Follow Requirements for Postponing REAC Inspections

If you want to postpone or cancel a REAC inspection for good cause, the first step is to contact the HUD Hub or Program Center that has jurisdiction over the site to request the postponement or cancellation.

REAC inspector Kay McIlmoil says there are reasons that call for a postponement or cancellation. Examples were outlined in a letter from HUD's acting director of the Office of Asset Management to the National Affordable Housing Management Association, “HUD Explains REAC Postponement Procedure.”

Reasons for good cause include, but are not limited to:

• The site is under an approved plan for major rehabilitation;

• A presidentially declared disaster or emergency precludes the site from being inspected; or

• Recent fire, water, or other damage is so extensive that the REAC inspector cannot inspect a representative sample of buildings and/or units. If the extent of the damage won't prevent the REAC inspector from inspecting a representative sample of the buildings and/or units, then the owner, managing agent, or public housing authority (PHA) should contact the HUD Hub or Program Center to request that the damaged units and/or buildings be taken off-line for the REAC inspection.

The owner, management agent, or PHA must make a formal, written request for the postponement or cancellation. The request must include:

• A reasonably detailed explanation of why the physical inspection should be cancelled or postponed;

• The date and scores of the last two REAC inspections; and

• An estimated date of when the REAC inspection should take place.

The mortgage servicer or the REAC contractor must enter a REAC inspection date and time into the HUD Secure Systems before the HUD Hub or Program Center can approve or deny the request for postponement or cancellation of a REAC inspection.

McIlmoil notes that if the request is denied, the HUD Hub or Program Center is responsible for notifying the owner or PHA. If the request is approved by the HUD Hub or Program Center, the request is forwarded to the Office of Asset Management for approval.

If the request is approved by the Office of Asset Management, the Office of Asset Management notifies REAC of the cancellation or postponement, and the HUD Hub is responsible for notifying the owner or PHA. The owner or PHA is responsible for notifying the managing agent or asset manager of the cancellation or postponement.

If the REAC inspection was scheduled through the Reverse Auction Program (RAP), REAC notifies the PHA, the mortgage servicer, or the REAC contractor of the cancellation or postponement.

The PHA, the mortgage servicer, or the REAC contractor is responsible for notifying the REAC inspector of the cancellation or postponement.

As a matter of courtesy, McIlmoil adds, the owner, the managing agent, or the PHA should notify the REAC inspector of the cancellation or postponement.

Insider Source

Kay McIlmoil, CPM: REAC, FEMA, and FHA Certified Inspector, It's My Clip, LLC, dba IMC Inspections, 4111 Lakeview Pkwy., Locust Grove, VA 22508; (540) 846-7677; kmcilmoil@imcinspections.com.