MOR (Management and Occupancy Review) Inspections are usually conducted under regulatory directions from the
HUD (Housing and Urban Development). This inspection is carried out to determine whether sector 8 properties (multifamily housing units) are actually administered as per the HUD guidelines. While doing so, the authorities try to identify the deficiencies in eliminating fraud, waste or cases of mismanagement. Any property owner for such units who has not had a MOR inspection within the last 5 years can expect it to happen within a matter of weeks!
Getting a good score in the MOR inspection is no less necessary than any other inspection. Those who are unable to get good ratings can get a ‘flag’ placed on their property, which denotes that it is currently in noncompliance with the laid-down policies. Those with unsatisfactory or below-average MOR rated properties are generally the ones marked with this ‘flag’.
If you have been expecting this inspection to happen anytime soon, you certainly must be well-prepared for it. But just in case you aren’t that ready and want a refresher course for it, you need to have all the following things in place to score a good grade during MOR inspection:
- Your relevant housing files must have undergone regular auditing
- You must ensure to review and update your policies and procedures after regular intervals
- All of your manuals must be updated as per the need
- Your EIV manual should be up to date
Signing up for fair housing classes can be a big boost here. HUD too recommends signing up for these classes, which can help you with every minute thing that is necessary to avoid compliance woes and have a MOR ready property for inspection. You must also remember that the reviewer will certainly consider your files and your property for inspection, but he will also arrive after doing his homework. This will include desk review, wherein older files will be pulled out to determine how you have fared during the past years, and what you are up to at present. To avoid this, you can dig into the last MOR file yourself, and make sure that you have made all amends which can otherwise backfire at some later stage. HUD inspector can also conduct an onsite inspection, which is why you must make sure to have a MOR ready property well in advance.
Some other things you can work upon while preparing for MOR inspection include:
- Maintain resident files properly
- Try to determine what can be assessed during MOR which can trigger the flag
- Prepare desk review documentation thoroughly
- Have policies, procedures and HUD approvals readily available
- Learn of all other ways which can trigger 2530 ‘flag’
- Get an overview of MOR Rating System chart as defined by HUD
To know further details about it, you can join expert speaker Andrea Champine for the webinar titled, ‘MORs are Back! Preparing for a Management and Occupancy Review’. Andrea will give an overview of the common MOR findings and how you can achieve a good rating during the inspection. She will also share details for HUD-required documents and share the MOR rating system chart as per HUD norms.
