census tracts - Appraisers Blogs

Appraisal Bias Mantra is Largely False Reporting

Dave Towne — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 13:30:40 +0000

Just How Commonplace Is Appraisal Bias? Folks, about the only entity examining in depth the details behind all the allegations about appraisers being inherently biased is the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Housing Center. They are proving that most of the allegations are mostly a dump truck load of bovine substance. Click here for their latest expose. Report: Just How Commonplace Is Appraisal Bias? – theMReport.com Within this report are these statements from AEI: “When comparing appraisals for people of color to those for non-Hispanic white people within the same geographies, a new study by the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Housing...

The Unbiased Reality of Census Tract Data Dump...… Folks, the following letter was sent to FHFA by an appraiser I know. It was sent in response to the…
NAR Report Paints a Different Picture The study also shows the appraisal was the LOWEST scored item on the list of discriminatory practices... On February 23,…
The Real Cause of the Home Value Gap Is the Income Gap Blaming appraisers for the income gap will never solve the real underlying problem... Blaming appraisers for the income gap is…

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The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0”

Michael Ford — Mon, 15 May 2023 12:30:53 +0000

Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie Mae is increasingly being referred to by some, if not many American Appraisers as The Fraudulator / Underwriter 2.0 (FU-2). To be clear it is not limited to the Collateral Underwriter (CU & CU-2) software. The new Fraudulator (FU-2) combines the CU products with their numerous improper uses. The end result of which includes OUTRIGHT FRAUD being perpetrated against banks via the repurchase letters Fannie Mae now issues on a quota based system rather than because of legitimate appraisal defects....

How U.S. Home Valuations Are Being Subverted At the crossroads of it all is a campaign to weaken or eliminate valuations... The nonprofit is now exploring ways…
Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue! Dear representative, waiving/eliminating property appraisal for lending purposes is wanton recklessness. Fannie Mae’s decision to waive/eliminate property appraisal for lending…
AVMs... Garbage In, Garbage Out Garbage data in means garbage results out every time! It's no secret that AVMs have been a thorn in the…

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Woke ‘Bounty’ Bill Will Chill Speech of New York Appraisers

Jeremy Bagott — Wed, 10 May 2023 11:45:10 +0000

A bill being crafted by the New York state Senate’s Finance Committee would, in effect, place a $2,000 bounty on the head of any heretical real estate appraiser in the Empire State who dares conclude a value that fails to satisfy a seller, serial refinancer or commissioned broker in a deal. Vulnerable buyers, who could be paying off inflated loans based on coerced values, would simply have to live with it. If enacted, the bill would authorize fines to be levied on appraisers for a new category of thoughtcrime – something called “appraisal discrimination.” Half the proceeds from the fines...

Occupational Licensing Used to Intimidate It provides no better illustration of how occupational licensing promotes groupthink and intolerance to differing viewpoints... CALIFORNIA: WHERE RIGOROUS INQUIRY…
HUD's Private Inquisitors Will Chill Protected… HUD awarded $54 million to 182 nonprofits to serve as posses in a a Spanish Inquisition-style drive. The deep pockets…
Low Appraised Value = Racial Bias? When the appraised value didn’t meet the sale price, the first assumption was that the appraiser conspired to lower the…

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HUD’s Private Inquisitors Will Chill Protected Speech of Appraisers

Jeremy Bagott — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 12:30:14 +0000

HUD awarded $54 million to 182 nonprofits to serve as posses in a a Spanish Inquisition-style drive. The deep pockets of the federal government will be used to help the nonprofits chill the protected First Amendment rights of appraisers to develop disinterested opinions of value of the properties they appraise. In the early 1990s, the Texas Legislature established an unusual nonprofit known as the Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation. The times were dire. A near-biblical plague of weevils had descended on the state’s cotton crop. So, state lawmakers granted the private organization the powers of government to combat the malevolent creatures....

HUD Secretary's Comments Evoke Folly of 1919 Sex Scandal Secretary Fudge launched into what sounded remarkably like discriminatory rhetoric: "The problem is who is in the appraisal industry. When…
HUD ROV Process to Address 'Appraisal Bias' At a recent event at the Brookings Institute, HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge announced that HUD is creating a ROV…
HUD Dismisses Claims Alleging Racism ...white America (government) keeps trying to 'fix' Black People who are not broken in the first place! We’ve all heard…

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Freddie’s Study, NPR Story Recall Notable Academic Hoax

Jeremy Bagott — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 13:30:45 +0000

NPR topped the online edition of its article with the headline, “Black and Latino Homeowners are About Twice as Likely as Whites To Get Low Appraisals.” The problem? Freddie never called the appraisals “low.” While the Freddie Mac study finds no evidence of undervaluation, the NPR story about the study somehow does. Almost 30 years ago, Alan Sokal, now a professor of mathematics at University College London, perpetrated a memorable hoax. He submitted a pseudoscientific article to a cultural studies journal called Social Text. By design, his paper was strewn with nonsense. Titled “Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics...

The Real Cause of the Home Value Gap Is the Income Gap Blaming appraisers for the income gap will never solve the real underlying problem... Blaming appraisers for the income gap is…
Fannie's 'Equity' Plan: The Drinking Game What makes equity so invidious as a governing tenet is that it involves not just helping people of one racial…
Racial Targeting Under the Heading of Diversity,… This time around, the racial targeting is masked as a virtue under the heading “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” or “DEI.”…

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Under-Valuations Unrelated to Racial Bias

AppraisersBlogs — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 13:30:52 +0000

Under-valuations that more accurately reflect the homes’ “true” value as opposed to the contract price will also alert the buyer, not just the lender, that he or she may be over-paying, which often triggers a renegotiation… when the seller and buyer settle on a new price after the appraisal, the new lower price reduces credit risk, costs to the borrower, and ultimately results in greater wealth for the buyer. The AEI Housing Center recently released an analysis revealing that reports by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and by Brookings, attributing the greater prevalence of under-valuations in home purchase appraisals...

AEI Research Critique of Freddie Mac's Misleading… More great research from AEI. This is an analysis of Freddie Mac's misleading and basically defamatory paper on Appraisal Gap.…
Census Data Used as Evidence for Bias I’ve previously written about how the various spear throwers at appraisers have used ‘census tract data’ in their assertions that…
The Real Cause of the Home Value Gap Is the Income Gap Blaming appraisers for the income gap will never solve the real underlying problem... Blaming appraisers for the income gap is…

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Census Data Used as Evidence for Bias

Dave Towne — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 13:30:47 +0000

I’ve previously written about how the various spear throwers at appraisers have used ‘census tract data’ in their assertions that appraisers are racially biased. It’s been done by Freddie Mac, by Andre Perry in his testimony before Congress, by Ph.D Elizabeth Korver-Glenn in her dissertation paper, not reviewed by anyone with appraisal experience, to obtain that lofty status, the media, and other so called ‘studies’ and ‘reports’ since. That is information foreign to appraisers, because we don’t use or reference anything about Census Tracts in our reports. The only place that shows up is in one field on the GSE...

Sales Comparison Approach is Racist "...the modern appraisal industry perpetuates racial inequality through its continued use of the “sales comparison approach”... the sales comparison approach…
Diatribes Against Appraisers What’s even more frustrating to me is none of the well-known appraiser organizations have offered any public rebuttal to any…
Analysis of the "Appraisal Gap" White Paper My critical analysis of Freddie Mac's "appraisal gap" white paper Appraisers, this is not an easy essay to write. It…

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Appraisers the Convenient Scapegoats

Guest Author — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 13:30:30 +0000

The appraisers are the convenient scapegoats every time. Anytime the real estate market takes a hit, 99% of the time it is because of banking and lending practices. The appraisers are the convenient scapegoats every time. During the 1980s it was the commercial side, yet residential appraisers received both barrels of double-odd buck. Then in 2008 again: stated income, 40 year loans, predatory lending (REFINANCING), NO money down (no skin in the game); people used their homes as a slot machine that paid out every time; that is as long as the market values continued to rise. Predatory lenders had...

A Low Appraisal is Now a Bad Appraisal A low appraisal is now a bad appraisal. Well, that's according to the headline. The article does not stress ‘bad.’…
What Is My Incentive? Why would I bother taking on the added risk of an inconvenient process? Where is my incentive again? As an…
Blaming Appraisers ...deal falls through and everyone involved is convinced the appraiser ruined everything... We hear all about low appraisals, but we…

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Diatribes Against Appraisers

Dave Towne — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 12:30:39 +0000

What’s even more frustrating to me is none of the well-known appraiser organizations have offered any public rebuttal to any of these hit pieces, or explained how the appraisal process works as a way to defend appraisers… Census Tract data delineating RACE of the population is the only ammunition the people doing these hit pieces can use to attack appraisers. Appraisers, this is a long article but it’s important, as it reveals how you are being discredited in the work you do. Yet, ‘we’ must begin doing some introspection of what we are or have been doing, and make necessary...

The Unbiased Reality of Census Tract Data Dump...… Folks, the following letter was sent to FHFA by an appraiser I know. It was sent in response to the…
Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
Security Bars Removal Law Debunks Alleged Racial… Complainant stated appraiser told them they should remove security bars from windows. Complainant stated this is evidence of "racist discrimination"...…

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Baltimore Racial Bias Lawsuit

Dave Towne — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 12:30:17 +0000

When reading over the Baltimore document, it appears painfully clear (to me) that there is a competency issue exposed. Folks, below is the Baltimore court paperwork for the latest appraiser bias suit that recently ‘hit the fan.’ This document is fairly specific, in that it reveals quite a lot about the two appraisals performed, including the home locations for the ‘comps’ used. The attorneys representing the plaintiffs are from the same Washington, D.C. firm that The Appraisal Foundation hired to examine USPAP. That firm was the one which has provided new ‘discrimination avoidance’ verbiage being considered in the USPAP Third...

Diatribes Against Appraisers What’s even more frustrating to me is none of the well-known appraiser organizations have offered any public rebuttal to any…
USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era The Irreconcilable Conflict Between USPAP's Typical Buyer Standard and the Current Fair Housing Compliance Regime. Retain this document as a…
Promoting False "Racist Appraiser" Narrative Some Lenders promoting false "racist appraiser" narrative to optimize profits via AVMs Like most businesses lenders want to optimize their…

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Census Tract Info Used Against Appraisers

Dave Towne — Mon, 02 May 2022 12:30:36 +0000

“Census tract boundaries do not necessarily define the subject’s market…” Appraisers, of all the issues I’ve written about or questioned since 2006, this topic about your knowledge of, and concern about, Census Tracts has overwhelmingly been the largest response ever, several hundred within just a few hours of posting! To refresh, the questions were these: Do you know where the Census Tracts boundaries are in the areas you work? When you research and select comparables for your reports, do you pay any attention to Census Tracts? Do you know the racial composition of Census Tracts in the areas you work?...

The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…
Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
Diatribes Against Appraisers What’s even more frustrating to me is none of the well-known appraiser organizations have offered any public rebuttal to any…

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AEI Research Critique of Freddie Mac’s Misleading Appraisal Gap Report

Mary Cummins — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 12:30:50 +0000

More great research from AEI. This is an analysis of Freddie Mac’s misleading and basically defamatory paper on Appraisal Gap. When government related entities release misleading information like this they are attacking and defaming real estate appraisers. The hate real estate appraisers have received because of this paper and Andre Perry’s paper is relentless. Another problem with releasing misleading data and conclusions is that it actually hurts the people they are trying to help. Facts show that the real cause of the wealth gap between blacks, whites and Latinos is the income gap. It has nothing to do with appraisals...

Freddie's Study, NPR Story Recall Notable Academic Hoax NPR topped the online edition of its article with the headline, “Black and Latino Homeowners are About Twice as Likely…
Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
Finding of Bias in Home Valuations Fails by Own Measure To the surprise of no one, their redacted study found that what Perry et al. had characterized as race-based differences…

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Analysis of the “Appraisal Gap” White Paper

Dave Towne — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 13:30:34 +0000

My critical analysis of Freddie Mac’s “appraisal gap” white paper Appraisers, this is not an easy essay to write. It is my critical analysis of an academic study put out by a GSE, which I have read. In September 2021, Freddie Mac’s Modeling, Econometrics, Data Science & Analytics; Single Family Risk Management; and Economic & Housing Research groups released a white paper (Economic & Housing Research Note) named “Racial and Ethnic Valuation Gaps in Home Purchase Appraisals.” The paper uses the term ‘appraisal gaps.’ The paper’s definition of the ‘gap’ is: the percentage difference between minority and White groups in...

Use of Census Data in AVM & Discrimination Every single appraisal any of us do has a census tract number as a required element. There are no exceptions…
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…
Census Tracts & Appraising CENSUS TRACTS are based primarily on POPULATION density... The latest ‘buzz word’ in our profession is an indication from Fannie…

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Alleged Systemic Racism in Appraisal Myth

Michael Ford — Fri, 28 May 2021 12:30:37 +0000

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...

Racial Bias by Appraisers Is Uncommon & Not Systemic Intentional and unintentional racial bias by appraisers on refinance loans is uncommon and not systemic... On January 4, 2021, the…
Promoting False "Racist Appraiser" Narrative Some Lenders promoting false "racist appraiser" narrative to optimize profits via AVMs Like most businesses lenders want to optimize their…
Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…

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Use of Census Data in AVM & Discrimination

Michael Ford — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 12:30:27 +0000

Every single appraisal any of us do has a census tract number as a required element. There are no exceptions for federally regulated transactions. Even where no bias or prejudice is intended, language that the PC Police have ascribed as being ‘potentially racist, biased or prejudicial’ has long been prohibited. Buyers clearly do care and weight ‘neighborhood or school or special amenity neighborhoods’ in terms of ‘desirability’, but no appraiser can consider this. We are even prohibited from having people in pictures which could be indicative of race. It’s gotten so nuts that property owner’s own photos of religious icons,...

Is Race Baked into Big Data? Chicago appraiser and friend (even though she calls me “fancy pants”) writes a stellar explanation of what an appraiser actual…
The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…
Diatribes Against Appraisers What’s even more frustrating to me is none of the well-known appraiser organizations have offered any public rebuttal to any…

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Census Tracts & Appraising

Dave Towne — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 13:30:54 +0000

CENSUS TRACTS are based primarily on POPULATION density… The latest ‘buzz word’ in our profession is an indication from Fannie Mae that as of Jan. 26, 2015, their Collateral Underwriter electronic review software (made available only to Lenders/AMC’s for 1004 and 1073 reports) will be able to compare your report info to other property reports and data narrowed down to a local CENSUS TRACT. In my previous messages, I’ve asked a basic question: When’s the last time you actually researched comparable sales or other property info based around local CENSUS TRACTS? I would guess for the vast majority of (residential)...

Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
Census Tract Info Used Against Appraisers "Census tract boundaries do not necessarily define the subject's market..." Appraisers, of all the issues I’ve written about or questioned…
Diatribes Against Appraisers What’s even more frustrating to me is none of the well-known appraiser organizations have offered any public rebuttal to any…

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CU Process Will Improve Appraisals? A Pipedream or Reality?

Dave Towne — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 13:30:32 +0000

Fannie Mae Claims the CU Process Will “Improve Appraisals.” A Pipedream or Reality? Appraisers, A few days ago, I watched the FNMA eLearning webinar “Introduction to CU” video showing how their new Collateral Underwriter will be implemented, starting on Jan. 26, 2015, applying to 1004 and 1073 Reports (initially). You really should watch this also! CU applies to FANNIE MAE only; FreddieMac, VA, FHA, USDA are not involved at this time. Click this link, and you’ll find the link to the video ½ way down on the left. I captured a few screen shots of their presentation to help explain...

Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue! Dear representative, waiving/eliminating property appraisal for lending purposes is wanton recklessness. Fannie Mae’s decision to waive/eliminate property appraisal for lending…
Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process The story of this single mother's harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD's negligent oversight exposes deep flaws…
The Illogical Reality of Mortgage Appraisal Reviews Reforming the appraisal review process is essential to maintaining the integrity of the real estate market and protecting consumers and…

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Census Tracts, Hedonic Regression and the CU Stew

Dave Towne — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 13:30:07 +0000

Bet you didn’t know that the adjustment grid is a form of Hedonic Regression! Appraisers, The new Collateral Underwriter electronic review process developed by Fannie Mae has many appraisers on edge. This will become the ‘ultimate authority’ or gold standard for reviewing appraisal reports as of January 26, 2015… at least as far as FNMA is concerned. Your reports will either ‘pass’ or ‘fail’, depending on many factors. Some of those factors are outside your immediate control. “Big Data” is one giant pile of stuff that is being put into the CU pot, stirred together like a stew. Except there...

Fannie Mae Fraud and Abuse Exposed History of waste, fraud & abuse at this rogue organization... Fannie Mae reported this week it had fired more than…
The Town With No Bank: How Rural America Lost Its… For decades, we’ve been told that the problem is demand. That people don’t want to live in rural America anymore.…
Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue! Dear representative, waiving/eliminating property appraisal for lending purposes is wanton recklessness. Fannie Mae’s decision to waive/eliminate property appraisal for lending…

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census tracts - Appraisers Blogs

Appraisal Bias Mantra is Largely False Reporting

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The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0”

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Woke ‘Bounty’ Bill Will Chill Speech of New York Appraisers

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HUD’s Private Inquisitors Will Chill Protected Speech of Appraisers

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Freddie’s Study, NPR Story Recall Notable Academic Hoax

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Under-Valuations Unrelated to Racial Bias

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Census Data Used as Evidence for Bias

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Appraisers the Convenient Scapegoats

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Diatribes Against Appraisers

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Baltimore Racial Bias Lawsuit

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Census Tract Info Used Against Appraisers

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AEI Research Critique of Freddie Mac’s Misleading Appraisal Gap Report

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Analysis of the “Appraisal Gap” White Paper

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Alleged Systemic Racism in Appraisal Myth

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Use of Census Data in AVM & Discrimination

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Census Tracts & Appraising

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CU Process Will Improve Appraisals? A Pipedream or Reality?

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Census Tracts, Hedonic Regression and the CU Stew

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