California RealEstateRama

Washington, DC - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee and a leading champion for homeowners, delivered the following remarks today during a Subcommittee on Housing, Insurance, and Community Opportunity Hearing on “Legislative Proposals to Determine the Future Role of FHA, RHS and GNMA in the Single-and Multi-Family Mortgage Markets.”

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the creation of the California Attorney General's Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, staffed by Department of Justice attorneys and investigators charged with protecting innocent homeowners and bringing to justice those who defraud them.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Buellton man was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for defrauding banks by nearly simultaneously seeking home equity lines of credit from four different federally insured financial institutions. Larry P. Corbi Jr., 36, who resided in Marina del Rey during the course of the scheme and has since relocated to the Central Coast, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer. In addition to the prison term, Judge Fischer ordered Corbi to pay $356,644 in restitution.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A second man who was employed as an inspector with the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety pleaded guilty this afternoon to federal bribery charges for taking thousands of dollars in bribes to approve work done at residential construction sites in South Los Angeles, even though the work had not been inspected.

FRESNO, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill sentenced Wrenl Burge, 40, of Fresno, to 41 months in prison and Albert Lewis Ellis, 46, also of Fresno, to 33 months in prison for a scheme to falsify mortgage loan documents. Burge was ordered to pay $1,011,524 in restitution, and Ellis was ordered to pay $548,178 in restitution to the mortgage lenders.

Long Beach, CA - May 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Long Beach Housing Development Company (LBHDC) and Clifford Beers Housing, Inc. celebrated the grand opening of an innovative permanent supportive housing development for low-income households including homeless individuals living with mental illness. The Courtyards in Long Beach is a showcase for scattered-site development, comprised of four, single-story courtyard-style apartment buildings, rehabilitated to improve their respective neighborhoods and to provide housing solutions for diverse communities. The celebration was Thursday afternoon

SAN JOSE, CA - May 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal grand jury in San Jose indicted Norma Valdovinos, Claudia Valdovinos, Linda Dung Tran, Elaine “Queenie” Ly, and Pablo Curiel, of San Jose, California, and Jesus Chavez, of Gilroy, California on May 11, 2011, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and making a false statement to a bank, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced yesterday.

San Francisco, CA - May 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Edwin M. Lee today introduced a proposed $248 million bond measure for the November 2011 ballot that will repave streets and eliminate potholes in neighborhoods throughout San Francisco and seismically strengthen and repair deteriorating bridges, overpasses and staircases, all without raising property tax rates and subject to independent oversight and regular audits. Recommended as part of the citywide Ten-Year Capital Plan to improve and invest in the City’s infrastructure, the Road Repaving & Street Safety Bond will also improve streetscapes for pedestrian and bicyclist safety, improve traffic flow on local streets and install sidewalk and curb ramps to meet the City’s obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The measure is co-sponsored by Supervisors David Chiu and Scott Weiner with Supervisors John Avalos, David Campos, Eric Mar, and Ross Mirkarimi also signing on.

PALM DESERT, CA - May 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of Coachella Valley existing homes jumped about 12 percent in February, rebounding from slower sales January, The California Desert Association of REALTORS® reported today

ALISO VIEJO, CA - May 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- CT Realty Investors (CTRI) announced today it has completed the process of successfully selling a portfolio of office, warehouse and residential assets located throughout Southern California (Riverside County, Orange County and San Diego County), including some senior mortgage notes for a total of more than $30 million. The portfolio featured multiple residential, industrial and office properties purchased by CT Realty Investors in 2009 and 2010 through several senior loan pool acquisitions. CT Realty has been an active purchaser of distressed debt and maintains an active debt resolution business unit.

INLAND EMPIRE, CA - May 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Aaron Hodgdon, president of Hodgdon Group Realty, has been named a CoStar Group’s (NASDAQ: CSGP) Power Broker for 2010 in the retail leasing category. This is Hodgdon's second consecutive year as a Power Broker in the retail leasing category. His firm, Hodgdon Group Realty, also made the 2010 Power Broker list for Top Leasing Firms

IRVINE, CA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Award-winning KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture and Planning, is pleased to announce that construction has commenced on Pottery Court Apartment Homes in Lake Elsinore, Calif., a new high-quality, pedestrian-oriented apartment community, located just two blocks from Lake Elsinore’s historic downtown Main Street. Developed by BRIDGE Housing Corporation, a leading nonprofit developer of affordable homes in California, and designed by KTGY, the new residential community offers 113 thoughtfully-planned dwellings ranging in size from one- to three-bedroom units for working families earning between 30 and 50 percent of the area median income. The new 4.4-acre development will cost about $26 million, with the city's Redevelopment Agency contributing about $9.7 million. Pottery Court is expected to be completed by April 2012

IRVINE, CA - May 5, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, one of the most dominant retail investment groups in the western United States and a market leader in the sale of retail properties, announced today that Edward B. Hanley and William B. Asher represented the seller in the sale of a 7,866-square-foot multi-tenant retail building within a Lowe's anchored shopping center in Ontario, Calif. The purchase price was not disclosed.

ALISO VIEJO, CA - May 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- CT Realty Investors and WLCM have entered into a joint venture to acquire apartment communities in select coastal submarkets throughout Southern California. The CT joint venture just acquired three communities in Costa Mesa for approximately $10 million which include 55 units located within a mile of each other.

May 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- This week in Sacramento, the banking committees of both houses considered two bills designed to mitigate the effects of California's foreclosure crisis, and both failed in hearing rooms packed with supporters. Both bills, however, will be re-heard next week

San Francisco, CA - April 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Access to mortgage refinance loans sharply declined in communities of color – and increased substantially in predominantly white neighborhoods, according to a report released today by a multistate coalition of groups.

San Francisco, CA - April 27, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tomorrow, the California State Senate Banking & Financial Institutions Committee will vote on SB729, the California Homeowner Protection Act. Introduced by Senator Mark Leno and Senator Darrell Steinberg, SB729 would require loan servicers to give struggling borrowers who apply for a loan modification a yes or no answer before starting the formal foreclosure process.

LAGUNA HILLS, CA - April 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Muller Company, a full service real estate company specializing in management, investment and development of commercial real estate in the western United States, announced today that the firm now owns and/or manages nearly 608,000 square feet of office, retail and medical space in San Diego County, Calif. With the growth of its portfolio, The Muller Company has added two property managers, Maya Hausmann, CPM® as property manager and Christina Kitchen as assistant property manager.

ONTARIO, CA - April 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- CT Realty Investors (www.ctrinvestors.com) of Aliso Viejo, Calif., has acquired the Champagne Building in Ontario, Calif., for $17 million. The 386,000-square-foot industrial warehouse, located at 1671 Champagne Ave. on a 15.27-acre site, was purchased from RGR Development Corp. With the Champagne acquisition, CT Realty expands its Inland Empire holdings to more than 3.3 million square feet.

San Francisco, CA - April 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Diane Hourany, long-time realtor with Zephyr Real Estate, goes the extra mile to support San Francisco Ballet. In fact, her varied volunteer activities with the highly-acclaimed ballet company demonstrate that she goes several extra miles. A former dance instructor with a passion for ballet, she is a member of Bravo, a volunteer arm for the San Francisco Ballet Company.