HUD-assisted households are required to report all income from all sources to the owner or manager during certification or recertification. One component of annual income is any income the household’s assets generate. And sometimes, households may dispose of assets for less than fair...
Sometimes contractors accidentally overbill you. Less frequently, but still too often, they may even try to cheat you. Being the victim of overbilling practices not only costs you lots of money, it can also lead to audit problems. Auditors pore over contractor invoices to make sure they back up...
You may think that because you take good care of your site, conduct regular inspections, and promptly fix problems, you’re prepared for your site’s upcoming HUD inspection. But it’s important to give your site a last-minute once-over to make sure you catch any problems before...
Assisted sites can amass a lot of legal expenses for site-related matters like evicting problem residents or drafting letters to comply with certain HUD rules. You can charge site-related legal expenses to your site's operating accounts, but only if you comply with HUD's rules on...
In last month's issue of the Insider, we told you of HUD's efforts to clamp down on excessive pay at public housing authorities by setting caps that extend and expand limits imposed by Congress. With increased HUD attention on salaries, this may be a good time for owners and...
Dealing with domestic violence is one of the trickiest problems site managers face. You may have observed domestic violence first hand, responded to noise complaints from neighbors, have the police called to your site, been asked to terminate a lease against a resident's abusive spouse, or...
Going to court with a resident can be an expensive proposition—even if you win. You may win $1,000 in back rent, but that's not a meaningful victory if you have to pay your attorney a few thousand dollars to win it for you. And without a lease clause requiring residents who violate...
Keeping your residents cool and comfortable in the summer will do much to keep your residents happy, reduce resident complaints, and avoid HUD scrutiny. If your site's air-conditioning system breaks down this summer, some residents may even try to deduct money from their rent for the time...
If you're considering taking over the management of an assisted site, or if you've already agreed to do so, look carefully at the site's financial statements for signs of financial problems or challenges you may face once you start managing the site, says Seth D. Strongin, a CPA in...
In today's struggling economy, providing affordable housing to low-income families is more important than ever. There may be plenty of qualified applicants, but there are also considerable challenges in keeping up with rising operational costs and program compliance requirements. Last month...
Getting cost estimates before you hire contractors to do work at your site is not only a smart business practice, but it's also a HUD requirement. If you don't get those required estimates, you could run afoul of HUD or your contract administrator. And you put the site owner at risk of...
In last month's issue, the Insider explained how to identify when the brick façade on your building needs repointing work. Repointing work is the chiseling out of old, worn mortar between bricks and having it replaced with fresh mortar.
