We audited Independent Bank, a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) supervised direct endorsement lender.  We selected Independent Bank for review based on its overall compare ratio of nearly 200 percent for loans originated in our jurisdiction for a 2-year FHA performance period. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2013 audit plan.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether (1) Independent Bank’s quality…

We audited the State of Michigan’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2013 annual audit plan.  We selected the State’s Program based upon our designation of the Program as high risk.  Further, we received an anonymous complaint regarding the State’s Program.  Our objectives were to determine whether the Michigan State Housing…

We audited Lighthouse Inn, an assisted living facility located in Pompano Beach, FL.  In April 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) insured the $5.1 million mortgage on the property under Section 232 of the National Housing Act.  In September 2010, the facility defaulted on the mortgage loan.  Our overall audit objective was to determine whether the owner of Lighthouse Inn complied with the executed…

We audited the City of Hawthorne because of a corrective action verification audit done by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) that identified $840,741 in HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds that were transferred to the Section 8 program between 2005 and 2006 (2013-LA-0802).  The objectives of the audit were to determine (1) the eligibility of $840,741 in 2005 and 2006 HOME program transfers to the Section 8 program, (2) whether…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited HUD’s Office of Single Family Housing to determine whether it had effective controls in place to ensure that lenders reported default information on Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans accurately and in a timely manner.  We initiated this audit after observing delayed reporting of default information on loan histories. We found…

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Retreat at Church Ranch to determine whether the owner submitted a management agent certification to HUD for proper approval and to determine whether the books of account were complete and accurate.  We conducted this audit mainly because of a referral from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Departmental Enforcement…

We audited the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Preforeclosure Sales Program claim process in accordance with our goal to contribute to improving the integrity of FHA single-family insurance programs.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) paid ineligible preforeclosure sale claims that did not meet the net sales proceeds requirements. FHA paid preforeclosure sale claims…

We completed a review of the Lowell Housing Authority’s Public Housing and Recovery Act Capital Fund programs, including its force account activities.  We selected this auditee based on a news articles identifying concerns with the Authority’s use of force account labor.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Authority (1) administered its force account modernization program in accordance with U.S. Department of…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) controls over the Brownfield and Round II Empowerment Zone programs as part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) annual plan.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD had adequate procedures to measure Brownfield and Round II Empowerment Zone effectiveness. HUD did not have adequate procedures to ensure the effectiveness of its Brownfield Economic Development…

We audited the Warren Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2013 annual audit plan.  We selected the Authority based on a citizen’s complaint to our office.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements. The Authority did not…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Community Planning and Development’s (CPD) risk assessment procedures as they relate to subrecipient involvement in CPD programs.  We initiated the audit due to observations by HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) auditors of frequent subrecipient-related findings in CPD external audits.  Our objective was to determine whether CPD’s risk assessments…

We audited The Lending Company, Inc., based on a hotline complaint, previous U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reviews, and our goal to improve the integrity of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family insurance programs.  Our objectives were to determine whether The Lending Company complied with HUD requirements when it used gift programs, originated and underwrote FHA loans, and implemented its quality…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the HUD Office of Program Enforcement in conducting a civil fraud review of alleged false claims submitted to HUD regarding City employee labor costs charged to the City’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant.  The false claims allegations stemmed from an OIG audit report outlining details of ineligible employee labor costs.…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General is conducting an audit of the Wyoming Housing Opportunities Association. We are auditing the Wyoming Housing Opportunities Association based on information obtained during our audit of the Wyoming Community Development Authority that 51 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages by this same borrower had defaulted.  The audit objective is to determine…

We completed an audit of the City of Eagle Pass Housing Authority’s (Authority) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) grant activities. The Authority was selected based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD), Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG)  annual plan to conduct oversight of the Recovery Act funds provided to public housing agencies and our regional risk evaluation.  Our audit…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General reviewed the allegations contained in a hotline complaint against CARE Housing, Inc., Fort Collins, CO, to determine whether CARE accurately represented itself as an eligible community housing development organization (CHDO) and whether it used its grant funds for the Provincetowne project in accordance with applicable rules and regulations.  We found no…

We audited Essex County, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk assessment that considered grantee funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk analysis, and prior audit coverage.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether County officials established and implemented adequate controls to ensure that the HOME program was administered in compliance with program requirements. The…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited The Temtor, a residential and commercial development in St. Louis MO.  We selected The Temtor for audit because the project quickly defaulted on its mortgage and requested a partial payment of claim.  The project reached final endorsement on January 30, 2012, and failed to make timely mortgage payments beginning March 1, 2012.  Our…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Home Forward’s Moving to Work Housing Choice Voucher program.  We selected Home Forward, formerly known as the Housing Authority of Portland, because it disbursed the highest average Section 8 funds in Oregon from 2010 to 2012 and third highest in the Region, including Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.  We focused on its tenant-based…

We audited the State of Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development’s administration of its Emergency Mortgage Assistance program.  We audited the State’s program because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the State $61.6 million in Emergency Homeowner’s Loan program funds to administer its Emergency Mortgage Assistance program.  Our objective was to determine whether the State…