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SACRAMENTO, CA - March 30, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Kesha Danine Fortune Haynie, 41, of Chico, was convicted today of two counts of mail fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. The guilty verdict was returned by a federal court jury in Sacramento after a six-day trial before United States District Judge Edward J. Garcia.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 28, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) announced $1.2 million for San Diego to help homeless veterans as part the Department of Housing and Urban Development Veteran’s Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH).

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Pending home sales in California gained ground for the second consecutive month in February, while the share of equity sales posted higher after two months of decline, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Real Estate Business Services® (REBS®) today announced that the Scenic Coast Association of REALTORS® signed an agreement to provide Clarus MarketMetrics® as a member benefit to its more than 290 REALTOR® members.

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 21, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) has joined with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to help distressed homeowners move toward a solution to their mortgage problems at two events this week

SACRAMENTO, CA - March 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the appointment of Professor Katherine Porter of the University of California, Irvine School of Law as the California monitor of the commitment by the nation's five largest banks to perform as much as $18 billion worth of homeowner and borrower benefits in the state. Attorney General Harris' decision to appoint a California monitor was made independent of the national settlement, and Professor Porter's role is focused exclusively on ensuring compliance in California.

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Recent improvements in the overall economy, combined with extremely low interest rates lifted California home sales from both the prior month and year in February, according to data from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.). The median price dipped from January but is beginning to show signs of stabilization.

March 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A combination of funding for new and renewed project grants awarded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will provide the County of San Bernardino more than $7 million to furnish transitional and permanent housing, as well as other supportive services, to homeless individuals and families who might otherwise be living on the streets.

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 13, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) today announced it is partnering with Plaxo, creators of an easy-to-use online address book solution, to offer the management and synchronization of contacts and address books across multiple platforms, devices, and Web mail services to its REALTOR® members through the C.A.R. Member Discounts Program.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 7, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today, as part of National Consumer Protection Week, warned California homeowners to beware of phone solicitations from scam artists claiming to provide assistance related to the recent national mortgage settlement

Washington, DC - March 7, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) today announced that The Port of West Sacramento has been awarded a grant of more than $960,000 from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for construction of a rail loop track that will increase freight capacity and handling efficiency.

February 29, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Councilmember Steven Neal, 9th District, The Long Beach Housing Development Company (LBHDC) and developer/property manager Abode Communities announced $25.8 million in renovations to Evergreen Apartments, three affordable housing developments with a total of 81 units throughout the City of Long Beach.

SACRAMENTO, CA - February 29, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the California Homeowner Bill of Rights designed to protect homeowners from unfair practices by banks and mortgage companies and to help consumers and communities cope with the state's urgent mortgage and foreclosure crisis

Washington, DC - February 28, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Amid the continuing national foreclosure crisis that has impacted millions of Americans, a unilateral decision by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to block all forms of principal write-down for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has prevented the housing market from recovering more quickly, said U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-Martinez) and Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), who today ramped up pressure on the FHFA to reverse the decision that has stymied a more buoyant housing recovery.

LOS ANGELES, CA - February 24, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Pending home sales in California climbed in January from both the previous month and the previous year, according to data collected by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.). Additionally, distressed home sales rose in January, comprising about half of all homes sold

SACRAMENTO, CA - February 23, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The state’s homebuilders pulled permits for fewer new single-family and multifamily homes in January when compared to the previous month and when compared to January 2011, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

February 22, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced the unsealing of an indictment today charging a local real estate agent, Eric Elegado, and eight other mortgage industry professionals—Charmagne Elegado, Theodore Cohen, Minh Nguyen, Regidor Pacal, Alexander V. Garcia, Roman Macabulos, Ramin Lotfi, and Roderick Huerto, with multiple counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and criminal forfeiture. According to court proceedings, these defendants engaged in a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme that targeted vulnerable, low-income immigrants in San Diego. All of the defendants were arraigned today in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge William McCurine, Jr.<

Washington, D.C. - February 20, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Jackie Speier sent a letter today to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting he direct the Justice Department’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to examine whether any violations of Federal law occurred in the processing of foreclosures in San Francisco

LOS ANGELES, CA - February 17, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- In a continuing effort to reduce consumers’ costs associated with purchasing a home, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) is sponsoring Assembly Bill 1711, which will clearly define what constitutes an energy efficiency retrofit that would “unreasonably or unnecessarily” affect a home purchase.

SACRAMENTO, CA - February 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Housing affordability continued to increase in all but three of the state’s metropolitan areas included in the report and reached the highest statewide level since the California index was developed in 2007, the California Building Industry Association announced today.