Yearly Archives: 2010

TRENTON, NJ - November 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that an employee of the Essex County Division of Welfare pleaded guilty today to falsifying employment records in order to qualify for a $357,050 loan to buy a home in Newark

WASHINGTON, DC - November 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A group of 17 U.S. Senators, led by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), are urging Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to make a series of alterations to the federal foreclosure prevention program so that more responsible but struggling homeowners can modify their mortgages. Menendez, who chairs the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, and his colleagues wrote Geithner to express concern over the slow pace of mortgage modifications and the reluctance of some banks to cooperate in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). They suggested specific changes to the program, including

TRENTON, NJ - November 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that a father and son pleaded guilty to theft charges today for stealing approximately $4.5 million from mortgage lenders by providing false information in home loan applications handled by their Totowa-based real estate firms, Casey Properties LLC, Lee Alan LLP and Andrea Management LLC.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - November 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Frustration boiled over at the League of Municipalities conference this morning, as local officials had a chance to address state lawmakers and a cabinet official on Gov. Chris Christie’s “tool kit” measures meant to help them curtail property taxes.

November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- After meeting with mayors and other local officials at the New Jersey State League of Municipalities' annual convention, Assemblyman Domenick DiCicco said the need for property tax reform has never been more urgent.

November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Republican Conference Leader Jon Bramnick said Monday’s scheduled Assembly committee hearings are more noteworthy for bills that are not listed on the panels’ agendas instead of the items that will be considered. Six committees will convene, but none will be evaluating any of the property tax reform legislation contained in the Tool Kit.

November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Democrats have cancelled four committee meetings on Monday, while the other six will consider 19 bills, none of which deals with the property tax reform measures contained in Governor Christie’s Tool Kit. Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic, said today it can’t be any clearer that the majority party does not believe that the issue of property taxes is the number one priority of New Jersey taxpayers.

HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. - November 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Anthony L. Marchetta today joined Middlesex County freeholders and other local officials to celebrate the grand opening of the Highland Park Veterans Housing Complex at 101 South Third Avenue. The HMFA, an affiliate of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), provided $1.89 million in construction financing from the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund for the project, which is providing supportive, affordable housing for 11 military veterans. Additional funding came from the DCA’s State Rental Assistance Program

FRANKLIN TWP., N.J. - November 11, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representatives of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), an affiliate of the Department of Community Affairs, today joined local officials to celebrate the kickoff of Parkside Senior and Parkside Family, two projects that will provide 140 units of affordable housing to people in the community. Construction has started on both projects with an anticipated completion date of 2011 for Parkside Senior and 2012 for Parkside Family.

EUGENE, OR - November 11, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New Jersey real estate agent Frank Bagnato has teamed with IDX, Inc. to bring Holmdel, New Jersey home seekers a unique online property search. Bagnato has adopted his own customized IDX solution in an effort to integrate Monmouth Ocean MLS (MOMLS) listings directly onto his search page. Potential buyers can now experience the online home search in a new and more comprehensive way, on the website Bagnato hosts. Thousands of MOMLS properties are available with the click of a mouse, thanks to Bagnato and his IDX enabled website.

November 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Republican Deputy Conference Leader Scott T. Rumana, R-Passaic, Bergen and Essex, issued the following statement on the Democrats' COAH bill released today by the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee, which would eliminate the Council on Affordable Housing but preserve property tax drivers such as development fees, bonus density and builder's remedy, which allow developers to build more housing than a municipality and taxpayers can support:

November 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Atlantic Builders Convention (ABC), now in its 62nd year, is offering a wide variety of budget-friendly and cost-effective advertising and marketing opportunities. Exhibitors can maximize their return on investment in the convention by increasing their exposure at ABC. From direct mail to banner ads to on-site displays and new sponsorship packages, ABC has something for everyone to attract prospective customers in the homebuilding and remodeling industries. With 500 plus exhibitors and more than 7,000 attendees, ABC is the largest convention of its kind in the Northeast. The three-day tradeshow and conference will be held April 6-8, 2011 at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, NJ.

November 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Noting that Assembly committees are considering nearly 40 pieces of legislation today, none of which deals with Governor Christie’s property tax reform Tool Kit that will provide sustained relief to taxpayers, Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce and Conference Leader Jon Bramnick said it is disgraceful that Democrat leaders continue to waste valuable time by failing to consider the key parts of the Tool Kit package.

November 5, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assemblymen John Amodeo and Vince Polistina, both R-Atlantic, said today that taxpayers should be outraged that none of the proposals to fix New Jersey’s broken property tax system are scheduled to be heard by an Assembly committee on Monday

November 5, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Republican members Alison Littell McHose and Gary Chiusano, both R-Sussex, Morris, and Hunterdon, issued the following statements regarding Monday’s Committee hearings in which Democrat leaders again failed to post property tax reform Tool Kit legislation:

November 5, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With four Assembly committees cancelling their meetings on Monday and no property tax reform Tool Kit legislation under consideration by the remaining panels, Assembly Republican Domenick DiCicco, R-Gloucester and Camden, today said Democrats continue to ignore their responsibility to provide relief to homeowners who pay the highest property taxes in the country.

November 5, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Democrats are doing nothing to help property taxpayers and local officials deal with senseless court-ordered affordable housing mandates and other property tax drivers when a hard property tax cap is set to begin in less than two months, Assembly Republican Whip David Rible said today.

November 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- If New Jersey expects towns to hold the line on property taxes, it should end an outdated salary-arbitration process for police and firefighters. Gov. Christie has offered a reasonable plan to do that and help municipalities live with an austere 2 percent annual property-tax hike cap. It would set the same 2 percent limit for all public-employee economic compensation packages, including benefits such as health insurance.

Trenton, NJ - November 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Christie Administration today announced it is moving forward with a comprehensive plan to enact fiscal discipline and promote the prudent use of scarce property tax dollars by capping salaries for superintendents. The regulations, announced in July, will result in a salary reduction for more than 360 school superintendents who serve school districts with low numbers of students.

November 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With Assemblyman Paul Moriarty saying that legislation to prevent lobbyists from benefiting from taxpayer-paid pensions and health benefits “is a no brainer,” Assemblyman Domenick DiCicco today said the Assembly Democrat should explain why it’s taken Moriarty, who has served in the Assembly for four years, to finally introduce the bill.