Weekly News Roundup for September 11, 2015

These are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.

• A new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (HUD Handbook 4000.1) takes effect on September 14. FHA will be hosting a number of trainings and webinars to help lenders, appraisers, and borrowers understand policy changes and new programs.

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  Iron hydroxide precipitate stains a stream receiving acid drainage from a mine.

  Just like the Gold King Mine that caused the Animas River spill we discussed earlier this week, many abandoned mines in New Mexico represent a tremendous remediation challenge.

• Here are eight ways to improve the value of your real estate investment.

• A Wall Street executive with history of inappropriate behavior is now charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Benjamin Wey was arrested for setting up Chinese “reverse mergers” and then manipulating stock prices to collect huge profits.

• As prices for real estate continue to increase, investors are weighing whether the actual value of the property supports the market price.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will finalize its Steam Electric Effluent Guidelines by September 30. The new rule will set federal limits for the level of toxic metals allowed in wastewater discharged from power plants.

• Workers cleaning up a large 2013 oil spill in North Dakota are facing an odd problem: not enough natural gas to power the machines that will clean the soil.

• The EB-5 visa program is up for renewal this month. This story discusses the flight of capital from China to the United States the 25-year-old program has helped facilitate.

• Investing in real estate in Dubai can be risky, given how much of a rollercoaster prices have been recently. This story looks at the underlying reasons behind the market’s fluctuations.

• Developers in Dubai are reducing the size of properties, but selling them for the same price per square foot to reduce the overall value. It’s a practice that leaves some questioning whether this is fair to buyers.