The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington in the civil investigation of Universal American Mortgage Company, LLC.  Our investigation was ongoing when a qui tam action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.  Universal…

We audited the Civic Towers, LLLP, and Civic Towers Senior, LLLP, Section 8 project-based housing assistance payment (HAP) program.  We selected the Civic Towers and Civic Towers Senior Section 8 project-based properties for review based on a referral from our Office of Investigation regarding a potential duplication of benefits between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (…

We audited the Pinellas County Housing Authority’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) conversion to the Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program and compliance after the conversion.  We selected the Authority for review in keeping with the goals of our annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its RAD conversion in compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (…

We audited P.K. Management Group, Inc. (PKMG), a contracted field service manager in HUD’s real estate-owned Management and Marketing III program, as part of the activities included in our 2016 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 Illinois in Region’s 5 jurisdiction.  Our…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Homewood Terrace Mutual Homes’ Section 8 housing assistance payments program due to concerns over poor financial reporting and potentially inappropriate involvement by one of its board members.  Our objective was to determine whether Homewood Terrace conducted timely reexaminations, correctly calculated and requested assistance payments, and…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Redwood Juniper Tacoma Apartments to determine whether Redwood Juniper’s owner took an unauthorized distribution in excess of surplus cash, procured services in accordance with HUD rules and regulations, and maintained an auditable waiting list. We selected the multifamily housing project for audit because it appeared that the project owner took…

HUD OIG assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, in the civil investigation of Group One Mortgage, Inc.  Group One’s principal place of business is located in Jupiter, FL.  Group One has participated in the FHA insurance program since 2004 and became a direct endorsement lender in 2005.  The direct endorsement program authorizes private-sector mortgage lenders to approve mortgage loans for FHA insurance…

We audited EverBank’s Preforeclosure Sale Program because it had the highest Florida preforeclosure sale claims of all servicing lenders located in Florida and more than 50 percent of its Florida Federal Housing Administration (FHA) claims were from preforeclosure sales with more than $12.9 million paid from 2011 through 2013.  Our objective was to determine whether EverBank properly determined that mortgagors were eligible to participate…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), conducted a review of Section 8 housing assistance payments made to Lynn Leggins, a landlord, for a tenant with whom he lived. The objective of our review was to determine whether Mr. Leggins received housing assistance payments that he was not eligible to receive. HUD’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program provides rental subsidies through tenant…

HUD OIG audited Universal American Mortgage, Co. LLC, located in Miami, FL, in accordance with our annual audit plan. Universal was selected for review because its default rate of 3.8 percent was higher than the Miami area default rate of 1.9 percent. Our objectives were to determine whether the lender followed U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements when originating and underwriting loans and implementing its…

HUD OIG audited Nationwide Mortgage & Associates, Inc., a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved non-supervised direct endorsement lender located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. We selected this lender because its default rate of 4 percent was higher than the Miami U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) area average default rate of 2 percent. The audit objectives were to determine whether the lender followed HUD requirements…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed 46 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans that Pierce Commercial Bank underwrote as an FHA direct endorsement lender. Pierce was a supervised FHA direct endorsement lender located in Tacoma, WA. This case was referred to us by OIG’s Office of Investigation. Our review objective was to determine whether Pierce underwrote 46 loans in…

HUD OIG performed an audit of Crossfire Financial Network, Inc., d/b/a CFN Mortgage Capital (Crossfire), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved direct endorsement lender located in Miami, Florida. The review was performed based on the lender’s volume of loans underwritten and its default rate. The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the lender followed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements…

HUD OIG performed an audit of Crossfire Financial Network, Inc., d/b/a CFN Mortgage Capital (Crossfire), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved direct endorsement lender located in Miami, Florida. The review was performed based on the lender’s volume of loans underwritten and its default rate. The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the lender followed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements…

HUD OIG performed an audit of Nationwide Home Loans, Inc. (Nationwide), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved direct endorsement lender located in Miami, Florida. 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 when (1) originating and underwriting loans and (2)…

HUD OIG performed an audit of Nationwide Home Loans, Inc. (Nationwide), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved direct endorsement lender located in Miami, Florida. 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 when (1) originating and underwriting loans and (2)…

HUD OIG performed an audit of Lendamerica Home Loans, Inc., a Federal Housing Administration approved direct endorsement lender located in Coral Gables, Florida. 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) originating and underwriting loans and (2) implementing its…

HUD OIG performed an audit of Lendamerica Home Loans, Inc., a Federal Housing Administration approved direct endorsement lender located in Coral Gables, Florida. 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) originating and underwriting loans and (2) implementing its…

We reviewed Bank of America's (servicer) home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) servicing division located in Seattle, Washington. Bank of America is one of the largest lenders of HECM mortgages for properties located in the five southwest states in the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Region VI jurisdiction. Our objective was to determine whether the servicer complied with HUD regulations, specifically,…

We audited single-family loan originations at Eagle Home Mortgage (Eagle Mortgage), located in Kirkland, Washington, to determine whether it originated Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. Eagle Mortgage did not always originate FHA insured loans in accordance with HUD requirements. Specifically, Eagle Mortgage did not follow HUD's…