March 6, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Caroline Peattie, Executive Director, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (415) 483-7552, [email protected] Julia Howard-Gibbon, Supervising Attorney, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (415) 483-483-7516 [email protected] Lawsuit Alleging Race Discrimination in Home Appraisal Process Settled with Appraiser San Rafael, CA –Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC), Tenisha Tate-Austin, and Paul Austin announce the settlement of a lawsuit against a licensed real estate appraiser. The plaintiffs filed the fair housing lawsuit in federal district court in December 2021 alleging housing discrimination due to race in the appraisal process, and in October 2022 settled their claims against AMC Links LLC, an appraisal management company. The complaint can be found here. The appraiser denied any and all liability in connection with the claims made in the lawsuit. “This is a landmark case,” said Caroline Peattie, FHANC’s Executive Director. “The Austins’ case was a dramatic example of how an unfairly low appraisal can affect your ability to access a loan with good terms and build generational wealth. Unfortunately, their experience is not unique. Studies show that Black and Latinx applicants are more likely than white applicants to receive an appraisal value lower in both the sales and refinancing process. These studies show that appraisers choose so-called comparable properties (“comps”) of other property sales located substantially closer to the property being appraised if it’s located in a predominantly Black or Latinx census tract than if it’s located in a predominantly white census tract, even if those closer properties are not at all comparable – so appraisers likely still view neighborhoods and relevant comps based on racial demographics, which is part of what what we believe happened in the Austins’ case.” In December 2016, Tenisha Tate-Austin and Paul Austin, a Black couple, purchased a house in Marin City, an unincorporated area in Marin County, California, and moved into their house with their children. (As of July 2019, Black residents accounted for 36% of Marin City’s population, compared to less than 3% of the county as a whole.) The couple made substantial renovations that increased the square footage of the house, upgraded many features, and began renovations on an accessory dwelling unit. They decided to refinance their mortgage in 2020. Home buyers and homeowners are generally required to have an appraisal to obtain a mortgage or refinance a mortgage. The appraiser inspected the Austins’ house and appraised it at $995,000. The Austins believed that their race and the racial demographics of Marin City played a role in the low estimate of value and requested a second appraisal. Three weeks after the first appraisal inspection, a different appraiser valued the home at $1,482,500, nearly half a million dollars higher. Between the two appraisals, the Austins erased any evidence of their racial identities inside their house, removing family photos and African-themed art. Their white friend, who replaced the Austins’ family photos with photos of her own family, was the only person present during the second inspection. The settlement agreement included an undisclosed monetary amount with additional terms, including that the appraiser agrees not to discriminate in the future, will watch the ABC documentary “Our America: Lowballed” (which features the Austins’ story); attend a training session regarding the history of segregation and real estate-related discrimination in Marin County provided by FHANC; and continue to abide by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers’ continuing education requirements, including those outlined in California’s AB 948. “We’re glad that we can put this lawsuit behind us,” said Paul Austin. “Having to experience everything that came with receiving the lowballed appraisal was overwhelming. Being able to tell our story and knowing we had legal recourse helped. We want others to know that if you experience discrimination, you can go to your local fair housing agency so they can investigate your case and help you if you want to file a complaint.” “We missed out on a better interest rate because of the unfair appraisal we received,” said Tenisha Tate-Austin. “Having to erase our identity to get a better appraisal was a wrenching experience. We know of other Black families who either couldn’t get a loan because of a discriminatory appraisal and therefore either lost the opportunity to buy or sell a home, or they had to sell their home because they had an unaffordable loan. Neighborhoods of color have been historically undervalued due to deliberate racist housing policies, such as redlining. The ongoing undervaluation of homes in Black neighborhoods perpetuates the wealth gap between Black and white families. We hope by bringing attention to our case and this lawsuit settlement, we can help change the way the appraisal industry operates, and we can start to see a different trend.” The Austins and FHANC were represented by counsel Julia Howard-Gibbon of FHANC and Liza Cristol-Deman of Brancart & Brancart. If you feel you may have been discriminated against in a recent home appraisal, contact FHANC’s office to complete an interview. Contact FHANC at [email protected] or 415-457-5025 x101. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a non-profit organization serving several Bay Area counties that provides free counseling, enforcement, intervention, and legal or administrative referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California also offers foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase education, seminars to help housing providers fully understand fair housing law, and education programs for tenants and the community at large. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please call Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800) 735-2922 for more information. Note: This material is based on work supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under FHIP PEI Grant FPEI190035. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of HUD.
7 Comments
3/8/2023 05:23:14 pm
We have several appraisals and none of the asked about the upgrades that we did and also they did not give us the market value as per our neighborhood.
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Thomas Nash
3/10/2023 03:16:40 pm
Well done
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Winston Williams
3/9/2023 06:41:10 am
I need your assistance in regards my rights being violated in the fair marketing and sales of my property. I am being racial targeted by my own realtor realtor said the buyer's realtor. After discovering biased treatment, I questioned thier actions. I filed a complaint with DRE with negative results and because of my actions, I unable to sell my home. I was threatened by both realtors if I didn't accept there conditions, I would be facing a lawsuit. I was determined not to be intimated and move forward with selling my home, resulting in a lawsuit and a lis Pendency liens placed upon my residence. I made every effort to resolve and or settle with negative results. Fraudulent lawsuit were filed against after my realtor refused to release me from our agreement after my discovery and firing of their services. Due to not properly resprsenting me. I have evidence that shows that this was racial motivated and for financial gain by both realtors. They have continued with their Harrassment, by having the buyers filing a fraudulent lawsuit. I am requesting and praying for your intervention, in addressing racialism within the central valley housing market. The Federal Government have also confirmed the unfair marketing, regarding people of color. The central valley has become an big investments for property owners, except for people color. Being forced to sell their homes and their life investment at a lower price, to thier white counter residents. The Kings County Superior courts are apart of the problem and not a resolution, since thier are apart of the Good Old Boys networks in the valley.
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DENISE MCFADDEN
3/9/2023 07:33:46 am
First of all let me say this, I will be praying for you. This type of discrimination should not be tolerated in any since of the word. My husband and I are both Vets and have served proudly however, when we got ready to purchase our home we endured an incident with a realtor about a home we were interested in buying however we had our own realtor. Well the other realtor that placed the house on the market did not want to split any profit with our realtor, so this was her and the owner of the home tactic. They decided to call us at 8:45 p.m. the last time we did a walk thru to make a decision on the home to tell us "If you don't use me as the selling realtor of the home my client would not sell you this home for a penny below asking price". "WOW" real impressive and very professional right! So with us being Christian people I told her in a real nice Christian way "OUR MONEY IS GREEN YOU CAN TAKE OR LEAVE IT CAUSE NO GOOD CAN COME FROM EVIL. GOD is still in the blessing business. SO what they think they are getting away with here God see's everything and will right their wrong doing every time.
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Roger
3/9/2023 04:35:16 pm
This crap has been going on for far too long . There are exclusive federal housing laws that govern the policies and practices that are not being implemented during transactions.
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4/6/2023 04:59:36 am
Thank you for highlighting the importance of residential appraisals in your post. I think it's important for homeowners to understand the benefits of getting an appraisal and the impact it can have on their financial decisions.
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