UPCS Inspectors LLC

NSPIRE Inspection Services

REAC Inspections Resume 10/5/20

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REAC COVID Map

Today REAC notified all its inspectors that inspections will resume later this year.

HUD will prioritize inspections by states. Low-risk states will be inspected first.

All the eligible counties will be posted on the REAC website for 45 days. If your property is in one of these counties, you could be eligible to be inspected.

At the end of the 45-day period, REAC will start to provide the standard 14-day notice of inspection.

As soon as the county list is available, we will contact all our clients.

You can find the official announcement here.

UPCS Inspectors LLC will continue to monitor for the latest news on the return of REAC inspections. Please contact us if you have any questions.

REAC Inspections Postponed Due to Coronavirus

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REAC Cancels Inspections Due To Coronavirus

Breaking news: All REAC inspections have been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Today REAC notified all inspectors that inspections are postponed until further notice.

Per the email: “Until further notice, the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) is postponing all property inspections on all Public-housing, Multi-family and Servicing Mortgagee properties. Thank you for your cooperation. REAC will continue to keep you updated”.

UPCS Inspectors LLC will continue to monitor for the latest news on the postponed inspections. Please contact us if you have any questions.

New Quality Assurance Inspection & Resident Notification Policy

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New Quality Assurance Inspection and Resident Notification

On January 31, 2020, the REAC Inspector Administration notified inspectors of a new Quality Assurance Inspection that can occur after the inspection is complete.

This was followed by a second announcement that addresses the written notification provided by the property management to the tenants.

Quality Assurance Inspection (QAI)

Quality assurance (QA) reviews can be conducted at any time. Sometimes, the QA reviews are performed after the inspection had been completed.

Drastic scores changes from previous inspections, errors in the inspection report, and other inspection red flags are some of the reasons HUD would choose to do a quality assurance review after the inspection was complete.

Effective 2/3/20, these reviews are now called Quality Assurance Inspections (QAI), and it appears REAC wants to use this type of QA inspections more often.

How Soon Can The QA Come Out?

Per REAC’s notifications to the inspectors, “The QAI is generally within two business days of the contract inspection”.

They will use the same sample used by the inspector, which means they will walk the same units from the original inspection.

New Resident Notice Policy

To allow time for the Quality Assurance staff to visit the property after the inspection, the property will now be required to provide an eight business day notice for all inspections.

This was not announced via a notice to the industry. Instead, this is part of the new scheduling letter REAC is requiring inspectors to use. Per the new scheduling letter, properties must:

“Provide the required written notice of the inspection to your residents that includes the agreed upon inspection dates and an additional five business days following the last day of the inspection for a Quality Assurance Inspection (QAI) and any other quality assurance activities HUD may require for a total inspection period of eight business days“.

The Takeaway

Quality assurance inspections are not new. However, the announcement of the QAI reviews and the new notification requirements shows a new commitment from REAC to perform this type of review more often.

With that level of oversight, the inspectors will likely be even more thorough out of fear of a follow-up quality assurance inspection.

Now more than ever it is important your properties remain “REAC Ready” at all times!

The latest on this new development will be included in future UCPS training and speaking engagements. Please contact us if you have any questions.

UPCS-V Postponed, Demo Extended 2 Years

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On May 28, 2019 HUD announced the implementation of UPCS-V will be postponed two years. This includes an extension of the UPCS-V demonstration program.

UPCS-V Timeline

Before the announcement, REAC planned to make UPCS-V voluntary by the summer of 2019 and required by summer 2020. The latest proposed version of the UPCS-V (Protocol Beta) was to be finalized earlier this year.

However, recent proposed changes to the UPCS protocol currently used by REAC inspectors has affected that timeline. HUD plans to overhaul UPCS with a new protocol called NSPIRE (National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate).

Now HUD plans to make NSPIRE the protocol for public housing, multifamily programs, and housing choice vouchers (HCV).

What Happens to UPCS-V?

NSPIRE will go through a two-year demonstration period. At the same time, they will use the next two years to continue to test UPCS-V Protocol Beta.

At the end of that period, HUD envisions that NSPIRE “will leverage the infrastructure of UPCS-V to demonstrate, test, and validate NSPIRE protocols”.

The Takeaway

The final line is that HQS (Housing Quality Standards) will continue to be the protocol used for Section 8 HCV inspections for the foreseeable future. However, changes are definitely coming to all the inspection protocols over the next two years.

The latest in proposed changes will be included in future UCPS training and speaking engagements. Please contact us if you have any questions.

REAC Carbon Monoxide Detector Inspection

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New REAC Carbon Monoxide Detector requirements

Today HUD released it’s new carbon monoxide detector inspection requirements for all REAC inspections effective 4/1/19.

Per HUD’s notice, “CO poisoning remains a serious issue in housing across the nation. Each year, there are approximately 50,000 emergency hospital visits and more than 400 deaths due to CO poisoning”.

REAC inspectors will have to identify buildings with fuel fired/burning appliances and/or with an attached garage.

If a carbon monoxide detector is present, the inspector must be able to test it. Missing detectors will be noted in the inspection report.

Currently, this information will be collected for data purposes. However, changes to the REAC scoring system are coming in 2021 with new deficiencies, more units inspected, and even on-site lead based paint and mold testing.

These latest changes will be included in all our future UCPS training. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Meet Our Founder

Founded in 2015 by owner Alejandro Dominguez, UPCS Inspectors LLC is a full service inspection company that specializes in annual inspections, NSPIRE training, and REAC consultation for the housing industry. In addition, UPCS Inspectors LLC is a contract vendor for the US … Read More

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Connect With Us

UPCS Inspectors LLC
2027 Coats Circle
Austin, TX 78748

P: 512-653-6999
E: alejandro@upcsinspectors.com