Appealing to HDC (apartment, loans, lawyer)

[amgr9000]

Guys, so long story short I thought I got approved for the apartment, but I was denied because of my income. Which was untrue because they are confusing loan I received for income. I called the agent to explain the situation, the agent was very dismissive, saying I got denied. I I filed an appeal which I received the notification today saying got declined again. I’m so upset and frustrated because I know I qualify for the Apartment. I wrote a very long worded strong letter to H DC, explaining the situation, and the reasons why I got that loan stating that I had received the loan from a situation I have and that is not no form of income. I had my attorney write a letter stating that that’s not a form of income, it was due to hardship, I need an advice should I keep fighting? Should I give up? I’m so confused. I don’t know how this processes there’s no really much feedback once you reach an appeal. Reaching HDC is impossible. Any advices? Any prior experiences share your story.

[WildAboutHarry]

If you took a distribution from a retirement account that might be counted as Income. In many cases, it’s subject to tax.

Hardship or not, if this loan has to be recorded on your income tax returns that might be a red flag.

Check the documents below if you did, or if you did not take a distribution from a retirement account. The docs might reveal or suggest why the decision was made the way it was.

Seems like talking with a CPA might be useful.

Call 311, the Mayor’s Office, City Councilor etc. Explain you really believe the decision is not correct, briefly, and you seek to bring the matter to a higher authority for clarification.

https://www.nychdc.com/sites/default...me%20Guide.pdf

See Table of Contents on Income
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/downl...g-handbook.pdf

A long letter strongly worded might not do you much good. A letter from a CPA stating why this loan is not Income might be useful. The CPA should review the documents above to know what is what here.

PS Reaching HDC is not impossible. If you take that position you are being self defeating. Call 311 and so forth if you can’t get to the right person at HDC, ask for guidance to reach the people who are authorized to deal with such matters.

‘ You may also call our applicant hotline at 212-863-7990. We answer calls from 9am to 5pm on weekdays, and respond to voicemails left at other times. ’

[Voltaire1122]

Originally Posted by WildAboutHarry

If you took a distribution from a retirement account that might be counted as Income. In many cases, it’s subject to tax.

Hardship or not, if this loan has to be recorded on your income tax returns that might be a red flag.

Check the documents below if you did, or if you did not take a distribution from a retirement account. The docs might reveal or suggest why the decision was made the way it was.

Seems like talking with a CPA might be useful.

Call 311, the Mayor’s Office, City Councilor etc. Explain you really believe the decision is not correct, briefly, and you seek to bring the matter to a higher authority for clarification.

https://www.nychdc.com/sites/default...me%20Guide.pdf

See Table of Contents on Income
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/downl...g-handbook.pdf

A long letter strongly worded might not do you much good. A letter from a CPA stating why this loan is not Income might be useful. The CPA should review the documents above to know what is what here.

PS Reaching HDC is not impossible. If you take that position you are being self defeating. Call 311 and so forth if you can’t get to the right person at HDC, ask for guidance to reach the people who are authorized to deal with such matters.

‘ You may also call our applicant hotline at 212-863-7990. We answer calls from 9am to 5pm on weekdays, and respond to voicemails left at other times. ’

Would all that CPA stuff really help? I mean ultimately what’s counted as “income” isn’t an accounting question… it’s a HUD determination based entirely on their rules.

[randomperson2]

Loans don't count as income for tax purposes.

[affordablekeisha]

Originally Posted by amgr9000

Guys, so long story short I thought I got approved for the apartment, but I was denied because of my income. Which was untrue because they are confusing loan I received for income. I called the agent to explain the situation, the agent was very dismissive, saying I got denied. I I filed an appeal which I received the notification today saying got declined again. I’m so upset and frustrated because I know I qualify for the Apartment. I wrote a very long worded strong letter to H DC, explaining the situation, and the reasons why I got that loan stating that I had received the loan from a situation I have and that is not no form of income. I had my attorney write a letter stating that that’s not a form of income, it was due to hardship, I need an advice should I keep fighting? Should I give up? I’m so confused. I don’t know how this processes there’s no really much feedback once you reach an appeal. Reaching HDC is impossible. Any advices? Any prior experiences share your story.

sorry to hear this, which agency is this?

[randomperson2]

Thinking about it, I would get whoever lent you the money to document (ideally with notarization)--if they haven't already--that it is indeed a loan. It sounds to me more like they think the loan is actually disguised income of some kind than that they don't understand that a true loan is not income.

[WildAboutHarry]

Originally Posted by Voltaire1122

Would all that CPA stuff really help? I mean ultimately what’s counted as “income” isn’t an accounting question… it’s a HUD determination based entirely on their rules.

I disagree almost entirely with this post. I’d use CPA before I’d use lawyer. A lawyer can rigorously advocate a position but might not understand enough about income and assets to see if a mistake has occurred.

Income is an accounting question. What is counted as income is and accounting question because mistakes are often made. There are many kinds of income. These applications are complex. Some funds count, some funds do not, other funds are discounted. There are Post saying that a CPA were used in appeals that prevailed that turned on questions of income.

Maybe, it’s is a HUD determination based entirely on their rules. They set the income limits, yes. But do they make the rules for what counts as income?

It has been observed that the people processing the paperwork make mistakes. Perhaps they were not trained well. My guess turnover is high. It possible to make a mistake just by not using the up to date HUD figures. Another mistake would be counting a reimbursement as income, and so on and so on. Perhaps they were not trained well. My guess turnover is high.

I don’t know the details here, but it could be that the ‘loan’ in question qualifies as Income. Or, if that is wrong and it is not Income then a mistake has been made perhaps resulting in the disqualification of a deserving applicant. A CPA might help clear this up.