PRE-APPROVAL LIMITS & UA REQUIREMENTS

In order to provide a comprehensive pre-approval review to our clients, Spectrum is requiring the following documentation be included with all pre-approval submissions: 

• Income and rent limits
• Utility allowance (if applicable)

This information is needed for Spectrum to determine income eligibility and gross rent compliance and can be provided on the Spectrum Cover Sheet. 

INCOME LIMITS:

Income and rent limits can be found on the HUD website. Please refer to this blog for instructions on how to determine the correct limits for your property. 

UTILITY ALLOWANCE:

The utility allowance used will depend on the type of property: 

• In a HUD regulated building, use the HUD approved utility allowance.
• In an RD regulated building, use the RD approved utility allowance.
• In a conventional building with Section 8 Certificates or Vouchers, use the Public Housing Authority approved utility allowance. This applies to those Section 8 units only. 
• In a conventional building or unit without Section 8, use either the PHA utility allowance or utility company data, if lower. 

SPECTRUM COVER SHEET:

The Spectrum Cover Sheet can be used to document and submit the limits and utility allowance. The 20% to 80% limits will auto populate when the 50% income limits are completed on the highlighted line.

There is a separate chart to manually enter the utility allowance amounts and effective date.

The Spectrum Cover Sheet should be included with all submissions.  To obtain a copy of Spectrum’s cover sheet please contact <lmurray@spectrumlihtc.com>. In addition to documenting the limits and utility allowance it also identifies the project name, site manager name, contact information and if the file is a new file or correction. Please ensure the cover sheet is completed in full to avoid delays in processing files. 

AVOID DELAYS!

Beginning 10/1/2020 files submitted without income and rent limits will not be reviewed. 

Beginning 10/1/2020 files submitted without utility allowance documentation will be reviewed but it will be noted that the utility allowance was not provided. Even if approved for income eligibility these files will be rated a 1 because Spectrum cannot confirm that the correct utility allowance was used on the tenant income certification.

CORRECTIONS:

When submitting corrections please include the previous Spectrum pre-approval report in the PDF file. This allows us to locate the audit in our software. Corrections submitted without the previous Spectrum pre-approval report will not be reviewed. 

Please note that items noted under the PROCEDURAL ISSUES heading do not require any corrections to be submitted.  These items are informational only.

Thank you in advance for providing the necessary documentation so Spectrum can perform a complete, comprehensive review of your files. We appreciate your business and look forward to working with you.