HUD OIG audited the Municipality of Arecibo’s (Municipality) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). We selected the Municipality for review as part of our strategic plan based on the results of a previous audit of the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (Department) HOME program, which disclosed that the Department disbursed HOME funds for land acquisition that did not meet program requirements at a 288-unit housing project named Bello…

We conducted a review of 20 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by Pine State Mortgage Corporation (Pine State), an FHA direct endorsement lender. This review was conducted as part of our “Operation Watchdog” initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion of the FHA Commissioner. The Commissioner expressed concern regarding the increasing claim rates against the FHA insurance fund…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General conducted a review of the City of Augusta, GA’s (City) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP1) to determine whether the City had demonstrated the capacity to properly obligate all NSP1 grant funds and at least 25 percent of the grant toward occupants with incomes below 50 percent of the median income in the locality (LH25) set-aside by the September 5,…

We audited the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (Department) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). We selected the Department for review as part of our strategic plan based on the results of a previous audit of the Department’s HOME program that disclosed instances of HOME-funded activities with slow progress. The objectives of this audit were to determine whether the Department’s HOME-funded activities met program objectives and…

HUD OIG performed an audit of the Housing Authority of DeKalb County’s use of its net restricted assets based on a request from the Atlanta Office of Public Housing. The request indicated that a significant amount of net restricted assets was used to pay for items other than the required housing assistance payments. The purpose of the audit was to determine how the Authority expended its net restricted assets and what controls were in place…

We completed an audit of the Puerto Rico Public Housing Administration (authority) central office procurement system. We selected the authority for review as part of our strategic plan. The objectives of the audit were to determine (1) whether the authority’s procurement policies and procedures were in compliance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements, (2) whether it followed its policies and procedures…

We audited the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (Department) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). We selected the Department for review as part of our strategic plan. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Department (1) reimbursed HOME funds on terminated activities; (2) expended HOME funds within U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-established timeframes; (3) administered program income,…

HUD OIG performed an audit of Mortgage Counseling Services, Inc., a Federal Housing Administration approved non-supervised lender. The review was performed based on the lender’s high default rates. The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the lender followed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements for (1) borrower eligibility and creditworthiness and property eligibility when underwriting loans and (…

The City of Atlanta (City) received a $12.3 million Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant from HUD that was authorized under Title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. Also, the City applied for an additional $57.9 million in NSP funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We selected the City for review due to the amount of its NSP funding and because of performance concerns identified during our…

HUD OIG performed an audit of the Housing Authority of the City of Conyers' administration of its disbursements and procurement procedures. The Georgia State Office of Public Housing requested the audit due to concerns regarding the use of its funds and violation of its procurement procedures The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the Authority used its federal funds in compliance with HUD regulations and other requirements. The…

We audited the Puerto Rico Public Housing Administration’s (authority) Capital Fund Financing Program (Financing Program) as part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) strategic plan goals to improve the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fiscal accountability. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the authority obligated and expended the 2003 Financing Program funds in accordance with HUD…

We audited the City of Atlanta’s (City) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) because it has received more than $17 million in HOME funding since 2005. Our objective was to determine whether the City accurately entered commitments into the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Integrated Disbursement and Information System (information system) for HOME-funded activities. The City did not comply with HUD requirements…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) as part of our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. Our audit objectives were to assess the adequacy of HUD’s monitoring and implementation of requirements to recapture HOME funds not committed within two years and spent within five years, assess the adequacy of HUD’s monitoring and use of its Integrated Disbursement and…

We audited the Municipality of Rio Grande’s (Municipality) Community Development Block Grant (Block Grant) program. We selected the Municipality for review as part of our strategic plan. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Municipality complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, procedures, and instructions related to the administration of the Block Grant program and whether the…

HUD OIG performed an audit of the Housing Authority of the City of Newnan’s activities with its related nonprofit organization, the Newnan Housing Development Corporation. The review was performed based on concerns that the Authority encumbered its assets, used its federal funds to support nonprofit development activities, and had a conflict-of-interest transaction. The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the Authority…

We audited the Jonesboro Housing Authority's (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program as part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General's (OIG) annual audit plan. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority's Section 8 housing choice voucher units met HUD standards. The Authority's Section 8 units generally met housing quality standards. Our inspection of 16 Section 8 units…

HUD OIG performed an audit of the City of Augusta's HOME Investment Partnerships program as part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's annual audit plan. The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the City complied with HOME program requirements for monitoring (1) HOME community housing development organizations and subrecipients and (2) the use of CHDOs' proceeds. This is the second of two audit reports on the HOME…

As part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) strategic plan, we audited the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority's (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority properly determined housing assistance subsidies, properly determined the eligibility of tenants, and recertified tenants in a timely manner. The…