Bill Bohmbach, founder and president of Portsmouth-based Home Healthsmith, recently earned the National Association of Home Builders’ certified aging-in-place specialist designation. Bohmbach has more than 30 years of experience in adaptive-mobility equipment and previously served in the Navy as an electrician. He founded Accurate Elevator and Lift in 1994, which he sold in 2010 to a major international elevator company. Bohmbach is currently pursuing his certification for home modifications through the University of Southern California. more

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes climbed in April to the highest level in more than three years even as the market remained constrained by a lack of inventory and strict borrowing rules. more

Are large numbers of homeowners who have negotiated short sales with lenders at risk because of a startling omission in the American credit system? Do their credit reports and scores indicate that they were foreclosed upon, rather than having negotiated a mutually agreeable resolution with their lender? more

Central to the argument for saving Providence’s Superman Building with public investment is a vision of the downtown economy driven by residents as much as office workers. more

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has award $2.5 million in grants to the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. to help “protect children and families from the hazards of lead-based paint and from other home health and safety hazards,” HUD announced Friday. more

Workers in Rhode Island’s three most-frequently employed occupation groups earn less than needed to afford the average two-bedroom apartment in the Ocean State, according to HousingWorks RI’s spring affordable housing report. more

More than 100 Rhode Island residents, business owners, state officials, local planners and lawmakers gathered at the Statehouse on Thursday night to kick off RhodeMap RI, a year-long project to create statewide economic development and housing plans that link with strategies for future development, transportation, land use and the environment. more

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes climbed in April to the highest level in more than three years even as the market remained constrained by a lack of inventory and strict borrowing rules. more

As of March 31, more than 2,000 homeowners in Rhode Island have received some type of relief through the National Mortgage Settlement, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced Tuesday. more

Who says lenders need to charge you a cash down payment when you take out a mortgage in this era of hyper-strict underwriting? more