FHA Nomination May Be in Trouble

The nomination of David Stevens to be the new Federal Housing Administration commissioner appears to be in limbo while HUD investigates a RESPA complaint against his previous employer. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is conducting an investigation of Long & Foster — a mid-Atlantic real estate brokerage firm — for possible Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act violations. At a Senate Banking Committee meeting this past week, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., noted the HUD investigation is ongoing. "We don't know who is involved or what. We are waiting to see what comes out of the investigations," Sen. Shelby said. Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said the nominee "comes highly recommended" for the FHA post. During his career Mr. Stevens also worked in executive positions at Freddie Mac and Wells Fargo Home Loans. Sen. Dodd urged caution and indicated he would like a bipartisan vote in moving the nomination along for confirmation by the full Senate. HUD general counsel Helen Kanovsky told Senators Dodd and Shelby in a letter that the RESPA complaints filed against Long & Foster neither "names nor alleges the personal involvement of David Stevens."