107 Search results

For the term "racial bias".
Independent Fee Appraisers Under Attack 57

Independent Fee Appraisers Under Attack

Appraisers, I have reached my boiling point about the negative press ‘we’ Independent Fee Appraisers have been receiving for many months – concerning supposed ‘systemic racial bias.’ It’s been done on purpose by a particular group of individuals whose main strategic objective is to keep many citizens teetering on their toes, always on the defensive, while the perpetrators claim they’ve been oppressed. It’s part of a new ‘culture’ of divisiveness promulgated by negative promoting people hell bent on disrupting society. There is no ‘unity’ in what they are doing. Only attacks. These stories make it seem like ‘we’ Independent Fee...

Alleged Systemic Racism in Appraisal Myth 37

Alleged Systemic Racism in Appraisal Myth

In virtually every single case of alleged racism to hit the media recently, admitted staged events were in play. One could argue staging was necessary to identify if a valuation difference resulted from perceptions of what race the occupants are. Fair enough. Provided that the staging itself does not alter the value scenarios. Provided that the results are being honestly reported. I’m skeptical. I’ve researched each case as far as can reasonably be done from the information provided. The American Guild of Appraisers has also offered (repeatedly) to conduct thorough reviews of each and every appraisal involved in the reported...

4 Uncontrollable Factors that Can Affect Home Appraisals 22

4 Uncontrollable Factors that Can Affect Home Appraisals

…some uncontrollable factors that come into play when determining the value of residential property… This article contains a range of false and misleading information. You can find a rebuttal here. There are many factors that can affect the valuation of a residential property. Some of these factors, such as the level of care and maintenance work that the homeowners carried out, can be controlled. There are also factors, such as racial biases, that may unknowingly appear in the picture. In recent years, some homeowners have reported that they received significantly higher valuations for their residential property once they eliminated traces...

Appraisal Issues: Waivers, Racism, Fees & Trainees 18

Let’s Talk Waivers, Racism, Fees & Trainees

Frank Garay with National Real Estate Post interviewed Mark Skapinetz on Monday May 17, 2021. They discussed racism, entry into the appraisal field, appraisal fees and appraisal waivers. Frank intends on having Mark back to discuss other issues at hand within the appraisal industry. Kudos to NREP for using their platform to allow boots on the ground appraisers explain the current state of affairs with regards to the appraisal profession. On racism and racial bias allegations, Mark explains What we don’t know is the other side of it. We don’t know the appraiser side of it. We haven’t seen any...

Unlawful Restrictive Covenants - What Are Racially Restrictive Covenants? 4

Unlawful Restrictive Covenants

What are racially restrictive covenants? Are racially restrictive covenants valid and enforceable?.. There has been considerable discussion about ‘bias’ applying to appraisals on forums, and elsewhere, since the Congressional hearing in 2019 where appraisers were blamed for racial bias by the rep from the Brookings Institute. That rep vilified appraisers as being the culprits in the lending process, which is mostly bogus. Unfortunately, now that the charge has been made, appraisers and appraisal organizations are now forced to play on the defensive side of the ball, rather than being proactive and disclosing what actually transpired, on offense. I sense appraisal...

Race Never Considered... Emerging Narrative of Appraisers Being Racists 75

Appraisers Don’t Use Race

Appraisers don’t use race… Race is NEVER considered during a valuation Last week in a congressional hearing on the future of the appraisal profession, some research was used to suggest appraisers are showing racial bias and essentially undervaluing black neighborhoods. I was not expecting the conversation to go that way during the hearing and I’ll admit I’m deeply concerned about the emerging narrative of appraisers being racists… In the congressional hearing a panelist talked about a study that shows black neighborhoods are devalued by $48,000 compared to otherwise similar white neighborhoods. That’s alarming and society needs to have some serious...

Gov't-Indulged Middlemen Are Wrong RX for Battered Borrowers, The Infirm 14

Gov’t-Indulged Middlemen Are Wrong RX for Battered Borrowers, The Infirm

The U.S. government impoverishes homebuyers as it does the chronically ill – by promoting the use of middlemen who prey upon them. A cadre of such middlemen was created decades ago as a firewall between Big Pharma, the insurance companies and the pharmacy chains. Called “pharmacy benefit managers,” they were to negotiate drug prices, streamline distribution and manage lists of prescription drugs covered by insurance plans. But since the government has gone whole-hog into health care under the Affordable Care Act and into drug-price controls under the Inflation Reduction Act, things have gotten crazy at the slop trough. Today, according...

Escaping the Black Hole: Appraisers Fleeing Mortgage Lending 27

Escaping the Black Hole: Appraisers Fleeing Mortgage Lending

Climbing out of that black hole is nearly impossible. It’s one reason why many appraisers are vacating mortgage lending appraisal assignments.  This “discrimination settlement” hit the fan last week in a news feed I get. Another appraiser (in CA) settles a discrimination complaint: Oakland homeowner settles with appraiser, lender after $300,000 lowball appraisal The entire case is based on allegations by the homeowner, who had decided the value of the home was more than the appraised amount, before the appraisal was done. But when one reads through the story, one has to question whether the appraiser truly was biased against...

Low Value = Material Deficiencies? New HUD ROV Policy 40

Low Value = Material Deficiencies? New FHA ROV Policy

The implication that if the VALUE is too low, then there must be “material deficiencies” present, is deeply troubling!  Up until recently, there has never been a standardized policy for mortgage loan related Reconsideration of Value (ROV) requests after an appraisal has been submitted. Now there is, per the attached PDF HUD/FHA mortgage letter. The GSE’s have similar policies. I’m not opposed to having a standardized ROV policy. However, these policies are in keeping with the new initiatives surrounding alleged and often unproved appraisal bias and discrimination claims. But when one reads deeper into the reason for implementing these procedures,...

The One-Mile Rule: Prudent Policy or Modern Day Redlining? 8

The One-Mile Rule: Prudent Policy or Modern Day Redlining?

…whether through redlined maps or implicit “one-mile rule,” the result can be undervalued properties in historically marginalized neighborhoods.  Throughout the history of mortgage banking and lending in the United States, underwriting policies have significantly influenced the appraisal process for home purchases and refinances. Appraisers must follow underwriter appraisal review guidelines meticulously to ensure their appraisal reports are accepted by the lender. Unfortunately, in the past, these policies became the basis for redlining, wherein certain communities were systematically denied access to mortgage credit. In this article, we delve into the historical context of underwriting policies and their influence on the appraisal...

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