Brief History
our History
The Inspection Group, Inc. was founded in 1998 to provide HQS and UPCS inspection services to public housing agencies and affordable housing management companies.
Over the years, The Inspection Group has put its unmatched experience to use in developing new inspection related consulting and training services. We have grown to become a full service company serving the needs of the Public and Affordable Housing Industry with a wide range of field data collection and analysis tools and services, including:
- REAC report reviews and score appeals
- Energy Audits (EA)
- Physical Needs Assessments (PNA)
- Green Physical Needs Assessments (GPNA)
- New UPCS inspection systems installation (including software and procedures)
- INSPECTUS Inspection Software for Housing
- UPCS protocol training
- REAC inspection preparation consulting
- REAC inspection shadows
- physical Conditional Assesments
- PHAS annual inspections per UPCS
- HQS inspections
The Inspection Group, Inc. continues to grow by offering innovative solutions and developing effective new field data collection and analysis tools for both the Public and Private Housing Industry.
Our accomplishments
2,650
Housing agencies and management companies served
3,002,000
Housing units inspected
17
Years in business
14,000
Housing professionals trained
What does UPCS stand for?
UPCS is an acronym for Uniform Physical Condition Standards. UPCS is a series of defect definitions that address the condition of a property’s site, each building’s exterior, each building’s system, all of the units, and all common areas. The UPCS is also the same defect definitions that are used in the HUD REAC PASS inspection. The 4.0 version has been in effect since January of 2013. The Inspection Group’s inspectors have been extensively trained and tested and are very fluent in the REAC protocols & UPCS definitions.
What does ‘Annual Inspection’ mean?
On January 11th, 2000, HUD issued a final rule requiring conversion from Housing Quality Standards (HQS) to UPCS during regular annual inspections of all public units. That means while the annual inspections are still required, they are now to be performed to the UPCS. In addition, the Executive Director must certify that the inspections were performed to the UPCS requirements. The Inspection Group’s inspections will provide all of the documentation needed to meet this requirement
What will we receive if The Inspection Group performs our annual inspections?
Together, The Inspection Group works with our clients to create a realistic inspection schedule, complete with a tenant notification program. We will inspect all areas in accordance to the UPCS. All of The Inspection Group’s clients receive at least four reports per property: The Certified Report, which documents all areas inspected (used for official documentation); The List of Deficiencies Report, which lists only the defects and their levels (which is great for work orders); The Score Report to give an REAC score as if an REAC inspection was performed (which is great for showing the relative impact each defect can have on scores); and Notification of Exigent and Fire Safety Hazards Observed, the same document provided during REAC inspections if any of the qualifying conditions are observed.
What kind of software does The Inspection Group use?
The Inspection Group uses our own proprietary software that we call: INSPECTUS. We’ve compiled the experiences from over 3,000,000 REAC and UPCS inspections to create the best software available. It is a simple program that anyone familiar with UPCS can use on a tablet. Inspection data can easily be exported into at least 15 different data programs and numerous operating system platforms for our client’s needs such as work orders or CNAs, among others.
What will our staff learn from The Inspection Group?
The Inspection Group suggests site managers, maintenance, and other staff personnel accompany our inspectors. We can show how UPCS specifically applies to their properties. We put our REAC and UPCS inspection experience to work by offering simple solutions for numerous high-point defects. To learn more specifics about the UPCS definitions, we strongly encourage attendance to one of our UPCS Training Classes*
How will The Inspection Group help our PHAS/REAC PASS scores?
That’s the beauty of what we offer – The Inspection Group’s inspectors are trained & tested on the REAC UPCS protocols. Our inspectors have been performing REAC inspections since the program began, over five years ago! We have inspected thousands of units throughout the country! In short, we teach our clients the UPCS Protocol, show various ways to implement it, and provide important tips to improve REAC PASS scores!
Would The Inspection Group actually inspect all of our units?
Certainly! Through our extensive inspection experience, we have been able to create a formula to determine how much time we would need to inspect various styles of properties. It doesn’t matter whether they are of high-rises, town homes, scattered sites or any kind of combination – we can do them all!
When is the best time to have The Inspection Group perform annual inspections?
The best situation would be to allow The Inspection Group to come in anywhere between 30 and 60 days prior to upcoming REAC inspections. That provides our clients plenty of time to get suggested and identified repairs made prior to the REAC Inspection.
Does The Inspection Group inspect non-public housing units?
Absolutely! For consistency reasons, we suggest one standard of inspection be used throughout an organization. The REAC UPCS has become the accepted standard of multifamily properties and IRS tax credit throughout the country. HUD will require its use in non-public housing units in the very near future.
What is The Inspection Group’s *UPCS Training Class?
The Inspection Group’s UPCS Training Class is an intense two-day class that reviews specifically the UPCS. Our instructors will teach the standards in a friendly, fun, yet informative manner. And best of all – we know what we’re talking about! We will use actual defect pictures and experiences to help students understand UPCS. They will be able to return to their organization and implement the standards immediately.
