We audited the State of California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (State) to determine the basis and method used to allocate its $145 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant funds. Our objective was to determine whether the methodology the State used in allocating its NSP grant funds was logical, equitable, and in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach’s (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. The Authority was selected based on its having received low housing quality standards indicator scores for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 under HUD’s Section Eight Management Assessment Program in addition to a lack of recent on-site reviews by HUD. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority conducted housing…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers (Grace Hill). Our audit objective was to determine whether Grace Hill properly charged payroll and support expenses to the grants. We concluded that Grace Hill charged unsupported salary and benefit costs to the grants because it did not require grant staff to properly track their time. Additionally, Grace Hill…

We reviewed the City of Oakland’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program to determine whether it administered its program in accordance with federal requirements and its own policies and procedures. We selected the City for review due to its large annual HUD funding and because it had not been the subject of an OIG audit for several years. The City did not always administer its HOME program in accordance with federal requirements and its own…

We audited the City of Baldwin Park Housing Authority’s (Authority) Housing Choice Voucher program. We conducted the audit because the Authority received a “near troubled” status and scores of zero on five Section Eight Management Assessment Program indicators for fiscal year 2007. The objective was to determine whether the Authority determined housing assistance payments correctly and completed annual reexaminations in a timely manner. The…

We audited Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation (Financial Freedom) as part of our annual audit plan objective of improving the integrity of single-family insurance programs. Our objective was to determine whether Financial Freedom 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. Financial Freedom…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited Midwest Mortgage Capital (Midwest). Our audit objectives were to determine whether Midwest followed HUD requirements for underwriting loans and performing its quality control program for single-family production. We concluded that Midwest did not properly underwrite 7 of the 29 defaulted loans reviewed. These loans had material underwriting…

We audited the Culver City Housing Agency’s (Agency) administration of its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list and housing assistance payment calculations. We initiated this review based upon information we received regarding waiting list administration and potential tenant eligibility issues. The Agency’s ongoing lease-up deficiency and lack of monitoring visits by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD…

We audited the City of Los Angeles Housing Department (City) as the result of problems noted during a prior audit involving HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)-funded activities administered by the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (subrecipient), which was not adequately monitored by the City, compounded by concerns stemming from various newspaper articles related to the Marlton Square project, which included…

We completed a financial review of the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles' (Authority) Section 8 program. We initiated the review in response to several citizen complaints alleging mismanagement, waste, and abuse of U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 funding, including the use of Section 8 funds to pay the costs of non-Section 8 programs. Our objective was to determine the validity of the above…

We audited the City of Los Angeles Housing Department (Department) as a result of an earlier audit of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) affordability monitoring requirements and inspections of HOME-assisted rental units, which detected four projects that may not have been rehabilitated as intended. Our audit objective was to determine whether HOME funds were used as intended to rehabilitate the four projects and in accordance…

We audited the use of Supportive Housing Program funds by St. Vincent de Paul Village, Inc. (St. Vincent de Paul Village), because it is a large organization receiving more than $4 million in grants annually. Our objective was to determine whether St. Vincent de Paul Village used supportive housing grants in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements and the grant agreements. St. Vincent de Paul Village…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited the St. Louis Housing Authority in St. Louis, Missouri. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority took complete physical inventories and maintained adequate property records. We concluded that the Authority did not perform complete physical inventories in fiscal years 2006, 2007, or 2008 or reconcile the results of the inventories…

We audited the City of San Diego's (City) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in response to a hotline complaint alleging that the City and its Redevelopment Agency (Agency) were violating U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules and regulations. Our main objective was to address the citizen complaint and determine whether the City administered CDBG loans issued to the Agency in accordance with HUD rules and…

We reviewed the Alameda County HOME Investment Partnership Consortium's use of HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds to determine whether it used its allocation of HOME funds in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules and regulations. We performed the review because there was a high risk for noncompliance due to a lack of HUD monitoring since 2003. We found that the consortium used $5.6 million…

We audited the Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura based on concerns over the Authority's compliance with its annual contributions contract. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority fulfilled its Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes obligations for its Low Rent Public Housing program and if not, whether applicable funds were used in accordance with HUD requirements. We found that the Authority disregarded its Low Rent Public…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles' (Authority) Section 8 housing quality standards inspections for its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority adequately enforced HUD's housing quality standards. Using a statistical sample of 68 units, we determined 19 units (28 percent) were in material noncompliance with HUD's housing quality standards, and we found…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited CitiMortgage, Incorporated (CitiMortgage). Our audit objectives were to determine whether CitiMortgage followed U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements for underwriting loans and performing its quality control program for single-family production. We concluded that CitiMortgage did not properly underwrite 20 of the 60…

We audited the Housing Authority of the County of Marin's (Authority) Section 8 funds transfer and public housing program (program) tenant rent calculations. Our objectives were to determine (1) whether the transfer of Section 8 operating reserve funds to the public housing program in fiscal year 2006 was made in compliance with HUD regulations and (2) whether the Authority calculated public housing tenant rents in accordance with HUD…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General reviewed the City of St. Louis' use of HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds. Our audit objective was to determine whether the City used HOME funds for reasonable and necessary development costs. We concluded that The City used HOME funds for costs that were not reasonable and necessary to produce housing for low-income families. Additionally, it…