It is soon going to be harder to lie to the housing office about how much money you have.

As of Aug. 1, the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority is adopting new measures to check housing applicants' statements about their income and net worth. If someone gets caught lying, he could go to jail on fraud charges, according to Julie Kieffer, a qualifications specialist with the housing authority.

The housing authority will soon be asking for more documents related to bank accounts and stock holdings. It will be using a national database to review financial records, and it will use an audit tool to verify income tax statements.

Applicants who want to buy deed-restricted units priced at below-market prices in Aspen and Pitkin County must already declare that they meet the caps on annual income and household net worth.

For example, a one-bedroom unit in the recently completed Annie Mitchell project in the Airport Business Center was sold to recently qualified buyers through a lottery system for $98,000. A similar free-market unit would likely cost at least $500,000. The one-bedroom unit was classified as a Category 2 unit, which means that a single buyer can't make more than $49,000 per year and has to have a net worth of less than $125,000.

To be eligible for a Category 7 unit, the highest category in the housing authority's system, the annual income cap is $167,000 and the net worth cap is $250,000.

The "resident-occupied" category now has a net worth cap of $900,000, although some earlier RO units sold do not have any net worth caps.

There are 1,472 deed-restricted ownership units in the county and the housing authority processes up to 500 applications per year to buy either existing or new units.

In 2007, the housing authority handled 121 sales worth $25 million. In 2006, they did 107 sales worth $21 million. Most of the sales are for either Category 3 or Category 4 units.

Kieffer said the department used to just accept people's declarations regarding net worth when they applied to buy a deed-restricted unit. This surprised Kieffer, who said it is common for other organizations to use tools to verify information. And she has had people tell her that they didn't think that some assets, such as a trust fund, should be included in their application.

"What happens a lot of time is that people won't put something down," Kieffer said.

As of Aug. 1, applicants to buy units through the housing authority will be required to submit copies of bank statements, mortgage statements, tax bills, appraisals, stock documents, etc., to prove actual value of any assets.

Additionally, all sales applicants will be reviewed through the Choice Point/Auto Track program, if appropriate. 

According to the Choice Point/Auto Track Web site, "with as little information as a name or Social Security number, users can cross-reference proprietary and public records including identity verification information, relatives and associates, corporate information, real property records, deed transfers and much more."

"It is public information that I am pulling," Kieffer said. "This tool pulls it all together."

And all applicants will need to sign a "4506-T Request for Transcript of Tax Return," which will help the housing authority verify tax returns.

Kieffer said that she does not plan to systemically go back through applications to see if people misrepresented their income or net worth at the time they applied, unless there is a complaint that suggests such a review would have merit.

There is also no rule against becoming financially successful after properly qualifying for a deed-restricted unit.

If someone buys a Category 2 unit, for example, and then wins the lottery the next year, they can still live in their unit. However, they would not be eligible to upgrade to another unit in the system once their net worth exceeds the guidelines.

Kieffer said there is not a lot of abuse in the present system but said the new systems are still important to adopt.

"Even if it stops one person, I think it is worth it," Kieffer said.

bgs@aspendailynews.com [1]