States Make Progress in Physical Inspection Pilot Program

The six state housing finance agencies (HFAs) that are participating in a year-long physical inspection pilot program are spending more time coordinating their efforts with federal agencies than preparing for site visits of their own. HFAs in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin signed agreements in November to work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) to implement the pilot program, which tests the feasibility of reducing physical inspections of mixed-finance properties. Since that time, the HFAs have worked closely with HUD and RD to finalize their inspection processes and schedules, and are ready to begin cutting overlapping inspections for certain properties as soon as this spring.