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SACRAMENTO, CA - May 27, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that United States District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. sentenced Ralondria Stafford, 37, of San Francisco, and Necole Ward, 32, of Las Vegas, (both formerly of Vallejo, Calif.) for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme carried out in Vallejo between 2005 and 2006. Judge England sentenced Stafford to 21 months in prison and Ward to 12 months and a day in prison. The prison sentences are to be followed by three years of supervised release and both defendants were ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution. Stafford and Ward pleaded guilty on June 10, 2010.

SACRAMENTO, CA - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Total housing starts in California, as measured by the number of building permits issued, rose 2 percent in April, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

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.”

SACRAMENTO, CA - May 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Overall housing affordability in California continued to increase in the first quarter of 2011, but half of the state’s 28 metropolitan areas included in the report showed decreases, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

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

WASHINGTON, DC - May 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that it has charged a Las Vegas, Nevada, homeowners association and its management company with discriminating against families with children by restricting its housing to persons who are 55 and older. Specifically, HUD's charge alleges that Lakeside Village Homeowners Association and Castle Management & Consulting, LLC, did not take the proper steps required to make the community's age restriction legal.

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

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- California home sales declined in April, while home prices increased, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) today launched a brand-new consumer advertising campaign highlighting the value REALTORS® bring to the real estate transaction. Through a bold, new approach and theme -- “California REALTORS®. Champions of Home.” -- the campaign also will raise awareness of the REALTOR® brand and reinforce the professionalism of REALTORS® who belong to C.A.R.

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.

SACRAMENTO, CA - April 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Total housing starts in California, as measured by the number of building permits issued, climbed 9 percent in March on the strength of the multifamily sector, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

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.