The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited John Calvin Manor of Lee’s Summit, MO, in response to a request from HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing in Kansas City, KS. Our audit objective was to determine whether the property violated its regulatory and loan agreement with HUD. The property violated its regulatory and loan agreements with HUD by improperly spending restricted funds, defaulting on its mortgage payment, and failing to submit financial statements to HUD.

We audited the Second Northwest Cooperative Homes Association’s administration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section 236 program based on a hotline complaint. Our audit objective was to determine if the Association properly identified and remitted excess income to HUD according to its regulatory agreement and whether it hired staff according to applicable HUD regulations. We found that the Association did not establish market rents for any of the program units as required and charged all of the members occupying program units basic rents.

We audited the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loan process at MetLife Bank’s (lender) branch in Scottsdale, AZ, to determine whether the lender underwrote FHA-insured loans and implemented a quality control plan in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. We selected the lender because it had an FHA default rate of 7.41 percent for loans underwritten in Arizona between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2011, more than double the average for Arizona (3.47 percent).

In accordance with our audit plan we audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Philadelphia, PA, Homeownership Center’s quality assurance procedures for monitoring originations of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family mortgage loans. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Homeownership Center properly monitored single-family loan originations in its jurisdiction by implementing quality assurance procedures for single-family mortgage loan originations in compliance with HUD requirements.

In accordance with the Government Corporation Control Act as amended (31 U.S.C. 9105), the Office of Inspector General engaged the independent certified public accounting firm of Clifton Gunderson LLP (CG) to audit the fiscal years 2011 and 2010 financial statements of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The contract required that the audit be performed according to Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). CG is responsible for the attached auditors’ report dated November 3, 2011 and the conclusions expressed in the report.

In January 2010, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) began Operation Watchdog, an initiative to review the underwriting of 15 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) direct endorsement lenders having default and claim rates indicating lender performance problems. The FHA Commissioner had expressed concern regarding the increasing default and claim rates against the FHA insurance fund for failed loans, prompting this initiative.

We audited the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities’ implementation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to coordinate Federal weatherization efforts nationwide. This audit was part of our fiscal year 2010 audit plan. Our objective was to determine whether HUD multifamily properties were eligible to receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding under DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited HUD's multifamily housing subsidy payment review process based upon a HUD employee’s complaint. The complaint alleged that HUD lacked controls over its multifamily housing subsidy payment review process and voucher specialists were understaffed and underpaid. Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD had adequate controls over its multifamily housing subsidy payment review process. HUD’s oversight of its multifamily housing subsidy payment review process needs improvement.

We audited the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) National Servicing Center’s (NSC) Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) as a part of our annual audit plan. Our objective was to determine whether the NSC implemented and operated FHA-HAMP in accordance with rules and regulations. Overall, the NSC implemented and operated FHA-HAMP in accordance with the necessary rules and regulations. However, we identified three areas that the NSC needed to improve.

We audited the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section 232 program as part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) goal of contributing to the improvement of HUD’s execution and accountability of fiscal responsibilities. Our objective was to determine whether HUD had implemented adequate controls to properly monitor Section 232-insured mortgages. We found that HUD’s Office of Healthcare Programs had taken steps to strengthen the Section 232 program by implementing new monitoring controls.