AUGUSTA, ME - November 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), working closely with the Town of Patten and the Maine Rural Water Association, is overseeing the replacement of approximately 30 home heating oil tanks in the wellhead protection area of the Patten Water Department.

Augusta, ME - November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Janet Mills announced today that she is distributing $200,507 in foreclosure relief money from the Countrywide Financial Corporation settlement. The funds are being distributed to the state’s ten Community Action Programs based on the population of the areas they serve.

Washington, DC - October 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) is urging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reinforce their commitment to safeguarding the legal rights of borrowers in view of recent allegations of defective and flawed foreclosure documentation at several of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders. Senator Snowe’s comments were made following today’s announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government sponsored enterprises placed into conservatorship of the FHFA in 2008 and currently financed by taxpayers, would need as much as an additional $215 billion over the next three years to meet their financial obligations.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) is reminding Mainers of home heating assistance programs and resources available in anticipation of higher heating costs during the cold winter months. “Increased heating expenses could exacerbate the economic storm weathered by families and businesses throughout Maine this year, and it is crucial that Mainers move forward with energy efficiency improvements,” said Senator Snowe, citing the recently released October 2010 Short-Term Energy Outlook by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which estimated households heating primarily with heating oil will spend an average of about $220 (12 percent) more this winter

Augusta, ME - October 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Janet Mills is joining a coordinated national effort by state regulators and Attorneys General to investigate the practice of so-called “robo-signing” in the mortgage servicing industry.The Mortgage Foreclosure Multistate Group, comprised of state attorneys general in 50 states and state banking and mortgage regulators in thirty states, including Maine, will investigate whether individual mortgage servicers have improperly submitted documents in support of foreclosures. Specifically, the group will look into whether companies misrepresented on affidavits and other documents that they reviewed and verified documentation supporting foreclosure actions. The group will also determine whether companies signed affidavits outside the presence of a notary public or committed other irregularities regarding residential mortgage foreclosures. (See attached joint multistate group statement)

October 4, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Five Maine residents filed a complaint today against GMAC Mortgage, LLC (GMAC) on behalf of themselves and a class of Maine homeowners, alleging that the company routinely and systematically files false certifications that it has a right to foreclose on Maine homeowners, and false affidavits when asking courts to enter foreclosure judgments

Washington, D.C. - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Susan Collins recently joined her colleagues, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), in introducing bipartisan legislation that would set targets for utilities to obtain an increasing percentage of electricity supplies from renewable sources

AUGUSTA, ME - September 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Bureau of Financial Institutions Superintendent Lloyd P. LaFountain, III announced this week that second quarter 2010 data submitted by Maine state-chartered banks and credit unions shows a decrease in completed home foreclosures in Maine. Additionally, the number of delinquent mortgage loans declined for the second consecutive quarter.

July 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Hancock County Superior Court jury convicted Eric S. Murphy, Jr. of Ellsworth on Wednesday in connection with an investment scam Murphy ran in conjunction with his residential construction loan business. Murphy, a former mortgage loan broker whose license was revoked by the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection in April, 2009, was found guilty of taking approximately $450,000 from 4 investors under false pretenses during the period October, 2006 through April, 2008. Instead of using funds received from investors to fund mortgage loans for consumers, Murphy used the bulk of the proceeds for his own business and personal purposes.

July 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Bureau of Financial Institutions Superintendent Lloyd P. LaFountain, III announced this week that first quarter 2010 data submitted by Maine-chartered banks and credit unions shows a continuing increase in completed home foreclosures in Maine

July 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Pursuant to P.L. 2009, ch. 402, An Act to Preserve Home Ownership and Stabilize the Economy by Preventing Unnecessary Foreclosures, parties to foreclosure mediation must complete in full the Net Present Value (NPV) Worksheet developed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). To complete the FDIC NPV, the parties are required to produce information about the borrower’s monthly gross income, terms of the original loan, status of the delinquent loan, property value, among other specific inputs related to projected costs of foreclosure.

July 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Professional & Financial Regulation - Consumer Credit RegulationThe Maine Housing Counseling Network with assistance and support from the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the MaineHousing continues its series of free Foreclosure Prevention Clinics this Thursday afternoon and evening in Sanford. The fourth in this series will be held next month in Bangor. Others taken place this summer in Augusta and Portland.

PORTLAND, ME - June 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor John E. Baldacci today joined officials from Tufts Medical Center, Developers Collaborative, the City of Portland, Portland builders and Gorham Savings Bank for the ribbon cutting of Crescent Heights, the latest apartment building in Portland. The building, primarily intended for use by medical students, is LEED-certified and planned with smart growth in mind.

AUGUSTA, ME - June 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor John E. Baldacci today signed an Executive Order creating the ATV Stop Work Group. The purpose of the work group is to gather information about the controversial issue of law enforcement stops of ATV riders on private property and develop recommendations and a draft enforcement policy for how to promote safety, protect private property and ensure that any stops of ATV riders are done in accordance with constitutional protections

June 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Professional & Financial Regulation - Consumer Credit RegulationThe Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection signed a contract on Monday with Washington Hancock Community Agency (WHCA), increasing the number of housing counselors serving Maine homeowners. This contract adds a ninth certified housing counseling service to the eight non-profit agencies currently under contract around the State.