The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General reviewed the allegations contained in a hotline complaint against the Washington County Department of Housing Services, Hillsboro, OR, to determine whether its application and related submissions to secure HUD grant OR0216L0E061500 were false or misleading or would otherwise cause the Clover Court project to be ineligible for Continuum of Care funding. We...

We audited the City of Albuquerque’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based on our risk analysis and as part of the Office of Inspector General’s annual audit plan to review community planning and development funds.  The audit objective was to determine whether the City administered its CDBG program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The City did not always properly...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Solace LLC’s Section 8 housing assistance payments program because of the results of our previous audit of another multifamily property.  The person responsible for housing assistance program issues at the other property was also Solace’s manager.  Our objectives were to determine whether Solace correctly computed tenant annual income,...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Reflection5 LLC’s Section 8 housing assistance payments program because of the results of a previous audit of another multifamily property.  The person responsible for housing assistance program issues at the other property was also involved with the housing assistance program at Reflection5.  Our objectives were to determine whether...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Sunset Manor Apartments to evaluate the allegations in a complaint and determine whether the project’s owner made unauthorized distributions and repayment of advances, maintained complete, accurate, and current books and records for the project, and participated in improper procurement practices.         ...

At the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Public Housing in Albuquerque, NM, we conducted a review of the Mesilla Valley Public Housing Authority.  The Office of Public Housing estimated that the Authority could lose nearly $1 million by the end of 2014 because it had leased only 983 of its 1,607 vouchers.  Our objectives were to determine the extent, cause, and impact of not leasing all...

Based on a referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Seattle Office of Labor Relations, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed a review of certain payrolls of the owner of Civic Construction, LLC, of Portland, OR.   The payrolls were subject to the Davis-Bacon Act. We completed the review and referred alleged violations to HUD’s Office of Program Enforcement for action under the Program Fraud...

We reviewed the City of Albuquerque, Department of Family and Community Services’ Continuum of Care program.  We initiated the review based on a complaint alleging misconduct in the City’s program.  Specifically, the complainant alleged the City’s Continuum of Care failed to comply with conflict of interest and procurement requirements, did not maintain accurate Homeless Management Information System reports, and expended funds for...

We conducted a review of Home Forward (previously named the Housing Authority of Portland, OR) based on concerns noted during our ongoing internal audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of public housing authorities’ compliance with Federal lobbying disclosure requirements.  Our review objective was to determine whether Home Forward complied with Federal lobbying disclosure requirements and...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Northeast Oregon Housing Authority.  We selected the Authority because we received a hotline complaint expressing several concerns about the Authority’s procurement, asset disposal, payroll withholdings, maintenance charge rates, and tenant commissioner housing issues.  Our objective was to determine whether the allegations in hotline...

We audited the Truth or Consequences Housing Authority of Truth or Consequences, NM, in response to an anonymous complaint alleging that the Authority inappropriately transferred ownership of some of its properties to the New Mexico Housing and Community Development Corporation and used its assets to support the Corporation’s activities. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority had adequate controls to ensure that it complied...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Home Forward’s Moving to Work Housing Choice Voucher program.  We selected Home Forward, formerly known as the Housing Authority of Portland, because it disbursed the highest average Section 8 funds in Oregon from 2010 to 2012 and third highest in the Region, including Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.  We focused on its tenant-based...

We audited the Grants Housing Authority located in Grants, NM, at the request of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Public Housing Program Center in Albuquerque, NM.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority used its capital funds and operating funds for allowable costs, performed contracting activities in accordance with program requirements, and correctly processed and paid for Section 8 housing choice...

We audited the State of Iowa’s monitoring of the City of Cedar Rapids’ voluntary property acquisition program.   We selected the State for review based on a prior audit of the City’s voluntary property acquisition program.  During fiscal years 2009 through 2012, the State awarded the City more than $166 million in disaster funding.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the State monitored the City’s voluntary...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Volunteers of America’s (VOA) Whispering Pines Senior Village’s Green Retrofit program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Our objective was to determine whether VOA used its Whispering Pines Green Retrofit Recovery Act funds in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Recovery Act rules and...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Office of Inspector General audited the Idaho Housing and Finance Association’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program because it received approximately $6 million in HOME grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010. The objective of our review was to determine whether Idaho Housing complied with HOME match fund and...

We audited Weststar Mortgage Corporation, a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) nonsupervised direct endorsement lender located in Albuquerque, NM. We selected Weststar for review based on a risk assessment of lenders in New Mexico. Our objective was to determine whether Weststar complied with U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and FHA loan origination requirements for loans on which the borrowers defaulted and FHA paid...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Office of Inspector General audited the Idaho Housing and Finance Association’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program because HUD had not performed a comprehensive monitoring review of Idaho Housing’s program since 2007 and it received approximately $6 million in HOME grants from HUD in each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010. The objective of our review was to determine whether...

In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, we audited the Housing Authority of the City of Las Cruces Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus (formula) Recovery Act-funded activities. Specifically, our objectives were to determine whether the Authority (1) properly followed Recovery Act rules and regulations when obligating and expending its Recovery Act formula grant funds, (2)...

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Mid-Willamette Community Action Agency’s (Agency) Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). Our objective was to determine whether the Agency disbursed HPRP funds and reported data in accordance with Recovery Act requirements. We found that the Agency paid for HPRP services without adequate supporting documentation for participant...