the Department of Treasury deserve substantial credit for pushing an industry towards mortgage modifications and preventing avoidable foreclosures when that industry failed to appropriately act. In this way, Treasury’s HAMP program has shown great potential. Thanks to your work, we have a new industry standard that has kept more people in their homes than otherwise would have been able – certainly more than HAMP’s monthly reports demonstrate on their own.

New York, NY - October 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens) wrote to the Federal Housing Finance Agency...