The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited HUD's administration of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) set-aside for colonias (colonia set-aside). We performed the review because of concerns that surfaced during an audit survey of the state of Texas's colonia set-aside funds. That review showed that HUD had not issued regulations or handbooks that required compliance with...

HUD OIG audited Meridian Lending, Inc., a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved direct endorsement lender. The objectives were to determine whether it followed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) requirements for (1) borrower eligibility and creditworthiness and property eligibility when underwriting loans and (2) implementing a quality control program. Meridian did not follow HUD requirements in...

We audited the Milford, Connecticut, branch office of Countrywide Bank, FSB (Countrywide), which is a supervised national bank approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to originate, underwrite, and service Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family insured loans. We selected the Milford, Connecticut, branch office largely based on a lender risk analysis, which showed that the loans it originated...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General reviewed HUD's oversight of projects that opted out of the Section 8 program between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2007. We reviewed the opt-out process because it involved large amounts of funds potentially not accounted for or remitted to HUD. With a few minor exceptions, HUD complied with applicable requirements while administering the opt...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Allentown's (Authority) administration of its housing quality standards inspection program for its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program as part of our fiscal year 2008 audit plan. This is our second audit report issued on the Authority's program. The audit objective addressed in this report was to determine whether the Authority adequately administered its Section 8 housing quality...

We reviewed Senior Reverse Mortgage Services, Incorporated (originator), a home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) originator. The originator originated loans for one of the largest lenders in Texas, Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation. Our objective was to determine whether the originator complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations and adequately counseled borrowers and disclosed costs....

We audited the mortgage origination and business practices of First Magnus Financial Corporation’s (First Magnus) corporate office in Tucson, Arizona. The objective of the audit was to determine whether First Magnus violated U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements by paying its brokers volume-based incentives for originating and processing Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages. We determined that...

At HUD's request, we audited the Housing Choice Voucher program of the Richland Housing Authority (Authority). HUD was concerned about the results of an audit of the Authority performed by the Washington State Auditor's Office. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority made ineligible purchases with program funds. We found that the Authority did not track its program expenses. Also, it charged more than $57,000 in...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Calexico (Authority) in response to a request from our Office of Investigation and the FBI. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority complied with HUD's rules and regulations with respect to its public housing program. We found the Authority improperly used Section 5(h) program funds for the acquisition and operation of the Second Street Apartments. In addition, it (1) did...

We completed an audit of Union County's (County) Housing Choice Voucher program, which is administered by its Division of Planning and Community Development. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the County's (1) Housing Choice Voucher program units met housing quality standards; (2) costs charged to the Housing Choice Voucher program were supported and eligible; and (3) controls over the Housing Choice Voucher program,...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Portage Metropolitan Housing Authority's (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (program) under its Moving to Work Demonstration program. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2008 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing agencies in...

We concluded that Single Family could improve the reliability of its process for reporting performance measure results. Single Family has a performance measurement process in place; however, it could make the process more reliable if it routinely evaluated data used for performance measure results and formally documented its structure and process for developing, monitoring, and reporting on performance measures. We recommended that...

We audited the Tuckahoe Housing Authority (Authority) to assess the merits of a complaint and determine whether the Authority administered its low-rent housing program and nonprofit entity activities in accordance with the annual contributions contract and other U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. The audit disclosed that the Authority did not adequately administer its low-rent program and nonprofit...

We audited the City of Phoenix Housing Department’s (Housing Department) Housing Choice Voucher program. We conducted the audit as part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) annual plan. The Housing Department was selected for review because it is the largest housing authority in the state of Arizona and had not previously been audited by OIG. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Housing Department supported...

We audited the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) management of its information technology resources and compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other federal information security requirements. Our overall objective was to determine whether FHA effectively managed security controls relating to its information technology resources. This audit supported our financial statement audits of FHA and HUD...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the City of Cincinnati's (City) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (Program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2007 annual audit plan. We selected the City based upon a request from HUD's Columbus Office of Community Planning and Development and our analysis of risk factors relating to Program grantees in Region V'...

HUD OIG audited the City of Augusta's HOME Investment Partnerships program. The audit was part of the activities in the fiscal year 2007 annual audit plan. The objectives were to determine whether the City complied with HOME program requirements for commitments, production and completion of project activities, and eligibility and support of project costs. The City's controls over its HOME program were inadequate. As a result, more...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited Cook County's (County) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (Program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2007 annual audit plan. We selected the County based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to Program grantees in Region V's jurisdiction. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the County effectively...