For the government to allow this to go on causing harm to people is beyond me. Is it not one of the basic rules is to protect the citizens? Of course, this is a rhetorical question.

There is a whole lot of truth in what you are saying. Excellent points! I ask 100% of the time how did you arrive at the contract price? 99.999 of the time the answer is “that is what the seller wanted”. When they are told that the market will not support the contract price they become indigent. They do not care about if the appraisal is accurate as long as they get a value to close the sale.

Does racial bias exist in appraising? of course it does.

Is it systemic to the process? of course it is not

Are appraisals that come in below expectations likely to be racially bias? No, while some are, most are in fact appraisers actually doing their jobs and avoiding the push to attain a particular value (contract price) merely to avoid complaints. In large part, it is the good appraisers that are ethical and moral that are being accused of bias because they refuse to kowtow to the GSE’s and social media.

I believe that the political forces pushing appraisal modernization are purposely muddying up independent appraisers in order to go fully digital with Government controlled technology companies creating algorithms to take over the real estate market. Hope it’s better than Zillow

That’s a new term. What is that?

https://www.sec.gov/securities-topics/affinity-fraud

Wow. So it turns out that the race of the appraiser is actually a non issue? Thought so. Thanks.

The agents would hook up the buyers with nonprofit down payment grants, hidden borrowed down payments, cheap loans with low teaser rates and other incredibly risky purchase components. I think some got friendly with a couple of appraisers because I reappraised some properties just a year after purchase. The properties were generally in the worst part of the neighborhood, the smallest, funkiest floor plan, had lots of hidden repairs and other negative issues like being next to industrial, major roads, side of the freeway…

When the borrowers complained about my appraisal they gave me the old appraisals. Those appraisers used much larger homes in great condition in superior locations. I explained it to the people in detail showing them comps from a year ago and today. Then they admitted the other components of the previous transaction to me. It was so sad. They lost what little money they had and their house.

This article brought to you by Anna. In my usual approach, just googled it and look here, a plethora of additional data and information. Thanks though. The Brookings institute findings and positions that the appraisal community hurts minority groups defy logic. We’re often the only ones standing in between them and the inevitable presence of predatory lenders and swindler hustlers. What exactly is wrong with lower prices? When I shop for consumer goods, I seek to get the best product for the lowest price. Housing is no different. Advocating for anyone to pay higher prices when they could pay less is nothing short of cruel and unusual punishment.

https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/baltimore/press-releases/2012/owner-and-founder-of-metro-dream-homes-sentenced-to-150-years-in-prison-in-78-million-mortgage-fraud-scheme\

‘Third party companies’. What could ever go wrong?

I came across a fraud scheme several years ago involving a community of fourplexes, where the sellers falsely purchased a few model matches for well-above market – with fraudulent appraisals – to then use as comps for real sales. I tried to report it but the extensive paperwork OREA required, about like doing an appraisal, made it not worth it. Of course it all fell apart with several purchasers losing a lot.

The free (real) market always wins.