defamation - Appraisers Blogs

How Bureaucratic Overreach Turned Real Estate Appraisers into Scapegoats

AppraisersBlogs — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 12:30:50 +0000

This is what bureaucratic overreach looks like: a maze of rules with no exit, a hearing held while you’re hospitalized, a lawsuit dismissed but still billed. Bureaucratic overreach isn’t a policy flaw, it’s a strategy. If you’re a real estate appraiser in 2025, odds are you’ve already met Kafka. Not in a literature class, but in your inbox, via a letter from HUD, a complaint from a borrower, or a summons from a regulatory agency that’s decided your opinion of value is now a civil rights issue. The federal government isn’t just investigating appraisers, it’s industrialized the process. Hundreds of...

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No, Appraisers Didn’t Cause America’s Racial Wealth Gap

Jeremy Bagott — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:30:10 +0000

Appraisers are being dragged into the racial wealth gap debate, but the real gap is between racial accusation and actual evidence, and courts aren’t buying it. After years of feckless payouts by insurance companies and corporations, the era of using the courts to harass appraisers for their value opinions has ended. Last week, a U.S. District Court judge in Maryland threw out a discrimination lawsuit on summary judgment. It was brought against an appraiser by a militant professor at Johns Hopkins University and his wife, who passed away since the filing of the suit. She, too, was a professor at...

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The Appraisal Profession’s Perfect Storm: A Veteran’s Take on a Dying Craft

Desiree Mehbod — Fri, 02 May 2025 12:30:49 +0000

The new UAD form, the AMC fee gouging, the waivers, the false bias claims. It’s a perfect storm of assaults. I’ve been an appraiser since 1993, back when fax machines were cutting-edge and the internet was a clunky novelty. Over three decades, I’ve seen this profession weather storms, economic crashes, regulatory overhauls, you name it. But what’s happening now? It’s not a storm; it’s a tsunami. Our industry is hemorrhaging talent, drowning under false accusations, and getting squeezed by corporate greed and bureaucratic overreach. As someone who’s stubbornly refused to bend the knee to Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs), I’m here...

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NFHA Funding Dries Up

AppraisersBlogs — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 12:30:37 +0000

The NFHA is feeling the heat as their funding evaporates, putting a major kink in their anti-appraiser crusade. The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) has found itself in a precarious position as their funding well runs dry, jeopardizing their ongoing legal battle against Maryland appraiser Shane Lanham. This development is a ray of hope not only for Lanham, who has been unjustly accused of racial bias in his appraisals, but for the entire appraisal community who have been unfairly targeted by NFHA’s relentless smear campaign. The NFHA, in cahoots with the Biden administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)...

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VaCAP Supports Shane Lanham’s Legal Fight

VaCAP Board — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 12:30:48 +0000

The outcome of this case will undoubtedly have far-reaching implications for the future of the appraisal industry, making Shane Lanham’s fight one that concerns us all. A fellow appraiser is in need of your assistance. Many of you may have heard of a Maryland Appraiser, Shane Lanham, the defendant in a lawsuit for a “low opinion of value based on the race of the homeowner.” Shane is counter suing the accuser for defamation as this has been a very publicized story. Let’s be clear, he is not just fighting for himself, he is fighting for each and every appraiser. As...

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At Federal Agency, The Mayhem Is the Message

Jeremy Bagott — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 12:30:13 +0000

Mullinix has become a student of the “Title VIII Complaint Intake, Investigation, and Conciliation Handbook (8024.1).” The handbook is designed to protect citizens from overzealous federal workers. He found section after section had been violated in his own investigation by the HUD contractor. Czech-German author Franz Kafka wrote “The Trial” in 1915. The novel is a reflection on bureaucracy, power and absurdity. Its protagonist, Josef, is arrested and prosecuted by a mysterious and inaccessible authority for a crime that is never revealed to him or the reader. It’s a man’s journey through an incomprehensible and dehumanizing landscape. Ken Mullinix has...

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It’s Just Responsible Journalism!

VaCAP Board — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 13:30:14 +0000

Not reporting complete and accurate information is nothing more than irresponsible journalism! The local television station WWBT, NBC 12 in the Richmond market is airing a story on Thursday February 22 during the 6 pm News Broadcast, about racial bias in real estate appraisals. We know this is not a new topic and previous stories that have aired have been extremely one sided and not from the appraiser’s perspective. VaCAP was not contacted for information, nor were any appraisers that we know. We have seen the negative impact this type of story has on our profession and we need your...

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Shane Lanham Countersuing Black Homeowners for Defamation

AppraisersBlogs — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 13:30:29 +0000

Shane Lanham, a Maryland appraiser, has found himself in a difficult situation as he is being sued in The United States District Court of Maryland. However, he is not backing down and fully intends to fight these allegations through trial. In addition, he is countersuing the accusers for defamation and seeking $500,000 in damages. Lanham firmly believes that the accusations of racism against him are baseless and he has engaged a consultant with significant experience in handling such cases. To ensure he has the best chance of success, Mr. Lanham has engaged a consultant with extensive experience in similar cases....

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Appraisers Pressured to Inflate Values Based on Race

AppraisersBlogs — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:30:12 +0000

The real estate appraisal industry has long been subject to pressure from various sources, such as lenders, borrowers, and agents. In the past, this pressure often came in the form of withholding business if appraisers refused to inflate values, or ignore property deficiencies. Nowadays, it appears that government efforts, aimed at curbing discrimination, are actually leading to increased pressure on appraisers to inflate values. This is a troubling development for honest appraisers who may be feeling more pressured than ever before by those looking for higher numbers than what an accurate appraisal would yield. Unfortunately, some have taken this opportunity...

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Appraiser Countersuing Black Homeowners for Defamation

Dave Towne — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 13:30:23 +0000

The Maryland appraiser has filed a countersuit against the homeowners, claiming defamation. Appraisers, there have been several lawsuits filed against appraisers by borrowers who “don’t like your value, so I’m accusing you of discrimination” over the last year or so. These lawsuits all have the same theme, and it’s entirely possible that these actions are being coordinated by a consortium of ‘organizers’ and law firms. The plaintiff representing firm for the Baltimore suit is the same law firm The Appraisal Foundation hired to write new USPAP language for the Ethics Rule, which potentially will be approved in just a few...

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Real Estate Appraisers Blacklisted by Banks Fight Back

AppraisersBlogs — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:00:46 +0000

Banks aren’t playing by the rules PHOENIX (CBS5) – Mortgage lenders and big banks share much of the blame for this country’s housing crash. So you would thing that they have learned their lesson after cheating the system with bad loans and shady business practices. But Jason Barry has uncovered a whole new way banks aren’t playing by the rules. Clay Gregory is a Valley home appraiser who is spending a lot of time at home these day, but it’s not by choice. “I was put in a position where they pretty much demanded information from me or they were threatening...

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