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Question 7

Monday, February 4, 2013
by Don DeHanas, Associate Broker

On Nov. 6, 2012, the state of Maryland rolled the dice on the expansion of full-fledged gambling and, depending on your point of view, hit the jackpot or went bust.

The Gaming Expansion Question, or simply “Question 7,” allowed voters to determine whether or not to essentially turn Maryland into a sort of East Coast Las Vegas, along the lines of  Atlantic City, New Jersey. It passed, but just barely (51.9 percent for and 48.1 percent against), and not without heated controversy.

Now that Question 7 has been answered by the voters, existing casinos in Maryland, like Maryland Live! in Hanover, can remain open 24 hours a day and, by early 2014, expand their slots-only gambling options to include a variety of traditional casino games, such as blackjack, craps, roulette, and other dice and card games.

According to the Washington Post, the clear winner in this game of legislative roulette is MGM Resorts. Las Vegas' largest casino operator appears to hold all of the trump cards over Penn National Gaming in the deal to develop a proposed resort and casino at National Harbor. Carrying an estimated $800 million price tag, this new casino has the potential to surpass all other East Coast casinos in terms of profits, the Post reported, and will likely siphon a considerable amount of revenue off of Penn National's Charles Town casino in West Virginia.

How it all turns out remains to be seen, but in any event some big changes are taking place.

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Maryland Joins National Mortgage Settlement

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
by Don DeHanas, Associate Broker

The state of Maryland has entered into a landmark legal settlement with the nation’s largest mortgage lenders to provide relief to homeowners who were victims of mortgage fraud.  In what is being billed as the largest-ever deal, the settlement could help over a million struggling homeowners in the United States and expects to bring in $1 billion in aid to Maryland.

The mortgage deal settles state and federal findings that the nation’s largest mortgage providers routinely signed Foreclosure documents or “robo-signed” without the presence of a notary or knowing if the facts of the documents were correct.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler told the Baltimore Sun the settlement was the “biggest thing to happen” since Maryland and other states settled with tobacco companies in 1998 over questionable marketing tactics. He also praised the mortgage settlement and said it is the right move for struggling Maryland homeowners. In exchange for the settlement, Gansler and other state attorneys general will relinquish civil liability claims.

The $25 billion settlement with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Ally Financial was reached with 49 states and will bring much needed assistance to over 40,000 Maryland homeowners who lost their homes to Foreclosure or are still at risk of foreclosure. The deal will mainly focus on partial loan forgiveness but offers up to $2,000 to homeowners who were foreclosed upon during the mortgage crisis. The mortgage settlement sets up four areas of assistance for Maryland homeowners with the exact amounts still being worked out:

  • Around $800 million to reduce the principal for homeowners at risk of Foreclosure
  • $60 million to reduce interest rates for borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth
  • $60 million for the Maryland Attorney General’s office for housing related projects including 10% of that total for paying housing counselors and offering legal assistance to homeowners
  • An estimated $25 million to write checks for $1,800 to $2,000 to Maryland homeowners who lost their homes to Foreclosure

As mentioned above, in exchange for the settlement, Gansler and other states attorneys general will give up civil liability claims against banks; however, homeowners who receive a payout from the settlement will still retain the right to sue banks for engaging in inappropriate Foreclosure processes. Federal officials have noted the settlement will not prevent them from investigating the housing bust further.

For more information on the mortgage settlement, contact Contact Maryland HOPE at 877-462-7555 or click on http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/

 

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The DeHanas Team
DeHanas Real Estate Services
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Servicing all Anne Arundel County, Calvert County, Charles County, and Prince George's County as well as Annapolis, Bowie, Chesapeake Beach, Crofton, Dunkirk, Edgewater, Ft. Meade, Huntingtown, La Plata, North Beach, Odenton, Owings, Pasadena, Severn, Waldorf, and the Upper Marlboro areas of Maryland, all of Washington DC, and Northern Virginia, including Alexandria, Arlington, and King George County real estate advertised in this website are subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap and familial status, or national origin, or any intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. DeHanas Real Estate Services will not knowingly accept any listing agreement for real estate sales in Anne Arundel County, Calvert County, Charles County, and Prince George's County as well as Annapolis, Bowie, Chesapeake Beach, Crofton, Dunkirk, Edgewater MD, Ft. Meade, Huntingtown, La Plata, North Beach, Odenton, Owings, Pasadena, Severn, Waldorf, and the Upper Marlboro, all of Washington DC, and Northern Virginia, including Alexandria, Arlington, and King George County areas which are in violation of the law. Our clients and customers are informed that all dwellings advertised on our website in Anne Arundel County, Calvert County, Charles County, and Prince George's County as well as Annapolis, Bowie, Chesapeake Beach, Crofton, Dunkirk, Edgewater MD, Ft. Meade, Huntingtown, La Plata, North Beach, Odenton, Owings, Pasadena, Severn, Waldorf, and the Upper Marlboro, all of Washington DC, and Northern Virginia, including Alexandria, Arlington, and King George County areas are available on an equal opportunity basis. All prices and finance claims appearing in this site are subject to change without notice.