HUD is requesting the status of all tax credit units in a project as of December 31 of the year being collected. For example, in this first year of collection, owners of California projects must submit data to HUD that indicates the demographic and economic status of all household members within all LIHTC units in a project as of December 31, 2011.

It is important to keep in mind that HUD is requesting the most recent household demographic data as well as the most recently certified household financial data. In some cases this information may come from different Tenant Income Certification (TIC) forms that were completed at different times during a tenants occupancy. For example, if a TIC is being used to self certify a household’s income then the household member demographic data must come from that TIC while the household income data must come from an earlier TIC that was used to actually certify the household as a tax credit household.

The Spectrum software is a free standalone application that must be downloaded from the Spectrum website and installed on a local computer. Once completed, the data collected is submitted to Spectrum from within the software via an internet connection. However, an internet connection is not required while using the software to enter data. There is no cost for the software and you are free to use it on as many computers as you need to. You may also download it multiple times.

Computer Requirements
The Spectrum software will run on any computer running all versions of the Microsoft operating system from Window’s XP through Windows 8 (both 32 and 64 bit). Hard drive space required is 15mb. Single property reports files are generally 1-3mb in size while multiple property files can be as large as 10mb. When a report file is submitted to Spectrum it is compressed prior to transfer and the average transfer time is approximately 2-3 minutes.

Multiple Properties
If you are a management company that is managing multiple properties, you have the option of including all your properties in a single report file or creating a separate file for each property. The Spectrum report file(s) can be located on a centralized server and accessed from multiple computers on your network. However, at this point in time, a report file can only be accessed by a single user at a time.

Additionally, it is not necessary that a single property management representative download the software for distribution and use by your organization. While you can use this centralized approach you may also have individuals (e.g. compliance managers, etc.) from different locations download the software. It’s up to you to decide how you’d like information from Spectrum regarding the software distributed to multiple locations.

Data Entry
There are two methods for getting household data into the Spectrum software; XML Import or Manual Entry from paper TIC forms.

XML Import
If you are using a management system software package that supports the NAHMA LIHTC Data Transfer XML Standard (1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 4.0) you can import data for any date range into the Spectrum software. It is a two step process that involves first running a report in your management software that will generate an XML file and then importing that file into the Spectrum software. Both steps are relatively easy to accomplish and have been used extensively during the past five years.

Third party software vendors that Spectrum has worked closely with that provide XML support include management applications by Yardi, Real Page (now MRI) and Boston Post. If you are not sure if your management software supports the data standard you’ll need to contact your software vender. Spectrum does not have information regarding the XML status of third party management software systems.

Manual Entry
For 2011, manual data entry will simply require entering the data from the forms provided by CTCAC (noted in section 5 above). Because of the nature of recent changes HUD has made to their Tenant Data Collection Form (during the summer of 2011), and related requirements regarding the accuracy and completeness of income data, starting in 2012 you’ll need to enter each TIC form completed during the year instead of waiting until the end of the year to simply enter the current state of the unit.

While at first glance this may appear to be a more time consuming task it will in fact be less time consuming in the long run because the Spectrum software will automatically track and report to HUD all household demographic and income data that represents an accurate snapshot of the your tax credit units as of December 31st.

Entering each TIC completed during the year eliminates issues that can arise from having to wait until after December 31st to go through all of the tenant files to analyze and pull the ones you’ll need to enter data from to satisfy the HUD requirement. You will not have to review each TIC or search through previous TICs for earlier income qualification dates. Additionally, if you’re not currently using a software package to track tenant events the Spectrum software includes free reports that you can use to help stay in compliance.

Data Submission
The HUD data report file is submitted to Spectrum directly from within the Spectrum software. An active internet connection is required at the time of submission. The upload process generally takes 2-3 minutes.