The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would not make officials available for this article despite repeated attempts by APARTMENT FINANCE TODAY magazine to secure interviews.
When work on this article began, Charles “Hank” Williams was the deputy assistant secretary (DAS) running the FHA’s multifamily operations. Beginning April 24, and every week for three months, APARTMENT FINANCE TODAY e-mailed or called HUD’s public relations staff requesting to interview Williams, and each time was told the agency was working on the request.
When an interview with Williams was approved, he left the agency to work for Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital before an interview could be scheduled. That was June 15. Six weeks later, APARTMENT FINANCE TODAY was waiting to hear about the possibility of interviewing his successor, acting DAS John Garvin. In his previous position, Garvin served as senior adviser to the FHA’s Assistant Secretary for Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner, Brian Montgomery.
Williams had only been DAS for multifamily since 2005, replacing Stillman Knight, who also had a brief, two-year stint.
The FHA has not had consistent leadership from experienced housing experts. When Brian Montgomery began his tenure, his appointment was criticized by many lenders due to his lack of any real-world experience in housing finance, other than a fiveyear stint as a public relations director for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
Montgomery, who holds a degree in political science, replaced John Weicher, an economist who held the position from June 2001 to June 2005. Weicher served at HUD under two previous administrations, mostly in policy-development roles, before being appointed by President Bush in 2001.
