Virginia RealEstateRama

U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today joined 38 of their Senate colleagues and 158 House members to introduce historic, comprehensive federal legislation to ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans.

The Justice Department announced today that developer Biafora’s Inc. (Biafora) and several affiliated companies have agreed to pay $205,000 and make substantial retrofits to remove accessibility barriers at multifamily apartment complexes. This agreement resolves the United States’ claims that Biafora violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by building 23 apartment complexes in West Virginia and Pennsylvania with a variety of features that made them inaccessible to persons with disabilities.

Third Avenue Investments, LLC won approval from the County Board on Saturday, July 18, for an amendment to a site plan originally approved in 2007 for a mixed-use building at 3001 Jefferson Davis Highway, Potomac Yard Land Bay D-West. The amendment will allow the developer to build a church in the 12-story residential building it plans, instead of much of the groundfloor retail approved in the original site plan.

U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine praised the announcement by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that the Pamunkey tribe will be granted federal recognition. Since serving as Governors of Virginia, Warner and Kaine have been strong supporters of the Virginia Indian tribes’ efforts to gain federal recognition

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Banking Committee and Ranking Member of the Banking subcommittee overseeing the secondary mortgage market, released a statement after mortgage finance companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae disclosed today that their CEOs will each receive a raise of $3.4 million – bringing their total annual compensation to $4 million, up from $600,000 each of the last two years

Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Virginia) recently introduced the Supporting Home Owners Rights Enforcement (SHORE) Act, H.R. 2929, along with Congressman G.K. Butterfield (D-North Carolina), Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-Virginia), and Congressman Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma). This legislation would amend the Federal Power Act to ensure that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considers private property ownership rights when issuing a license or enforcement action over hydro-power projects at Smith Mountain Lake and other similar areas throughout the country.

Julie comes to FAAR with previous real estate experience as a licensed agent selling new homes and a REALTOR® with 1st Choice Better Homes and Land. In addition, she has significant marketing experience from her positions with local nursing homes.

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project

The House Judiciary Committee recently learned that the Obama Administration has begun to implement its Priority Enforcement Program (PEP), which replaces the successful Secure Communities program and allows significant numbers of criminal aliens to remain in the United States. PEP is part of the unilateral changes to the U.S. immigration system announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined a group of senators in sending a letter to federal housing, finance, and consumer protection regulators calling for an investigation into potential violations of the Fair Housing Act by banks and lenders neglecting the maintenance of foreclosed homes based on the racial makeup of communities where the properties are located.