We conducted an audit of the City of Houston’s (City) Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, which is managed by its Housing and Community Development Department (Department), as part of our strategic plan and regional goals. Our objective was to determine whether the City and its project sponsors complied with U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOPWA regulations, requirements and its grant agreements....

We selected the Tarrant County Community Development Division (Tarrant County) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) for review because the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's management expressed concerns about Tarrant County's HOME program. The objectives were to determine Tarrant County's (1) compliance with HOME regulatory requirements, (2) eligibility of HOME...

As part of our strategic plan objective to assist the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) efforts to reduce rental assistance overpayments, we audited the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso's (Authority) Housing Choice Voucher program (program). The purpose of our audit was to determine whether the Authority properly administered its overall program. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether the Authority...

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 Stonebrook Apartments Phase I and Phase II (projects) to determine whether the projects' owners complied with the regulatory agreements and U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether the owners (1) made unauthorized distributions of project funds when the projects were in a non-surplus-cash position, (2) fully funded the tenant security deposit accounts, and (...

We audited the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Supplemental II Disaster Recovery program funds, administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). Specifically, we wanted to determine whether TDHCA monitored its program management firm (the Firm) to ensure compliance with Federal and State regulations and to ensure costs reimbursed for the Housing...

We reviewed Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corporation (Allied), a nonsupervised loan correspondent. The objective of the review was to determine the validity of a hotline complaint that Allied operated its branches in violation of U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The complaint was partially valid as Allied did not fully follow HUD's branch office requirements. Allied required branch managers to personally...

We audited the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Supplemental I Disaster Recovery program, administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (Department). We performed the audit as part of the Office of Inspector General's commitment to HUD to implement oversight of the Disaster Recovery funds to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse and duplication of...

Based on a congressional request, we performed an audit of the Housing Authority City of El Paso's (Authority) procurement process and board of commissioners (board) activities. Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority properly followed procurement requirements and whether the executive director was selected in accordance with applicable procedures. The Authority did not follow its procurement policies or the U. S. Department...

As part of the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) annual audit plan and because of significant regulatory violations identified at another property owned by an entity related to Century Ebony Lake - GEAC, LLC (owner), we audited Ebony Lake Healthcare Center (project). Our objectives were to determine whether the project's owner (1) transferred funds from the project in violation of its regulatory agreement with the U. S. Department of...

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 Wells Fargo Mortgage (Wells Fargo) as part of our annual audit plan objective of improving the integrity of single family insurance programs. Our objective was to determine whether Wells Fargo complied with U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) origination requirements for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, commonly known as a reverse mortgage. Wells Fargo generally complied with HUD's reverse mortgage...

As part of our strategic plan objective to assist the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) efforts to reduce rental assistance overpayments, we audited the Dallas Housing Authority's (Authority) Housing Choice Voucher program (voucher program). Our objective was to determine whether the Authority properly administered its overall voucher program. The Authority acknowledged its longstanding weaknesses, as previously...

We reviewed Senior Reverse Mortgage Services, Incorporated (originator), a home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) originator. The originator originated loans for one of the largest lenders in Texas, Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation. Our objective was to determine whether the originator complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations and adequately counseled borrowers and disclosed costs. Generally,...

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...

As part of the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) annual audit plan, we audited Century Mission Oaks (project). Our objectives were to determine whether the project's owner-manager, Century Mission Oaks GEAC, LLC (owner), complied with the regulatory agreement with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) during fiscal years 2005 and 2006. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether the owner (1) adequately...

As part of our strategic plan objective to assist the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) efforts to reduce rental assistance overpayments, we audited the Dallas Housing Authority's (Authority) financial management of its Housing Choice Voucher program (voucher program). Our objective was to determine whether the Authority had the necessary financial controls in place to operate its voucher program in an efficient...

We conducted a review of the City of Dallas' (City) Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) grant. Our objectives were to determine whether the City and its program sponsors provided rent, mortgage, and utility assistance to persons who met program criteria and whether the 2005 and 2006 competitive grants provided transitional and replacement housing. Generally, the City complied with program requirements to ensure that it and...