Refuting the Negative Race Bated Accusations
We will sink under the weight of all the so-far unproved accusations.
Appraisers, Tobias J. Peter, Assistant Director, AEI Housing Center Research Fellow, American Enterprise Institute (AEI), has weighed in on all the negative press and faulty ‘studies’ (by both GSE’s and others) that have been promulgated about how appraisers, as a whole, have systemic racism built-in when doing property inspections and appraisal reports.
Faulty Evidence and Misdiagnosed Solutions
Why centralizing appraisal standards and criteria under a new federal agency as proposed under the Fair Appraisal and Inequity Reform Act is not justified
His well-written report, as testimony in a Congressional Hearing, is in this link below. If you can’t or won’t read the entire doc, at least take time to look at the 2 page Executive Summary.
Tobias J. Peter written testimony, House Financial Services 3/29/2022
We appraisers are going to be forced to “go down with the ship” unless we start refuting the accusations, and build a pro-active campaign explaining what ‘we’ do in our work. We must inform people why we cannot be racially biased per federal laws, USPAP and the report guidelines and regulations we must follow.
You can do so by sending this AEI report to your Congress people from your state. Ask them to thoroughly read this, and compare it to the original biased reports from others.
If you are a good writer, begin a series of ‘letter to the editor’ of your local paper to inform citizens about what ‘we’ do when conducting our appraisal assignment. Maybe even send any item like that to the major national newspapers.
Also, send this report to Marcia Fudge, the current Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development department in Washington D.C.
And send info to nationally syndicated real estate columnist Peter G. Miller, at peter@ctwfeatures.com
If he starts seeing messages from appraisers, maybe he will help the public understand what we do in our work.
The time to quit sitting on thumbs is NOW. Otherwise, we will sink under the weight of all the so-far unproved accusations.
Dave Towne on e-AppraisersDirectory.com
- New UAD Overhaul: What Appraisers Can Expect in 2025 & Beyond - September 19, 2024
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- Key Part of USPAP Not Available from TAF - July 19, 2024
Thanks Dave! We all need to do our part
Thanks Dave. Special thanks to Tobias at AEI as well.
He’s 100% correct.
For what it’s worth Black Knight (Abeena Hortons former employer) has just announced a new appraisal racial bias risk rating software program.
It’s based in part on census tract demographic data.
So the solution to eliminating racial bias is to use automated systems with racial (& other prohibited considerations) demographics baked into it?
Gee, what a coincidence.
Thanks Dave!
One bias institute refuting another bias institute. No one will listen.
But here is some more racial insanity from this administration.
https://thenationalrealestatepost.com/targeted-mortgage-programs-huh/
So who gets thrown under the bus yet again when these “Targeted” Loans need Appraisals before they get tested in a Court of Law when somebody who is rejected by such a program sues? I’ll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don’t count.
Wow Seneca, good find. Thankfully Judicial Watch set a prescient on this ongoing color coded policy and benefit build up just recently. Oh boy, we’re going to need Tom Fitton on this one… I subscribe to judicial watch by giving them about 20 to 30 dollars a year. As a result I get their never ending donation forms but also get their valuable monthly mailer printed magazine. This was a recent article.
https://www.judicialwatch.org/jw-victory-asheville/
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The City Council also removed racially discriminatory language for a scholarship program for educators and staff of Asheville City Schools.
The scholarship agreements were also amended to prohibit discrimination based on race and other categories.
“Our clients, a group of Asheville residents, including high school students, courageously challenged this blatantly discriminatory and illegal scholarship program in federal court. Thankfully, the City of Asheville did the right thing in quickly ending these indefensible race-based scholarship programs,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “This federal lawsuit and the resulting remarkable settlement should serve as a wakeup call to those activists and allied politicians pushing the extremist leftist agenda to segregate and discriminate based on race.”
The Legal Insurrection Foundation partnered with Judicial Watch in the lawsuit.
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Do these people know that the largest body of impoverished Americans are rural white people?
https://datausa.io/
Enter a state, click the full state in the drop down box, then wait for data population and scroll to: “Poverty by race and ethnicity”. Somewhere there is a national all states combined statistic which also confirms this but can’t recall where I viewed that off hand. So much for the equal protection clause. You know what we really need in this country, a test on legal principals and constitutional compliance for every single last person whom runs for any position within government at every single level. These people do not abide or even understand the law and only through reactionary means are we able to force them to become compliant. Whatever they dream up goes. Such is the state of things when given unlimited access to other peoples money without reasonable restriction. Last Christmas I bought all my friends and relatives the Bastiat book. It only cost $1 each book and comes with a nifty study guide bookmark. Bastiat is commonly known as the grandfather of all modern law.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Protection_Clause
https://tuttletwins.com/product/the-law/
Where is the Appraisal Institute in all of this. Maybe they are doing something, but is seems they are cowering on the sidelines. I have read nothing indicating that the AI has directly addressed the specific situations. The National Association of Realtors recent publications are very inappropriate and morally indefensible. Speakers brought in for seminars/talks at both institutions are almost always from the extreme left point of view. If you don’t believe me, do some background research on these individuals. It is very eye opening. See their left wing positions, and writings and statements. Dose anyone care?
I would love to fully review all of the appraisals in question (meaning having full access to the applicable MLS and public records regarding the subject property(ies); as well as being able to tour the subject properties that these accusations are based on. Why do news reports not disclose where some of these accusers are employed, like maybe very left wing organizations. Where is the transparency they always brag about (but does not exist). Does anyone care?
When we used to do relocation assignments the homeowners would pull out recent appraisal reports done on their property for refinancing purposes. Most of the time these refinancing values were inappropriately high and the appraiser’s comp. selections were appalling. The owner of one largest appraisal firms in our region said that they just rubberstamped the lenders desired values because the loan was based on the ability of the borrower to pay. Why then bother with the appraisal. What function does an appraisal with this mindset have other than to mislead. Then the next appraiser who might be ethical, moral, hardworking, does research in depth, spends many hours or often days, and attempts to comply with USPAP – has to fight the higher value completed in an hour by the lender pleasing, non-rock the boat poor excuse of a appraiser/human. This type of appraiser is praised by many but yet they actually greatly destroy the credibility of appraising in general. Does anyone care?
When I was in college part time 45 years ago, I sold cars for a couple of years. I lost many sales to other sales people that lied to buyers to get the sale. I discovered that a significant part of the population wants to be lied to. I quit car sales, I bought a $600 old 1968 Ford F100 pickup with no air conditioning, a 3-on-the-tree, no power steering or power brakes and went to college full time year around; and started what was (past tense) at that time a promising (formerly a professional) career.
Well congratulations to the ever growing part of the American public that is under multiple deceptions; and love to be lied to, that cower to the movers and shakers, and are inept at deeply analyzing issues. This is bad enough in and off itself – but you are responsible for dragging the remaining good people down with you and at the same time destroying your kids future – more than you think. Just as sure as today exist, some future day will be here and for this apathy and/or participation you will be held accountable. Does anyone care?
Realist: 3 on the tree….you are old! 🙂 Did your F100 have the vent windows in lieu of the A/C?
Yep, I am old. The F100 had the vent windows and I wish cars/trucks still had them. On the downside, the gas tank was under seat. Also, the brakes were horrible compared to more modern trucks. The 3 on the tree now days would be considered an anti theft device because few know how to shift them. Heck, it would be fun watching them try.
Off-topic diversions are nice sometimes.
Yeah, I miss those vent windows too! Back then trucks were for work and inexpensive…can’t say that anymore.
This is what the CU system was supposed to be designed for Realist, to be able to pick out appraisers that operated that way and set them to probationary status. But as they push so much volume, it challenges the ability of ‘peer modeling’ to identify such activity as ‘an outlier’. Amc’s sealed the deal with predatory engagement practices which as Mr Ford postured and many agree; promotes a general reduction in appraisal data quality. So how could they make sense of CU data other than to interpret most appraisers pushing GSE work appear to be somehow incompetent. Victims of their own technical systems. They refuse to share CU data for this reason and I continue to propose; FOIA for the CU database. Ron Paul 2008 presidential debates: “Having advanced systems can be meaningful but they will do more harm than good if we don’t also have intelligent qualified people to interpret the results.”
You know what’s really going on here right? It’s the lobbyists whom are to blame for all of this. There is now money in lobbying for this racial issue, and the money supply continues to increase. It’s no different than the lgbtq issue or even something like the save the pets organizations in this regard. And just like that these issues which are contrary to the majority and are not actually prioritized societal issues for most of the citizens now become the primary focus of politicians seeking donations and appeasement of any and all potential sponsorship, and big corps follow that money. Dialing for dollars as they say. And that is how minority groups usurp equal protection and in the process of seeking a more favorable climate for themselves, essentially end up imposing discrimination on the majority or somehow fleecing the taxpayers purse through special interest allotment or taxable income relief. One rule could stop this; prohibit paid lobbyism. If people truly believe, they should lobby on their own time and their own dime.
This activity used to be predominantly centralized around corporations but as grass roots organizations have combined to such a degree over such a long time, and coupled with the power of technical systems advancements which increased networking potential, this ability to gain disproportionate representation now extends to anyone or any group whom can successfully set up a website and hire a lobbyist organization.
The most nefarious instances of this are represented in companies like the Brookings Institute whom stands to earn substantial money if ‘reparations’ can somehow be solidified through legislation. Because they’ll run it like the EBT program and rake off the top of all distributed funds, also managing and earning from emerging programs which provide biased benefit distribution. And the lobbyists groups do not care what they solicit for, they’re getting paid and this is a fast growing industry which often capitalizes on 501C3 tax free status. Regular individuals become powerless to resist as we truly move into a new era of institutionalized taxation without representation. Stop me now before I quote John Patrick Henry.
You did better than me partner. I had a three on the tree early 70’s Hornet. Got t boned and never fixed it so everyone had to jump out the driver side door. It was so light I could do a one wheel spin out across an entire parking lot and never stop. In the end we sold that for $75 dollars to a neighbor. Drove it when I was 16. People would get scared when I shifted and react like lives were in danger; you don’t go into reverse while in motion! We kept a camping propane stove to defrost the windows when it was cold but shifting became mighty difficult.
But believe this; There are people out there like myself whom still adamantly believe in accountability and we do care. Education on legal principals is how we get there. People commonly refer to us as conservative libertarians even though it’s really a mix of many different political ideologies. We’re taxed enough already and it needs to stop immediately. Shrink the size of government now because that is the only way to return law and order. Fines based on income will go a long way too. Table based fines have been rendered meaningless by repeated rounds of QE. It has become profitable to break the law while imposing taxation without representation on the masses. In fact this imposed condition has been building up since exactly the year 1913, as that was the year when political influences gained the ability to distort the value of money which is then used for private and political gain. How do they afford to even have these committees to look at these issues when we’re trillions of dollars in debt? They have no intention of paying any debt back, presuming they are above the reach of market forces. Now here is a key point; But if the whole world is in debt, to whom exactly are we indebted?
Dude! Well written. Read the entire document.
“Foreclosure-prone affordable housing policies have been targeted at low-income and minority borrowers. These policies subsidize debt by providing excessive leverage and lower rates. Coupled with a supply shortage, the increased demand from additional leverage has fueled unforgiving boom-bust home price cycles. During the Financial Crisis, these policies contributed to over 10 million foreclosures and other forced dispositions, which were proportionally higher in low-income and minority neighborhoods. While higher SES individuals have the wherewithal to withstand economic or personal shocks, low SES individuals do not. Notwithstanding massive subsidies and lending, federal housing policies have not built generational wealth.”
“Rather it is the federal government’s involvement in the housing market and housing finance that has created problem time and time again.” HO HO HO Merry Christmas! Government involvement does more harm than good.
“Adopt much of the VA appraiser and appraisal process, including the VA appraisal management approach” Holy smokes! Did he just advocate to eliminate amc influence through the entire lending sphere? Finally someone is understanding the issue. VA round robin provides a basis for the IVPI proposal too, and I’m still in support of that concept of more fairly balanced appraisal request distribution reform.
https://www.workingre.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/IVPI-Proposalfinal.pdf
“Promoting Walkable Oriented Development in existing neighborhoods with a mix of residential and commercial properties.” Oh, you mean like Urban Renewal Projects? Post this one, yet again. If you have not taken the time to watch this Adams county video linked to this previous below, please do. I called it a long time ago, a very similar tone as the author of this article provides. Institution reform will not have anywhere near the effect or long term correction as urban renewal projects would. Everywhere we have urban renewal projects in Colorado, things have gotten better with minimal government intervention, far less spending, and hardly any need for institution reform.
https://appraisersblogs.com/asc-hosting-roundtable-building-a-more-equitable-appraisal-system/#comment-32566
“Foreclosure-prone affordable housing policies for single-family lending have subsidized debt by providing excessive leverage” I seem to recall Ron Paul having brought up that exact point in front of the house services committee two decades ago. Image attached. As actual home ownership rates continue to fall with each new government policy implemented. We’re from the government, and we are here to help.
“This is the paradox of accessible lending: When supply is constrained, credit easing will make entry-level homes less, not more, affordable. Credit easing merely permits one borrower to bid up the price against another would-be buyer for a scarce good.23 Thus, much of the credit easing that these federal policies provided are quickly capitalized into higher home prices. This is especially pertinent for entry-level homes, which are perennially in short supply. This puts upward pressure on home prices, does not expand access, and is dangerous; concepts we have had to learn and relearn.” This document packed full of so much good material. You mean like, the invisible hand and the force of the market? What a shame there is such an overbearing government imposing so many restrictions which drives the cost and availability of new housing sky high and limits the ability of the market to respond to a growing need for more housing. Finally someone whom understands sensible economic theory. Don’t get your hopes up, it’s doubtful any of the bureaucrats reading this document understand this principal. As they’re lifetime bureaucrats and the only way to recognize this principal is for them to roll everything back, step aside, and participate in the private sector instead. We have to remove them forcibly by shrinking government because they will not remove themselves voluntarily.
“An extended price boom not only makes homes unaffordable, but also promotes price volatility and unforgiving mean reversion.” Hmmmm, curious. Abolish the fed. Manipulated rates. Funneling to first receivers. Pure fiat. Uncontrolled monetary expansion (QE). A private consortium of international bankers. The Federal Reserve; Over a hundred years of not being federal, and not having any reserves.
“Based on an objective diagnosis of symptoms and causes using rigorous data analysis, we propose the following solutions:” Basically in agreement with all of pg 16 & 17 of the pdf document. See, this is what I’m on about, every action creates more problems than it resolves. Valid reasons for a constant firm objection to continued policy changes. Systems alterations such as new forms, measurement standards, management changes, policy changes, reduced standards, waivers, rising demins, even longer 40 year terms which yes HUD just did that for some distressed, none of that tackles the actual root cause of the issue; there is a problem with the money itself. Until they tackle the ‘prosperity through debt’ fallacy, every single action down the line will continue to have unintended consequences. And he’s certainly correct that suppressed rates have hindered buyers affordability, aka; blowing up the bubble (and all bubbles eventually pop). When he calls for balance between supply and demand… Unfortunately we are headed for another bust and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop this. It’s not a question of if, but of when. Nothing is for free. Taxation is theft. These bureaucrats are spending other peoples money. You’re watching this unsustainable debt based system unravel before your eyes in real time. If you’re living a debt based lifestyle where your success is predicated by the requirement of continued expansion you may already be too late into the game to successfully insulate yourself with thrift and hedging but it’s never to late to choose a different path. And now with uncontrolled migration there are entirely new market pressures which once realized, it will be to late to successfully mitigate. How many more millions of affordable housing units will be needed? That question depends on how long sanctuary policies and inadequate border controls may persist. This group wrote an excellent compelling piece here, unfortunately they are having to present his case to a political party which is absolutely antithetical to just about every sensible solution proposed. Ah….. The joys of entrenched bureaucracy.
“Since 2012, home prices have appreciated 102%. Entry-level prices are up even more (118%).” Think ibuyers corporate purchases buying sight unseen around this entire country with billions of dollars in flex cash might have some relationship to increased scarcity for entry level houses? They are trust worthy companies whom contribute a lot of campaign money and would not be buying to hold in perpetuity and fleece the impoverished with ever rising rental costs would they? Cart and horse, say hello to the carrot. My crystal ball is telling me we’ll see notable increases in rent to own programs which are commonly understood to be among the highest risk engagements first time buyers can select. What other choice will they have?
Finally someone tackled the question; What exactly is wrong with lower prices? But you see what’s really happening is the federal reserves policies of unlimited money printing funnels the primary benefit to ‘first receivers’ of the money. The rest of us are left with the bill. As the velocity of money continues to move at a swifter pace than reactionary employment compensation. And it’s happening again right now, the run up to the end of the boom bust cycle with a severe cliff, much larger than seen last cycle. You know Ron Paul is my personal hero right? We watch his The Liberty Report channel on youtube nearly every single week night. He’s better than ever and we would not be here now should more people have heeded the warnings and advice. Principals over profit, sound money, strict constitutionalism, important concepts that should guide all policy decisions. Sadly, it appears the end stages of this grand experiment may be closer than ever.
I’ve been watching a lot of regular antenna tv lately. Do you have an annuity and you need cash now? JG Wentworth, 877CashNow, 877CashNow. Did you know there are people standing by to purchase your home cash today, and you don’t even need an appraisal? I want my money and I need it now! Side effects may include bloating, irritability, and immediate financial ruin. Credit repair agents are standing by so call now to see if you qualify. It’s a great time to refinance! Oh, that was fun.
Ten thumbs up for American Enterprise Institute on this excellent presentation.