We performed an audit of the New York City Housing Authority's (Authority) administration of its capital fund 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. We selected the Authority based on the size of its capital fund program, more than $2 billion authorized and more than $1.3 billion expended in…

We audited the single-family partial claims collection process and its effectiveness in protecting the Federal Housing Administration?s (FHA) insurance fund. Our overall objective was to determine whether the single-family partial claims program operated effectively and efficiently to minimize costs to the insurance fund and collect amounts due in a timely manner. The National Service Center (NSC) and its contractors did not properly implement a…

In this report, we provide additional details to supplement our Report on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Fiscal Years 2008 and 2007 Financial Statements, which is included in HUD's Fiscal Year 2008 Performance and Accountability Report. In OIG's opinion, based on our audit and the reports of other auditors, the financial statements were presented fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with…

We completed an audit of the City of Newburgh, New York's (City) administration of its Section 108 Loan Guarantee program. The objectives of our audit were to determine whether the City ensured that (1) Section 108 loans and related activities were administered in compliance with CDBG program objectives and (2) subsequent CDBG funds used for Section 108 loan repayments were necessary, reasonable, and in accordance with all applicable…

This report presents the results of Carmichael, Brasher, Tuvell and Company's (CBTC) audit of the Government National Mortgage Association's (Ginnie Mae) financial statements for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008 and 2007. In CBTC's opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, Ginnie Mae’s financial position as of September 30, 2008 and September 30, 2007 and the results of its operations and…

This report presents the results of Urbach, Kahn, and Werlin LLP's (UKW) audit of the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) financial statements for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008 and 2007. In UKW's opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, FHA's financial position as of September 30, 2008 and 2007, and its net costs, changes in net position, and combined budgetary resources for…

As part of the tenth of our ongoing audits of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's (LMDC) administration of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Assistance funds, we reviewed the nature of costs incurred under the activity entitled "World Trade Center Memorial and Cultural" program related to the deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank building in New York City. The review raised concern about funding of the…

We completed an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) monitoring of its annual contributions contract with its performance-based contract administrator, the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation (contractor). The audit was initiated in accordance with the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) audit plan that includes performing internal audits to evaluate HUD's execution of its fiscal…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General reviewed HUD's management of human resources. We initiated the review based on our annual audit plan and our strategic plan to help HUD resolve its major management challenges. The review also addressed a complaint to our Hotline regarding the adequacy of HUD's Total Estimation and Allocation Mechanism (TEAM) system. Our objectives were to…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited HUD's oversight of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured home equity conversion mortgages (HECM) program. We initiated the audit as part of the activities in our 2008 annual audit plan. Our audit objective was to assess elements of HUD's oversight of the HECM program. This is the first of two audit reports regarding the HECM…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited HUD's oversight of the underwriting of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans for new construction properties located in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) designated special flood hazard areas. We initiated the audit as part of the activities in our 2007 annual audit plan. Our objective was to determine…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited HUD's use of residual receipts in lieu of reserve for replacement funds. The objective of the audit was to determine whether HUD appropriately authorized residual receipt withdrawals in lieu of reserve for replacement funds for new regulation multifamily projects. HUD inappropriately authorized the use of more than $3.2 million in residual…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited HUD's Office of Single Family Housing (Single Family) due to concerns over the expected increase in Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans generated by newly implemented and proposed FHA programs. The objective of our audit was to determine whether Single Family had implemented an internal control structure in accordance with…

We audited HUD’s appraiser review process as part of our annual plan. The audit was proposed in response to a single-family loan origination audit that raised concerns regarding HUD’s oversight of FHA appraisers. This is the second of two audits covering HUD’s controls over the appraiser review process. The first audit report, 2008-LA-0002, focused on HUD’s oversight of the FHA appraiser roster; whereas this audit report focuses on the…

We completed an evaluation of public housing reconstruction with HUD funds on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Our objective was to determine the status of the recovery efforts and determine how the risks of building on sites located in designated flood plains are being addressed. Hurricane Katrina damaged 29 project sites. After Hurricane Katrina, FEMA revised floodplain guidance in the affected areas, and HUD made $100 million in grant funds…

We completed an evaluation of HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) and its nonprofit affiliated Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) and their processing of housing discrimination complaints. The objective of our evaluation was to determine whether FHEO and FHAP intake and investigation processes are timely completed, consistently thorough, and accurately reported in the Title VIII Automated Paperless Tracking Office…

We completed an inspection of Section 8 housing assistance payments (HAP) to owners of multifamily properties in Louisiana that were severely damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The tenants vacated these properties shortly after Katrina struck. In the storm's aftermath, HUD and the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency (LHFA) continued to subsidize property owners, although many properties under HAP contract were vacant and not…

We performed a limited scope audit of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity to determine whether the Office complied with the requirements of 42 U.S.C. (United States Code) Chapter 45, Subpart I, Section, 3616a(d), entitled Fair Housing Intiatives Program, Education and Outreach, when it published the 2007 Fair Housing Initiatives Program notice of funding availability. The audit disclosed that the Office generally complied with the…

We completed an audit of Wells Fargo Bank NA, Rochester, New York, Branch Office (Wells Fargo), a national bank and supervised lender. The audit objectives were to determine whether Wells Fargo (1) approved insured loans in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)/Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements, which include following prudent lending practices, and (2) developed and implemented a quality control…