The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited the Vancouver Housing Authority to determine whether it was managing and reporting its three awarded Recovery Act Capital Fund grants in accordance with requirements. We selected the Authority because it was part of our annual audit plan, which includes reviewing funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Authority did not...

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...

We selected the tribe for audit because it received a $4.7 million formula grant and a $4 million competitive grant, the largest Native American Housing Block Grants awarded in North Carolina under the Recovery Act. Our objective was to determine whether the tribe administered its Native American Housing Block Grants in compliance with Recovery Act and other applicable requirements, specifically, whether it had (1) expended funds on a timely...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) field review appraisal process. This audit was conducted as part of the HUD Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) fiscal year 2011 annual audit plan and was designed to follow up on selected findings in OIG’s Audit Report 2008-LA-0003 on the appraiser review process. Our objective was to determine whether HUD (1) ensured that field review appraisers complied with the appraisal...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Little Rock’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funding. The Authority received more than $6.5 million in Recovery Act funds through three grants: one formula and two competitive. Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority (1) obligated and expended its Recovery Act funding in accordance with HUD rules and regulations and (2) followed Recovery Act reporting requirements...

We initiated a review of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of the Housing Choice Voucher program’s fee-for-service system because it was included in our annual audit plan, prompted by a prior external audit, during which we noted that a housing agency charged management and bookkeeping fees far in excess of the applicable overhead expense while following HUD’s fee-for-service requirements. Our overall audit...

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...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited Five Star based upon a request from the HUD Denver Office of Multifamily Housing. The objective of our audit was to determine whether Five Star submitted the required monthly accounting and Section 236 excess income reports to HUD. Five Star did not submit required monthly accounting reports and Section 236 excess income reports to HUD. It...

We audited the Sanford Housing Authority (Authority) to assess certain issues raised in a congressional referral. The referral alleged improper use or mismanagement of the Authority’s public housing, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program funds. The audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority properly used and accounted for public housing, Recovery Act, and Section 8 funds. We...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited the Bellingham Whatcom County Housing Authorities to determine whether expenditures for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Capital Fund Grants were appropriate, eligible, and adequately supported and whether related procurements were made in accordance with 24 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 85 and Recovery Act requirements. We selected...

In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, we audited the Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus (formula) Recovery Act-funded activities of the Corpus Christi Housing Authority in Corpus Christi, TX. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority expended Recovery Act funds in accordance with Recovery Act rules and regulations and submitted timely Recovery Act performance...

We audited TXL Mortgage Corporation, a nonsupervised direct endorsement lender located in Houston, TX. We selected TXL due to one of its loan correspondents’ high default rate. Our audit objectives were to determine whether TXL acted in a prudent manner and complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, procedures, and instructions in the origination and sponsoring of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-...

Based on a referral from the Fort Worth, TX Office of Audit, HUD sought civil penalties and assessments against a former employee of the Plano Housing Authority, Plano, TX, who participated in its Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Homeownership Option Program. As the Authority’s HCV Homeownership manager, the employee was responsible for overseeing its homeownership program; thus, she was aware of or should have been aware of program requirements....

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited the Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus (formula) Recovery Act Funded grant. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2011 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority for audit based on the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) commitment to ensure...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed 46 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans that Pierce Commercial Bank underwrote as an FHA direct endorsement lender. Pierce was a supervised FHA direct endorsement lender located in Tacoma, WA. This case was referred to us by OIG’s Office of Investigation. Our review objective was to determine whether Pierce underwrote 46 loans in...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited Countrywide Bank, FSB (Countrywide),* a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) supervised lender** approved to originate, underwrite, and submit mortgages for insurance under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) direct endorsement program. We selected Countrywide based on its average default-to-claim rate of 6.76 percent for the FHA-...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited the Pontiac Housing Commission’s Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus (formula) Recovery Act Funded grant. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2010 annual audit plan. We selected the Commission for review as part of the Office of Inspector’s General’s commitment to ensure the proper use of Recovery Act funds. Our objective was to...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the 68 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) claims submitted by CitiMortgage, Inc., of O’Fallon, MO. Our audit objective was to determine whether Citi properly determined that borrowers were eligible to participate in the Preforeclosure Sale Program. We found that Citi improperly submitted claims totaling nearly $5 million for 63 of the 68...

We conducted a review to determine whether IndyMac Bank followed Federal Housing Administration (FHA) policies and procedures when it originated FHA-insured loans. We focused on loans secured by California properties and that were in claim or default status as of February 12, 2009. Within this group, we identified a set of questionable loans originated by IndyMac that had been generated by Beechwood Incorporated. Beechwood is a company...