The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, audited the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (the Commission) to determine whether the Commission established eligible grant projects, reported tax credit assistance program (TCAP) information into Recovery.gov accurately and completely, and paid eligible TCAP expenditures in accordance with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 requirements...

HUD OIG audited the Housing Authority of the City of Wilson’s (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. We elected to perform the audit after finding indicators of Section 8 deficiencies during our review of the Authority’s capacity to administer capital funds awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Audit Report 2010-AT-1007). Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority complied with U.S....

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, audited the Washington State Department of Commerce (State). Our audit objective was to determine whether the State disbursed Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) grant in accordance with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 requirements. The State paid for HPRP services for ineligible participants and participants whose...

We reviewed the Housing Authority of the City of Wilson (Authority) because it was granted $9.2 million for Public Housing Capital Fund projects (capital funds) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). In addition, we received a citizen’s complaint alleging that the Authority used unethical procurement practices and did not plan to use Recovery Act funds effectively. Our objectives were to evaluate the Authority...

HUD OIG performed a review of selected transactions at the Wilmington Housing Authority (Authority) in conjunction with our review of a citizen’s hotline complaint. Among other concerns, the complainant alleged that the Authority misused U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds in conjunction with its purchase of Eastbrook Apartments in September 2005. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority misused HUD funds...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General conducted a capacity review of Seattle Housing Authority’s (Authority) capital fund to determine whether there was evidence that the Authority lacked the capacity to adequately administer its Recovery Act funding in accordance with requirements. Our review of the Authority was limited to gaining an understanding of internal controls over the...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the Housing Authority of the City of Winston-Salem (Authority) $3.9 million in formula-based capital funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). HUD’s Office of Inspector General evaluated the Authority’s capacity to administer these funds. We found that the Authority generally has the capacity to administer these funds but needed to improve some...

We audited the State of Washington’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The audit was part of our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the State because it was responsible for the distribution of funds to the entitlement areas, as well as to nonentitlement areas for the state of Washington. Our objective was to determine whether the State’s Program implementation was compliant with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development...

HUD OIG performed an audit of the High Point Housing Authority’s (Authority) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program pursuant to a citizen’s complaint. Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority properly (1) enforced HUD’s housing quality standards, (2) calculated Section 8 administrative fees, and (3) determined housing assistance subsidies and issued vouchers to qualified...

We reviewed Bank of America's (servicer) home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) servicing division located in Seattle, Washington. Bank of America is one of the largest lenders of HECM mortgages for properties located in the five southwest states in the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Region VI jurisdiction. Our objective was to determine whether the servicer complied with HUD regulations, specifically,...

We audited single-family loan originations at Eagle Home Mortgage (Eagle Mortgage), located in Kirkland, Washington, to determine whether it originated Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. Eagle Mortgage did not always originate FHA insured loans in accordance with HUD requirements. Specifically, Eagle Mortgage did not follow HUD's...

At the request of the Region X Multifamily Hub, we audited the John C Cannon Retirement and Assisted Living Residence (project) to determine if the project owner used project funds in accordance with the regulatory agreement. We found that the project owner failed to get HUD approval for leases costing $189,000, used project funds to obtain unneeded equipment costing $10,700, and failed to keep adequate documentation to support expenditures...

We audited the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program administered by the City of Durham, North Carolina (City). The objective of the audit was to determine whether the City administered its program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. We selected the City for review based on HUD's risk assessment and previous monitoring reviews. The City did not administer its CDBG program in...

We audited late endorsement payment histories at Washington Mutual Bank (Washington Mutual), Seattle, Washington. We reported the results of our review in Audit Report 2005-SE-1006, issued on July 5, 2005. After the audit report was issued and the report recommendations were closed out in HUD’s Audit Resolution and Corrective Actions Tracking System (ARCATS), we recommended that HUD’s Office of General Counsel take additional sanctions against...

We audited the City of Durham (City), North Carolina's HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program. Our audit objective was to determine whether the City complied with applicable federal procurement requirements with respect to its homeowner rehabilitation activity. This is the second of two audits of the City's program. The City did not advertise for homeowner rehabilitation contractors as required. Also, it did not take necessary...

We audited the City of Durham (City), North Carolina 's HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program as part of our annual audit plan. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the City complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements for monitoring HOME subrecipients and recording and using HOME program income. The City did not always perform required monitoring reviews or provide adequate evidence 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 Renton Housing Authority (Authority), Renton, Washington. The review was initiated due to a hotline complaint from a Housing Choice Voucher program recipient. The complainant stated that the contract rent was unreasonable because it exceeded the rent for comparable unassisted units on the premises. The audit objective was to determine whether the complaint was valid. We also wanted to determine whether the Authority had controls in...

We audited A Plus Mortgage, Inc. (A Plus), to determine whether (1) the fees charged to Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers by A Plus were appropriate under U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FHA, and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) regulations and (2) the loan officers originating FHA-insured loans were employees of A Plus. A Plus disregarded HUD FHA requirements and provisions of RESPA and engaged...

We audited the Tacoma Consortium HOME Investment Partnerships Program as a result of a risk assessment performed by HUD-OIG Region IX. Our objective was to determine whether the Consortium complied with HOME requirements, laws, and regulations with respect to the homeowner rehabilitation program and HUD procurement regulations. The Consortium generally administered HOME in accordance with HUD requirements but violated HOME regulations when it...