We audited the State of Maryland’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded Housing Recovery program.  We conducted the audit because the program was the largest funded program in the State’s first action plan.  Our objectives were to determine whether the State (1) assisted eligible applicants, (2) avoided duplicating assistance, (3) incurred eligible expenses that were properly supported, (4) procured services and…

We audited the Office of the Commissioner for Municipal Affairs’ Section 108 Loan Guarantee program as part of our strategic plan and based on the deficiencies noted during our recent review of Municipal Affairs’ Section 108 Loan Guarantee program, concerning the slow progress of the Vieques Sports Complex project (Audit memorandum number 2014-AT-1801, issued March 20, 2014).  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether Section…

We reviewed HUD’s San Juan, PR, Office of Community Planning and Development’s monitoring of the Vieques, PR, Sports City Complex project.  The review was performed based on indicators identified in the audit of the Vieques Sports City Complex, Office of the Commissioner for Municipal Affairs’ (OCMA) Puerto Rico State Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Section 108 Loan Guarantee program.  More than 11 years had elapsed since HUD…

We audited the Municipality of Carolina’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program as part of our strategic plan, based on the amount of HOME funds approved.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether HOME-funded activities met program objectives, home buyers complied with HOME’s primary residency requirement for the duration of the period of affordability, and the Municipality maintained a financial management system in compliance…

We audited the Office of the Commissioner for Municipal Affairs’ (OCMA) Puerto Rico State Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Section 108 Loan Guarantee program as part of our strategic plan, based on concerns regarding the slow progress of the Vieques sports complex project.  The objective of this audit was to determine whether OCMA used Section 108 loan proceeds on a project that met a national objective of the CDBG program and…

We audited the Municipality of Arecibo’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program as part of our strategic plan based on the results of a recent audit of the Municipality’s Community Development Block Grant program.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether dwelling units acquired under the home-ownership program complied with the HUD’s housing standards and affordability requirements, whether the Municipality disbursed HOME funds…

We audited the State of Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development’s administration of its Emergency Mortgage Assistance program.  We audited the State’s program because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the State $61.6 million in Emergency Homeowner’s Loan program funds to administer its Emergency Mortgage Assistance program.  Our objective was to determine whether the State…

We audited the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program as part of our strategic plan based on the large amount of HOME funds approved.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Authority reported accurate and supported information in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Integrated Disbursement and Information System and disbursed HOME funds within HUD-established…

We audited the procurement process of Madison Park North Apartments, a Section 236 property, at the request of the Director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Baltimore Office of Multifamily Housing Programs. We also reviewed Madison’s Park’s use of its reserve for replacement account. Madison Park generally ensured that procurement and reserve for replacement account requirements were met. However, it did not…

As part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) annual plan and based on the large amount of funds approved, we audited the Municipality of Arecibo’s Community Development Block Grant program.  Our main objective was to determine whether the Municipality complied with HUD regulations, procedures, and instructions related to the administration of its Block Grant program. The…

We reviewed 32 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans that New Day Financial, LLC, underwrote as a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) FHA direct endorsement lender. We conducted the review as a result of a risk model assessment that identified mortgage lenders that were at high risk to cause losses to the FHA insurance fund. New Day was one of the lenders identified that made insurance claims within the first 2 years of…

We audited the Municipality of Ponce’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program. We selected the Municipality for review as part of our strategic plan based on the large amount of HOME funds approved. Our objectives were to determine whether the Municipality maintained its financial management system in compliance with HUD requirements and met HOME program objectives. The Municipality’s financial management system (1) did not properly identify the…

We audited the City of Baltimore, MD's Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program grant because (1) its $9.5 million grant was the largest grant in the State of Maryland, (2) it had disbursed $6.6 million of its grant funds as of December 2011, and (3) we have a mandate to audit American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 activities. The audit objective was to determine whether the City properly obligated and expended grant…

We audited Prince George’s County, MD’s administration of its HOME Investment Partnerships Program as part of our annual audit plan. Our objective was to determine whether the County properly administered its Program by ensuring that its community housing development organizations were eligible and complied with Program requirements, providing rental, home ownership, and rehabilitation assistance in accordance with requirements and implementing…

We audited the Municipality of Bayamón’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program. We selected the Municipality for review as part of our strategic plan based on the large amount of HOME funds approved. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Municipality maintained its financial management system in compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements and met HOME program objectives. The…

We audited the Municipality of San Juan Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program. The audit was in accordance with our audit plan to review funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We selected the Municipality based on the large amount of Program funds approved. Our objective was to determine whether the Municipality ensured that its Program complied with Recovery Act and U. S. Department of Housing…

We audited Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc.’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 based on a complaint received by our office and as part of our annual audit plan to review activities funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grantee received $26 million in Program funds under the Recovery Act. Our objective was to determine whether the grantee ensured that its consortium members properly awarded Program contracts and…

We audited the Municipality of San Juan’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). We selected the Municipality for review as part of our strategic plan based on the large amount of HOME funds approved. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Municipality met HOME program objectives and its financial management system complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The Municipality…

We audited the Office of the Commissioner for Municipal Affairs’ (OCAM) State Community Development Block Grant (Block Grant) funds that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). We selected OCAM for review as part of our strategic plan, based on the amount of Block Grant Recovery Act funds allocated. The objectives of this audit were to determine whether OCAM (1) disbursed Block Grant Recovery Act…

We audited the Municipality of Mayaguez (Municipality) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). We selected the Municipality for review as part of our strategic plan, based on the amount of HOME funds approved. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Municipality met program objectives in its HOME-funded activities and maintained its financial management system in compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…