App-solutely Clueless: When Sales Tries to School Appraisers
Appraisers, this bit of news about a new bias checking app fluttered across my office floor the other day, causing me to trip.
“…eliminate home appraisal bias, which happens when Black homeowners’ properties or properties in predominately Black neighborhoods are valued less than comparable properties owned by white households or in primarily white neighborhoods.”
This new electronic theoretical bias checker was developed by three women in Philadelphia, who ARE NOT appraisers. Instead, they are employed in real estate (agent/broker?), banking (real estate lending?), and finance (real estate loans?) businesses. Notice that these are ‘sales related’ functions.
Here’s what this app is designed to do:
“The WEALTH Collective created an app that lets people upload their property appraisals and determine whether their properties may be undervalued. The platform flags bias and generates a report people can take to their lender to appeal incorrect appraisals.”
If the ladies are successful in actually implementing their mission, you appraisers in Philly (and perhaps elsewhere) could be subjected to this new requirement:
“The WEALTH Collective also plans to create a certification course for appraisers that it hopes will one day be required for professionals who want to work in the city.”
What these ladies apparently don’t know is ‘anti-bias education’ is already mandated by the AQB, so their new ‘certification course’ is not needed.
The other item that this ‘collective’ does not understand is appraisers doing mortgage lending assignments DO NOT ESTABLISH the actual neighborhood values seen across the residential property landscape. Appraisers are merely the REPORTERS of market data. That market data is determined by dozens of other factors unrelated to the actual mortgage lending appraisal process.
If any Philadelphia appraisers who see this essay would be open to acquiring a copy of the app, I’d really be interested in getting a copy of it… or at least the report it generates.
Dave Towne on e-AppraisersDirectory.com
- App-solutely Clueless: When Sales Tries to School Appraisers - October 17, 2025
- New UAD Overhaul: What Appraisers Can Expect in 2025 & Beyond - September 19, 2024
- Cindy Chance Terminated - September 16, 2024
Has there been even a single appraisal bias lawsuit that made it through the courts where the complainant actually won?
Nope. Funny how the same folks pushing bias claims are silent when the cases flop in court. Connolly v Lanham? Appraiser cleared. No expert, no evidence, no win. But they’ll still build apps, run headlines, and cash in on the outrage. Just don’t expect them to mention the dismissal.
Why is no one questioning if non white appraisers are completing biased appraisals against white people? No one with a comprehensive appraisal understanding believes this is happening to any race. An awful lot of questions are not being addressed, only one unproven statement is trying to be made.
Does it also catch if the value is too high?
The question is will the app be factoring in skin color and sexual orientation and body size to offset claims of bias? Because we all know this is strictly to target white males first, white female appraisers second, to ‘disrupt the market’ as they claim. Forcing values is exactly why appraisers got slapped after 2008 and here we go again blaming any and all problems on appraisers 😡
In San Diego County CA (3.5 million people) the white population was 64% in 2010 and was 49% in 2020. As of 2020 the Latino population stands at 34% and by far is experiencing the most growth. When whites become the minority (projected by 2030) who thinks there will be an app to protect whites from the majority?
Seek the truth.
A tool that flags licensed appraisers for “bias,” targets one racial group, and pushes challenge docs? That’s not equity, its exclusion. Funded by a nonprofit with public-sector ties, but skating close to defamation, discrimination, and tortious interference.
If they’re collecting our data under the guise of “bias analysis,” they’d better be airtight on consent and usage. The FTC doesn’t play (see Kochava, 2022). And if they think nonprofit funding shields them, they might want to reread 42 U.S. Code § 1981.
More accusation engine than solution, and someone’s cashing in on the confusion. And it’s begging for legal scrutiny.
One questions if this proposed ‘market valuation service’ constitutes appraisal practice.
They may meet the criteria; Advising people on valuation of real property for the purposes of financial related activity. Holding themselves up to be experts in the field of housing valuation and market valuation analysis. Are offering services to the general public relating to analyzing valuation of goods and or services.
This may constitute a violation; Practicing as an appraiser without holding a license. Typically this results in fines, and sanctioning of all activity in order to protect the public from financially harmful activity.
For the laymen, if an appraiser were to value all homes as if they were in the most influential higher cost areas, even though the homes are not actually in those areas, that would be called lying. Fraud. Deception. A harmful practice which would merit an immediate sanctioning or removal of their license to protect the public, and imposed fines.
The fun part here is that if any state board sanctions this activity, cases could be brought against them which could draw every one of them into the lawsuit as co conspirators, likewise financially liable. Such activity may be grounds for a total removal of all board members, creation of an entirely new board, subsequent license sanctioning for the board members themselves. The board themselves should be the ones to put an end to these schemes.
These people are biting off more than they can chew. On the front end they very well could be successful launching these programs and initiatives. On the back end everyone involved could be putting their personal assets and wealth on the line. When you purposefully advise a person or an entire group of persons to invest more than something is worth, knowing the value in market is not there and likely never will be given current and reasonable forecasts of future economic conditions, the SEC FTC and a host of other oversight entities could become involved, including insurance companies, investors whom may be forced to write down losses or more honestly analyze collateral holding risk, down to individual legal representatives filing civil damage claims.
These people are playing around with peoples lives, their home values, their finances. They’re acting like Quant Kid, as if their actions will not have consequences. Like managing other peoples money is some game. How do you think the people will respond, when they find out they borrowed far more than they can actually resell their home for in the real world? How will other community members whom did not participate, how will they feel and respond when they watch their tax and insurance bills climb exponentially, pricing become out of reach beyond their means to afford alternative housing, a total loss of housing mobility?
A three question survey for potentially effected residents;
1. Would you prefer to pay higher property taxes and higher home insurance costs? Or would you prefer to pay lower property taxes and lower home insurance costs?
2. If you were to sell your home today, would you prefer to sell for a lower price, or sell for a higher price?
3. If you were to buy the same home you live in today, would you prefer to buy for a lower price and pay less, or buy for a higher price and pay more?
How does one file a complaint against an entire state appraisal board, for failure to perform their duties?
Xpert: Love your response! Facts and spirit!
Isn’t that what an ROV is for? It sounds like their anti-bias platform is essentially creating another appraisal report or is it just identifying the “bad words” we’re not supposed use? But isn’t that the job of the UAD? Sure would like to see what this looks like. There’s so much redundancy and wrong with this.
We’’re deep into communism and don’t even know it
There are just so many (limited) ways to attack an appraiser for bias. We’ve been over this, girls. Your new approach and electronic theoretical bias checker just isn’t going to work. It’s theoretical NOT factual.
Just wait until the AVM model is more prevalent. Who are they going to blame for not hitting the number then?
Well, no one, because they’ll always hit the number. I see an enormous crash on the horizon.
all so fha fnma nd freddy can sponge off more mortgage loans and prop up their piss poor performing portfolio of non performing mortgages.
So, why isn’t anyone accusing non-White Appraisers of being biased? Because there is not one proven case of Appraisal bias even happening!!
Wow, yea, throw in a little bit of extortion to their good deed….
Good Afternoon to all of you at the Philadelphia Inquirer,
I am a Residential Real Estate Appraiser of some 23 years with several accolades during my appraising career. I ran across an article published my Ms. Bond today that as a real estate professional, I find quite disturbing and perhaps bias in its own right. These app creators just won $50,000 to help fight bias in Philadelphia home appraisals.
First, the idea that real estate appraisers MAKE the market is absurd. Real estate appraisers report the market! If an individual, regardless of their color of their skin, lives in a neighborhood in which sales prices are traditionally lower, it’s not the appraisers fault. Is it possible that they originally moved there because that’s what is/was affordable? And while values surly increase and decrease based on economic influence, would one expect the value of that neighborhood to be equal to those neighborhoods found to be more expensive to purchase in? I think not. People buy what they can afford where they can afford. The notion of wealth gap being the fault of an appraisal is nonsense.
The wealth gap between whites and people of color is a complex issue influenced by various factors. Here are some of the key causes contributing to this disparity:
Homeownership: Homeownership is a primary vehicle for accumulating wealth. However, disparities exist, with 73% of white households owning a home compared to 47% of Latino households and 45% of black households. The median home value for white homeowners is significantly higher than for their counterparts of color.
Redlining: This practice, started by the government and lending institutions many years ago and since banned, marked neighborhoods as credit risks, and led to lower home values and economic opportunities for people of color. Discriminatory lending practices also contribute to the wealth gap, with mortgages for households of color often having higher interest rates. While now illegal, is this still somehow happening in the background?
Federal Policies: Many federal policies have reinforced the wealth gap by favoring white families. For instance, the GI Bill, which provided low-interest loans for veterans, was often denied to Black applicants, leaving them out of the housing market. This too is now illegal, but was a cause of the gap.
Segregation: Segregation in schools and neighborhoods has denied Black Americans access to better educational opportunities and job prospects, further exacerbating the wealth gap.
Racial Differences in Debt: The racial wealth gap is also reflected in differences in debt levels. For example, the value of student loan debt is higher for Black households compared to white households, indicating a significant financial burden on people of color.
These factors collectively contribute to the persistent and extreme wealth gap between whites and people of color, highlighting the need for systemic changes to address these disparities. But is the appraiser to blame? I think not!
A study completed by AEI Housing Center in October 2023 concluded; studies show that the gap in valuations between Black and White refinance appraisals are not systemic or large PowerPoint Presentation. Hear again, appraisers don’t make the market, buyers do!
The article written by Ms. Bond goes on to announce the screening of appraisals using an application that detects racial bias. My first thought is the legality of doing this. In a lending transaction, an appraisal has a defined intended use and intended user. While an appraiser is liable to a homeowner to an extent, in June 2018 a court found that each of the borrower’s tort claims required evidence of the plaintiff’s justifiable reliance on the appraisal. So… in the context of home ownership, judges have ruled that homeowners cannot simply rely on a lender’s appraisal without demonstrating reasonable reliance. Bottom line, appraisals are protected by federal law.
With regard to appraisers and racial bias cases, there have been several claims submitted over the last few years. However, two landmark cases of appraisers being accused of racial bias were recently dismissed by the courts.
In a significant legal victory for an Ohio appraiser, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted a Motion to Dismiss the appraisal discrimination case. The court ruled that the allegations of discrimination were not supported by sufficient evidence, effectively dismissing the case. This ruling sets a precedent for appraisers in Ohio and could have broader implications for the appraisal profession as a whole.
And… on July 17, 2025 US District of Maryland judge Stephanie Gallagher issued summary judgement in the case of Connolly & Mott v. Shane Lanham. The case involved allegations of discrimination against an appraiser based on the national origin of the appraiser’s clients, which is a new and significant aspect of appraisal discrimination claims. The judgement effectively dismissed Connolly and the late Mott’s claims that appraiser Shane Lanham discriminated against them by appraising their home for less than they hoped. Appraiser Vindicated: Lanham Discrimination Lawsuit Dismissed in Maryland.
With regard to additional training be required discussed in the article, I would point out that at present appraisers are REQUIRED to take a 15-hour class on the Uniformed Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). This 15-hour class included a substantial section on Fair Housing and Racial Discrimination laws. Appraisers are also required to take a similar 7-hour continuing education class every 2 years. In addition, the Appraisal Subcommittee and the Appraisal Qualifications Board have made it mandatory that ALL appraisers or those desiring to become an appraiser take a mandatory Fair Housing and Racial Discrimination class as follows: Prerequisite to becoming an appraiser: 8-hour class w/exam. Post credentialed: 7-hour class w/exam (if taken on line). Continuing Education: 4-hour class every 2-year cycle.
So, I ask, do appraisers working in Philadelphia REALLY need more training on the subject? And what are possible drawbacks to the continued claims of appraisers being bias when appraising homes of people of color? What if appraisers just quit appraising where they might think they’ll be singled out as being racially biased? That would surely put a damper on the mortgage industry.
But perhaps borrowers won’t need to worry about appraisers in the future. While no one was looking, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have worked suspiciously to eliminate independent real property appraisers as a critical guardian to government-backed mortgages, allowing home loans to become the newest government giveaway. Freddie and Fannie’s vision: to convert collateral values in government-backed loans to social scores.
The American mortgage borrower is being hornswoggled by the twins and soon the American taxpayer will be called upon anew to bail out Fannie and Freddie and the financial institutions that have fed their insatiable appetite.
The elimination of appraisers in government-backed mortgages is about manipulation. It has resulted in home prices soaring beyond affordability for most young American families. Home prices have risen in lockstep with the new ease of government mortgage financing, through value acceptance, appraisal waivers, desktop valuations, the use of non-valuation individuals in the valuation process, and more, creating something no longer recognizable as a market.
Government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both monopolize the market and then claim dishonestly to rely on its free functioning. The twin fiefdoms are a key part of the current manipulation. And sadly, their role in the affordability crisis is not well understood by the public or the media.
Some even believe the appraisal profession is doomed and may be a profession of the past as soon as 2029. Mein Comp: The Last Appraiser, a Paperback by David R Samnick discusses the demise of the profession. His book exposes how one hundred twenty thousand independent professionals were wiped out by corporate greed, government compliance, and algorithms disguised as progress. Fact wrapped in fiction, it tells the story of appraisers who fought back against middlemen, scapegoating, and machine-driven control only to be silenced, banned, or broken.
But the book is not just about real estate. It is about every profession under attack. teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers. No expertise is safe when profit and automation call the shots. It’s worth a look! Mein Comp: The Last Appraiser: Samnick, David R: 9798263568160: Amazon.com: Books.
In summery; the article written by Ms. Bond portrays that Residential Real Estate Appraisers are Racially Bias and are the culprits of a wealth gap between skin colors and that an uneducated, self-centered group, the WEALTH Collective is pushing for further reform. Well, we all saw what happened to PAVE. And while there is still some 300 – 1,000 appraisers in active investigations, that have been going on for as long as 3 years now, FHA has changed their tune to some extent as well.
It’s important that those that write about a specific profession UNDERSTANDS the BIG PICTURE! It’s also important that those still out there claiming appraisers are racially bias read all the facts and realize that over the last FOUR years, the period in which this scenario became the buzz of the media, there has not been a single case in which an appraiser was found guilty of racial bias/discrimination in a court of law! And while there has been settlements, primarily due to insurance coverage issues, a settlement is NOT an admission of guilt!
So I urge the Philadelphia Inquirer and its reporters to do a better job of researching the whole story, not just ones perspective, which in the case of this article, is inaccurate!
Thank you for your time.
Respectfully,
Robert N. Mossuto Jr. MNAA
President/Owner
B.N. Appraisals, Inc.
With regard to the article written by Ms. Bond to fight bias in Philadelphia, which I did not read, if she is so intent on believing there is bias attributed to appraisal reports prepared by appraisers, what statistical proof did she rely on? I’d like to see those stats. Sounds like she saw a pretty band wagon with pretty colors and glitters she decided to jump on.
When it comes to racial “bias”, the last thing they want is proof. They have “attitudes” and “beliefs” and leftist ideology and they’ve swallowed all of the leftist indoctrination of the last 70 years and they “know” what white appraisers do. How can you argue with magic?
Dollar signs in their eyes. What exactly is wrong with lower housing prices?
From the article; In 2023, the Economy League found that homeowners in Black and Latino neighborhoods in the city would have an additional $57 billion in property wealth if their homes had appreciated at the same rate as owners in majority-white neighborhoods over the course of seven decades.
This means that collectively, some residents have paid around 57 billion LESS in mortgage payments. They’ve saved additional billions on subsequently lower insurance and lower property taxes.
Some of the lesser awardees have a much better rational plan. Re invest in neighborhoods, help people save on energy bills, remodel their houses, create community gardens and projects, etc, revitalize areas, etc.
Why would companies disinvest from certain communities? Why would certain communities experience a lower overall economic basis?
Crime; Phillidelphia is right up there, consistently in the top ten nationally, for most crime in big cities.
https://www.security.org/resources/most-dangerous-cities/
Education; Pennsylvania is last for adult higher education of fifty states, #39 over all. According to this site.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education
Housing affordability; Pennsylvania is about in the middle, when it comes to housing affordability.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-u-s-housing-affordability-by-state/
Median income; Pennsylvania is right in the middle of median earning income by state, #25.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-median-income-by-state-in-2024/
These grant actions may be in violation of executive orders which could jeopardize current and future federal funding.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/
If anyone wants higher housing values; Have buyers pay more. As the price people pay is the basis for a valuation indicator; If people pay more, their home values in any given location will become higher. This is not a function of race. This is a function of economic means and affordability.
The principal of valuation substitution; Why pay more, when you can get the same thing for less elsewhere. That is where market resistance comes from.
What strikes me as odd, was there was apparently no market resistance to giving $50k away to financially illiterate people whom don’t understand basic free market principals. Well, it was other peoples tax money anyways, who actually cares. Be thankful they did not have more tax payer dollars to waste on this.
The realty sales people negotiate the buyer and sellers price. The appraiser reports on their activities so lenders have accurate information on collateral worth in the local market. Lenders tend to limit loan amounts for what real world people will pay for real world purchase scenarios, which the appraiser reports on. Who’s still buying this?
Interesting paragraph from HousingWire. I wonder how the AMC was involved.
https://www.housingwire.com/articles/former-loan-officer-sentenced-fraud/
Gary Bohn, who previously worked for American Fidelity Financial Services, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the scheme, which also involved other loan officers, brokers and an appraisal management company. Together, they obtained homeowners’ reverse mortgage funds under the pretense of financing home repairs but ultimately diverted the money.
Seek the truth.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/chicago-businessman-pleads-guilty-federal-fraud-charge-connection-reverse-mortgage
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/media/1351036/dl?inline
The scam at it’s heart; pressuring people into signing documents they did not actually read or understand.
From the doj; DIAMOND learned from Bohn that American Fidelity had its own Appraisal Management Company (AMC), something DIAMOND understood was against government rules designed to ensure that appraisals were conducted impartially. In addition to the commission Bohn earned from American Fidelity, DIAMOND paid
Bohn a fee for each appraisal of homes of loan applicants for which DIAMOND had repair contracts, because AMC had an appraiser who would cause appraisals to be at the high end of the possible range of value, thereby allowing a customer to obtain a reverse mortgage at a higher amount, from which DIAMOND would price his repair contracts.
Who was Fidelity using as an amc more than a decade ago? Reference says it was their own in house amc.
Only took the investigators over twenty years to root out this one scam. Amc’s made it easy for him to order appraisals from third parties and not have to deal with any tough questions from appraisers directly. And as usual, the lenders had full understanding using an amc was how they tapped into the most liberal appraisers whom provided the highest possible value figures. Unless there is more detailed reference in some case file, the amc skates again. With the snails pace of this lackluster enforcement, who knows how much else fraudulent activity is still currently happening, probably quite a bit.
Just what we need – another program designed to destroy the valuation process under the guise of yet another false claim. The sad part is how much money is being generated – not to the homeowner or appraiser, but to the people who consistantly push a devisive narrative. The concept of the economics of housing value (the market neighborhood) seems to have been ignored completely. I wish I could retire – used to love being an appraiser, and now dread “going to work”, barely able to pay all the fees, classes, etc. Just enrolled in the new Bias Class required, but I suppose it doesn’t matter than I took Fair Housing classes previously. Oh well, what’s another $150 to our already depleted income.
I can’t even count the times I’ve taken “fair housing” classes over the past 40+ years. I feel your pain. Leftists are literally ruining everything.
Check out Calypso CE. One of the last CE providers which has not been bought out by the big corps and is still ran and owned by an actual appraiser. I picked up all my hours for about a third the cost compared to the other ones. Click and go, easy. Get on the mailing list for coupons and specials.
“1- Clear Communication between Appraisers and AMCs”
I got the above today from an AMC with other edicts of how appraisers can be successful. You know, efficiency in the field, stuff like that. The only way I could be more efficient in the field would be to not go to the field or maybe put on my little red Flash suit.
Clear communication? Yeah, that’s supposed to work both ways. I get bids with no information but the address. Hey, man, can you do this appraisal? Uh, yeah, what do you want? Is it a refi, a sale, is there a contact, is there a contract, do you want all of the acreage or just the one acre, etc. Hey, AMC, YOU are supposed to know what you want me to appraise. It’s not up to me to decide what to appraise. Then I get the phantom property addresses that don’t exist in MLS or the tax records. Hey, man, research that property first, huh? Yep, it’s a rush, but wait two weeks while were trying to find a cheaper appraiser. It’s literally getting worse by the day.
If you read the book, “The Golden Bough” by Sir George James Fraser, you’ll read long discussions of the concept “sympathetic magic”. We, as a species, have literally never moved beyond that superstitious stage of believing that one unrelated thing causes another. The appraisal process is really nothing but the scientific method, but in a very uneducated society that can’t comprehend impartiality, that society will project superstitious causes, effects and influences onto a person or group or some other entity. Thus, appraisers “cause” values to rise, fall or stay the same or appraisers “cause” values to be less in some neighborhoods than others. And, when this superstition is combined with concepts in the DEI propaganda and the decades old race baiting rhetoric, only a destructive insanity will emerge.
So many have used the false narrative about appraisal bias in values to try to make money selling their services. I remember all the lenders trashing appraisers and other lenders saying they alone don’t allow appraisal bias. They even lied about having diverse employees besides only having POC in their websites. It’s so gross.