We audited BLM Companies LLC, a contracted field service manager in HUD’s real estate-owned Management and Marketing III program, as part of the activities included in our 2017 annual audit plan and because it was the sole contractor performing property preservation and protection services for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-acquired properties located in Ohio.  Our audit objective was to determine whether…

We conducted an audit of BLM Companies LLC’s controls and performance under its Management and Marketing III program field service manager contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for area 1D.  Area 1D included HUD real estate-owned and custodial properties in New Mexico, North Texas, Utah, and Colorado.  During the audit period, BLM held 7 of 18 HUD field service manager contracts throughout…

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…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Village North Apartments in Salt Lake City, Utah based on concerns that surfaced during another assignment when it appeared as though Village North might have moved tenants in and out of units and collected housing assistance payments for them without changing the social security numbers or birthdates for the new tenants.  The…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the University Village, LLC in Orem Utah based on previous violations identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that found ineligible withdrawals and substandard physical conditions at the property.  The objective of our audit was to determine whether University Village complied with its HUD multifamily…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated alleged violations of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) regulations by RANlife, Inc.  We reviewed the single-family FHA loan files processed by RANlife to determine whether it complied with HUD’s rules and regulations in originating, underwriting, and endorsing the loans for FHA insurance. On November, 23, 2015, RANlife…

Based on a request from the Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City, UT, we provided information about single-family lenders with high default rates. We then reviewed the available case binders for 38 loans for which the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) had paid claims that were underwritten by City First Mortgage Services, LLC. We completed the review and referred alleged violations to the U.S. Department of Housing…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake Public Housing Capital Fund grants for fiscal years 2011-2014.  We initiated this audit due to the amount of funding the Authority received during our review period.  The Authority is the highest funded public housing agency in the State of Utah.  The objective of our audit was…

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…

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…

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…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Utah Housing Corporation to determine whether the Corporation properly determined that borrowers were eligible to participate in FHA’s Preforeclosure Sale Program. We selected the Corporation because it had more preforeclosure sales than regular foreclosures, placing it at the top of our risk assessment for Region VIII. The…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited the Utah Housing Corporation in response to a hotline complaint. The complaint contained allegations that the Corporation commingled funds from the FHA first mortgages and the downpayment assistance second mortgages and serviced the second mortgages before the FHA first mortgages by using the first mortgage payments to pay the second…

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…

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…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited Mountain States Mortgage Center to determine whether it underwrote insured loans in compliance with HUD requirements and whether its quality control plan met HUD requirements. Mountain States underwrote 41 loans that did not comply with FHA requirements. Of the 41 FHA-insured loans reviewed, one of the loans had a significant underwriting…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, reviewed Blue Mountain Hospital (Hospital) based on a request from the Office of Healthcare Programs. The objective of our review was to determine whether the Hospital had adequate written procedures for collecting, dispersing, and accounting for project funds. The Hospital did not have adequate written procedures for collecting, disbursing, and…

In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), we audited Albuquerque Housing Services’ (Housing Services) Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus (formula) Recovery Act-funded activities. Our audit objectives were to determine whether Housing Services (1) properly obligated and expended its Recovery Act formula grant in accordance with requirements, (2)…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, We reviewed the Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake’s (Authority) Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus (formula) Recovery Act Funded grant (grant) based on a risk assessment we completed and the results of a monitoring review performed by the Denver Office of Public Housing. The objective was to determine whether the Authority properly…

The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General reviewed the City of Ogden, UT’s (City) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) to determine whether the City effectively established HOME projects, ensured that HOME funds were used for eligible HOME expenses, and properly monitored the HOME projects. The City appropriately established HOME projects, used HOME funds for eligible HOME…