Zeffert & Associates

Monthly e-Newsletter

Our Commitment to Housing: Quality - Customer Service - Expertise

February 2015

Notes from the Editor

It's A Matter of Fairness

Our team members at Zeffert & Associates are very aware of the need for fairness. From our perspective, compliance professionals must balance three very important interests that all demand fairness. We will touch on these in no particular order here.

The first interested parties that need fairness are the residents of affordable housing. Their qualifications should be accurately determined in a manner that follows government guidelines, that allows for a safe amount of uncertainty when it comes to government interpretation, but that does not disqualify residents who actually qualify in the name of "being conservative." The second set of vital interests are those of the owners and investors. Much hard-earned money is invested in affordable housing, and protecting the investment is only fair. Finally, third, we have the needs of the taxpayers in mind.

"We the people" pay for these important programs in one way or another through our hard-earned tax dollars, and we want to see them provide the housing they are designed to provide without abuse.

Audit functions are always going to be an important part of ensuring that this is being done. Our priorities in fairness may adjust somewhat depending on which of the interested parties is our client for a particular job, but we believe that keeping fairness to all parties in mind is healthiest for the industry.

Keeping fairness to all parties in mind is healthiest for the industry.

Our compliance efforts at Zeffert balance these interests to help to ensure fairness to residents, owners, investors and the taxpayers.

By Scott Michael Dunn

Executive Vice President

Understanding EIV Reports

Part 18

EIV Rules of Behavior

HUD requires that all EIV users must adhere to the signed EIV Rules of Behavior (ROB) procedures and authorization forms.

The first step in accessing the EIV system (for both internal and external users) is following the instructions as posted on the Multifamily EIV website.

Click HERE to access the instructions

As stated on the website, all users must apply for access to the EIV

system. There are specific instructions for applying as an EIV Coordinator and as an EIV User.

In order to apply for the EIV Coordinator position, you must complete the Coordinator Access Authorization Form (CAAF) and send it to HUD's Multifamily Helpdesk.

The website also gives instructions on how to apply for EIV User access authorization rights. In order to apply for this access, you must complete the User Access Authorization Form (UAAF) and submit it to your EIV Coordinator.

Click HERE for the rest of the article

By Randy McCall

Trainer

Questions from Clients

"My LIHTC property has a 20-50 minimum set-aside and is mixed-income. Can I move in tenants that are over the 50% income limit in any units at this property?"

The short answer is "yes," but there is a crucial detail about your property that, if it was different, would completely change our answer.

Click HERE for the rest of the article

Getting to Know Us...

Rose Dubin

Position Held:

Business Development Manager

with us since 2015

Click HERE for bio from our website

Tip of The Month

Learn to interview applicants more effectively

HUD tells us that "having staff who excel at interviewing doesn't happen by accident. Training staff on interviewing techniques is as important as training in regulatory requirements." In keeping with these sentiments, a few years ago HUD published a 38-page guide that is full of helpful direction and hints related to the interviewing process.

Check out the HUD Interview Guide HERE

Quizzle

Topic

This February we have a short Quizzle for a short month. Federal housing agencies provide guidance in the form of handbooks. Name the program covered by each handbook listed below.

1. Asset Management Handbook HB-2-3560

A. HUD multifamily

B. RD

C. LIHTC

D. HOME

2. A Guide for Property Owners

A. HUD multifamily

B. RD

C. LIHTC

D. HOME

3. Handbook 4350.3

A. HUD multifamily

B. RD

C. LIHTC

D. HOME

4. 8823 Guide

A. HUD multifamily

B. RD

C. LIHTC

D. HOME

5. A Guide for PJs

A. HUD multifamily

B. RD

C. LIHTC

D. HOME

Click HERE for the answers

If you dream of never calculating your own Utility Allowances again...contact us today!

If you need Utility Allowance calculations this year, please contact us right away. We will explain the process, discuss your needs and schedule reports accordingly.

We are the largest provider of utility allowance calculations for RD and HUD projects in the country. We also provide utility calculations that are compliant with LIHTC regulations in more than 40 states.

Our service is reliable and affordable. For example: 25-unit project, where tenants pay electric only, is $116. If they pay multiple utilities, the cost is $171. A utility allowance calculator can be found on this website by clicking on the link. Utility Allowance Calculator To determine the cost of a report, enter the number of units and utilities.

Utility Allowance Client Website

As a client, you will receive a login and password to your account on this website. When a report is completed, we send an email notifying you that it is on the site.

The site also contains other documents that you will need, such as a packet with the blank release forms that tenants must complete. All of the properties that you have scheduled can be seen on a Status Report.

Tenants

We supply a release form, and the site manager is responsible for having tenants complete the forms. They check for accuracy and completeness before sending them to us. This form gives the tenant's authorization to release their 12-month history to Zeffert for the purpose of calculating a utility allowance.

Please contact via email by clicking either link below: