MARKET OPPORTUNITIES TRACK: Building Smarter: Expert Insights from Construction Consultants on How and Where to Develop

Terry W. Wellman

Chief Underwriter, Berkadia

Terry is currently the Chief Underwriter - Affordable and Technical Support for Berkadia Commercial Mortgage. Prior to Berkadia, Terry was at PNC Bank where he most recently served as Senior Vice President/FHA Chief Underwriter. Prior to his tenure at PNC Bank, Wellman served as Vice President of Product Development at Precept Corporation, where he managed the development, implementation, and expansion of new features for the company’s online real estate finance auction website. He has also held roles at Situs Realty Services, Archstone Communities Trust, and Bach Thoreen McDermott Incorporated. Over his career, he has overseen or underwritten loans totaling over $3 billion for CMBS/conduit financing, FHA, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and for tax credit equity investments. Terry is also an instructor for the MBA’s 223(f) Underwriting Training Course, in addition to having taught the MBA’s Excel for Commercial Properties course. Terry has co-led nationally-broadcasted training for HUD staff on tax-exempt bonds and Opportunity Zones. He has spoken numerous times at conferences on affordable housing and FHA financing topics. Terry is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and a member of the 2019 MBA Future Leaders program.

Ernest Benjamin, Jr.

Principal, BVRE Consulting & Advisory

Ernest Benjamin is the founder of BVRE, a boutique consulting firm maximizing value in multifamily and senior housing assets. With over 20 years of expertise and having underwritten $500 million in FHA loans, he specializes in tailored solutions integrating sustainable energy initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act and Green and Resilient Retrofit Program. Previously, Ernest served as Chief Credit Officer and FHA Chief Underwriter at Bravo Capital, helping launch the platform and lead lending strategies. At Walker & Dunlop, he spent a decade as an FHA Chief Underwriter overseeing multifamily and healthcare loan underwriting. Ernest holds a B.A. from William & Mary and completed executive programs at Harvard Business School and the Mortgage Bankers Association Future Leader Program.

Rob Hazelton

CEO, Dominion Due Diligence Group

Rob Hazelton founded D3G in 1994 as an environmental consulting firm. Early on he encountered an environmental process so difficult and convoluted, that few wanted to understand it. This was HUD! Rob dove headfirst into learning HUD, housing, tax credits, and leveraged finance. D3G steadily grew after expanding its services to include a myriad of housing preservation consulting. As population and social-economic issues expand, housing becomes more imperative than ever. Rob became a self-proclaimed Housing Geek, immersing himself and the entire company into affordable housing, public housing, senior housing, homelessness prevention, housing for the disabled, and most recently foster-care housing initiatives.