SAN DIEGO—The Department of US Housing and Urban Development offers a myriad number of programs to help developers bring projects to fruition. These are easily found on the department's website and other sources. But it took experts in FHA multifamily lending programs to spell out what goes in the department's secret sauce. At one of the early sessions at the MBA Cref national conference here in San Diego, panelist after panelist talked about the immense talent that resides in the department.
"You could probably take us off to a secret room and we would answer that question the same," Dana Wade, EVP and chief underwriter at Dwight Capital LLC, told the audience. "HUD is filled with some of the best people who are very good. They are the unsung heroes at the end of the day. As must as we see some of the frustrations and challenges, there is a lot it takes to make HUD run and operate. There are talented people there.
Ethan Handelman, deputy assistant secretary for the office of multifamily housing programs at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, was quick to echo that. HUD's staff "are not the folks you often see up on panels, but they are what make the department run. We have done amazingly well in the last year with the same staffing we have had for several years. The FHA commitments are sky high and the staffing graph is not. It is that juxtaposition that reminds me how heavy a lift those staffers have and we all have a shared goal in trying to make them effective to make the work of the department work better."
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Lamar Seats, now SVP of FHA production at Greystone, told the audience that when he started [at the department] in May of 2018, it was down in multifamily housing over 200 people. "We had a number of senior leadership positions unfilled. The staffing levels at HUD have been very stable, but when you get higher on production, it is difficult. It is difficult to bring people in as a government employee."
The panelists urged stakeholders, whether they are borrowers or lenders, to take advantage of this expertise. "There is a lot that HUD does and it is important for us lenders to be aligned," Wade said.
"As lenders, we do not see everything that is involved in these jobs. There are a lot of other roles and fires you are putting out. You are managing rental assistance for the most vulnerable people. As a lender, you need to pick your battles and pick your priorities. Sing off the same sheet of music. Come up with your top three or top five priorities."
Other coverage from the event includes:
MBA Reports Record End to Year for CRE Borrowing and Lending
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