Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California

Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California
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Monday, June 28, 2021

Congratulations to winners of Los Angeles Business Journal Women's Leadership Awards! Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins, nominee, los angeles business journal, women's leadership award, los angeles, california, real estate, appraiser, appraisal
Mary Cummins, nominee, los angeles business journal, women's leadership award, los angeles, california, real estate, appraiser, appraisal


Congratulations to all the winners of the Los Angeles Business Journal Women's Leadership Awards for 2021! LABJ Publisher: Josh Schimmels; Winners: Wallis Annenberg of the Annenberg Foundation, Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson of In-N-Out, Jenefer Brown, Audrey McLoghlin, Jessica Nouhavandi, Pharm.D, Emiliana Guereca, Gwendolyn Givens-Jones, Dara Eliacin, Bing Jiang, Adrienne Tymon Kentor and Cheryl S Chang. Congrats to all the nominees! Thank you, LABJ for the nomination! #losangelesbusinessjournal #labj #awards #winners #losangeles #california #marycummins

Sponsors:

Annenberg Foundation, BlankRome, RSM, UCLA Anderson School of Management, USC University of Southern California, Wells Fargo, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Child Care Resource Center, HansonBridgett, Loyola Marymount College of Business Administration, Colliers, FivePoint, Glaser Weil, KPMG, L.A. Care Health Plan,  NutriFit, Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, Shangri-LA Construction, The Vertical Collective, Woodcraft Rangers, Pacifica Hospital of the Valley, Reddock Employment Law, UBS. 

Mary Cummins, nominee, los angeles business journal, women's leadership award, los angeles, california, real estate, appraiser, appraisal
Mary Cummins, nominee, los angeles business journal, women's leadership award, los angeles, california, real estate, appraiser, appraisal


More about the event. 


There was a three part series of events with some great discussion about women in business. I learned a lot. Video is here. 

https://labusinessjournal.com/wsa2021/

A great magazine they made for the event with bios of all the finalist and winners.


Below are a list of the almost 400 nominees! Some great women in this group. I know quite a few. It's in alphabetical order. Sorry the format fell apart. 

Jolene Abbott Lauren Acosta Sameen Ahmad Mitra Ahouraian Susie Albin-Najera Imee Albornoz Carolina Alvarez Charisse Anderson Lori Anderson Natalie Anderson Kimberly Andrews Wallis Annenberg Bita Ardalan Rainy Hake Austin Keri Curtis Axel Arminé Babayan Dominique E. Banos Sheeva Banton Lilian Barker Monica Baumann Burcin Becerik-Gerber Perica Bell Betsy Berkhemer-Credaire Robin Bertolucci Regina Birdsell Karen L. Bizzini Diana M. Black Jana Bobosikova Kara Boccella Martha Bonner Ann Borusiewich-Woirhaye Karie Boyd Tonja Boykin Giovanna Brasfield Elizabeth M. Brockman Julee Brooks Vanessa Brotherns Jenefer Brown Kimberly Brown Margaret Brown Megan Brown Kelly Bruno Gina Butler Megan Byrne Shannon Cain Mary Craig Calkins Kathleen Campos Jennifer Caravello Jacqueline Carroll Cedar Carter Diana R. Carter Natasha Case Laurel Casey Sarah Friedman Casparian Karinna Cassidy Ellen Cervantes Cheryl S. Chang Cyndie Chang Leslie H. Chang DeAnn Flores Chase Priscilla Chaves Eileen Szymanski Chen Hunvey Chen Karen Choi Yujin Chun Lynda Chung Nancy Sher Cohen Sheerly Cohen Keely Colcleugh Valerie Colin Claire Collins Kathryne Cooper Megan Creecy-Herman Gabriela Cuero Jesse-Justin Cuevas Shawna Cullinan Mary Cummins Ashley Dai Lilit Davtyan Vanessa De La Torre Kristi Dean Gina DeGaetano Penelope Deihl Maria del Pilar De La Cadena Alejandra Delgado Amanda Delzer Christine Deschaine Lauren DeVillier Natalie Do Stacey Dolden Anna Donlon Candice Driscoll Nancy Duitch Erin Edwards Dara Eliacin Katherine Ellena Christine E. Ellice Frances Ellington Amanda Fain Laura Farber Rachel Feinberg Erica Finck Anne Fletcher Lyndee Fletcher Ayjia Flowers Allyson Forster Sherri Francois Renee Fraser, Ph.D. Jean Freeman Elaine Fresch Susan Fries Ariane Fund Cassia Furman Haley Fuselier, LCSW Christina Gagnier Luana Galbeno Samantha Garcia Eden Garcia-Balis Julie Gerchik Sarah Geske Joanne Giang Jessica Ginther Gwendolyn Givens-Jones Ellen Goldsmith-Vein Christine J. Gonong Christina N. Goodrich Courtney Nichols Gould Tatondra Grant Quanda Graves Demetria L. Graves Natalie Greenberg Sapana S. Grossi Jamie Grossman Dianne Gubin Emiliana Guereca Monique Barraza Gutierrez Terri A. Haack Heather Habes Jaroenporn Hacker Glory Dolphin Hammes Jeri Harman Cooper Harris Genie Harrison Michele Havens Trina Hazzah Erin Heiden Beth Hilbing Bonnie Hill Krystle Hogan Stacy Horth-Neubert Kristen Hoskins Teena Hostovich Stacy Hubbard Erica Huggins Teresa Huggins Sonnet Hui Kaitlyn Hull Ashley Hutchens Sidney Ingelson Robbin Itkin La Tanya Jackson Kiaundra Jackson, LMFT Ruby Jadwet Monica Jaramillo Leanne Jenkins Shannon Jenkins Christine Jerian Bing Jiang Lynn Jochim Ashley Jordan Mary Jreisat Jaelyn Edwards Judelson Nicole Kamish Karine Karadjian Christi Karandikar Anna Karapetyan Cam Kashani Michelle Katzen Sibyl Kavak T. Katuri Kaye Mari-Anne Kehler Jackie Keller Skye Kelly Sarah Kelly-Kilgore Adrienne Tymon Kentor Christianne Kerns Erin Khan Madeeha Khursheed Kelli Kiemle Ahyoung Kim Carey D. Kim Helen B. Kim Linda D. Kim Natalie Kitchen Julianne Knox Vera Koch Tessa Kohl Lori S. Kozak Janet Kwuon Deborah J. La Franchi Anne L. Laguzza Jasmin Larian Regina F. Lark, Ph.D. Wendy M. Lau, Dr. Bernice Ledbetter Dianne Lee Jennifer J. Lee Danielle R. Leneck Marissa Lepor Lola Levoy Kelsey Lew Jamie Lewin Sarah Lewis Jennifer Lieser Karin Liljegren Christina Lincoln Wendy Liu Omoné O. Livingston Miriam Long Emma Loos Dana Lowy Sarah Lucenti Nicole Dania Lueddeke Karla Chavez Luna Karla MacCary Helen Macfie Rochelle Atlas Maize Lana J. Manganiello Nina Marino Amber Martinez Maja J. Mataric Precious Mayes Janet Maza Joanna McFarland Suellen McFarling Denise McGee Carly McGinnis Laura McHolm Audrey McLoghlin Mauria McPoland Trina McWilliams Jodi V. Meade Damaris Medina Tanya Menton Mary Meusborn Leighann Miko Janice L. Miller Christina Miller, Ph.D. Anne Miskey Kayla Montgomery Alina Moran Ann Marie Mortimer Laurie Murphy Natalie Mussi Sabrina C. Narain Dr. Sharona R. Nazarian Michele Nealon, Psy.D. Lizbeth Nevarez Shandreka Niblett Heather Nielsen Kimani Norrington-Sands, Ph.D. Dr. Jessica Nouhavandi Myra Nourmand Heba Nowyhed, Ph.D. Pamela Jane Nye Tunisia Offray Doreen Olson Mirna Orihuela Oriana Ortega Alicia Loh Ortiz Anita Ortiz Lavinia Osilesi Anoosheh Oskouian Pandora Ovanessian Shideh Ovaysikia Yanghee Paik Sharon Pak Tara Pak Annette Palazuelos Pamela S. Palmer Elisa Paster Robin Kandell Paulino Alix Peabody Julie Peck Jeicel Perez Erin Perez-Coleman Audrey Peterson Javette Adams Pettaway Denise Pines Jodie Poirier Breanne Harrison Pollock Jill Potts Naama O. Pozniak Starlett Quarles Fawn Radmanich Christa Haggai Ramey Elsa Ramo Avivah Rapoport September Rea Angela Reddock-Wright Lisa Reddy Saman Rejali Toni Ricci Ashley Richardson Karina Rico Kim Rocco-Shields Joni Rogers-Kante Vanessa Roman Leslie Rosado Carol Rosenstein Whitney Jones Roy Melissa Russo Monica Safapour Juana San Martin Carol Schary Reena Scoblionko Kathy Scott Brianna L. Seabron Andrea Servadio Dana Settle Sapana Shah Rasha Gerges Shields Stacey Shin Miwa Shoda Mercedes Sierra Tina Simmons Ashley Simonsen Danone Simpson Renata Simril Laura Small Dayle M. Smith, Ph.D. Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson Margaret Sohagi Julie Song Ana Soulriver Kirsten Spira Nicole Stan Jessica Starman Jennifer Levin Stearns Mercy Tolentino Steenwyk Melanie Stricklan Wylie Strout Danielle Takata-Herring Tina Tayag Dynasty Taylor Dr. Sara L. Terheggen Ruta K. Thomas Tunua Thrash-Ntuk Leanne Tomar Frances Townsend Tiffany Travillion Natalie Tronkina Heather Turner Kim Turner Jade Turner-Bond Minoti Vaishnav Angelica Vale Lori Valencia AnnaMarie Van Hoesen Nancy Hoffman Vanyek Heidy Vaquerano Joan Velazquez Emily Burkhardt Vicente Saytina Vielot Srividhya Viswanathan Clare Vivier Bianca Vobecky Monique Vobecky Jenny Walker Kitty Wallace Val Watkins Ellen Way Pamela Kohlman Webster Alysen Weiland Alyssa Weinberger Tiffany Whipple Jennifer White Christina Wickers Rayni Romito Williams Shelley Williams Tara Wilson Marla Wooton Lisa Worden Jordynn Wynn Liat Yamini Lidia Yan Rebecca Louve Yao Lara Yeretsian Phoebe Yu Caitlin Zirpolo Rachel Zoe

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.


Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit

Saturday, June 26, 2021

How real estate appraisers measure homes for real estate appraisals - by Mary Cummins, Los Angeles, California

How a real estate appraiser measures a home, house, measure, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, los angeles, california, marycummins.com, marycummins
How a real estate appraiser measures a home, house, measure, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, los angeles, california, marycummins.com, marycummins


Real estate appraisers measure homes using the ANSI method. ANSI stands for the American National Standard Institute. It is a square footage method for calculating the gross living area of a residential property. The standard is ANSI Z765-2013. It was first approved in 1996 by the American Institute of Architects, the Appraisal Foundation, the Building Owners and Managers Association, the Manufactured Housing Institute, the National Association of Realtors, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD and others. Here is the 2020 draft though the 2013 version is approved.

Detached Single-Family Finished Square Footage

"For detached single-family houses, the finished square footage of each level is the sum of finished areas on that level measured at floor level to the exterior finished surface of the outside walls."

Legal room counts, bedrooms, bathrooms

A real estate appraisal will include the total number of rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms. An average home with a living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, one full bathroom, one half bathroom would have five rooms, two bedrooms and 1.1 bathrooms. A 3/4 bathroom which is a toilet, sink and shower is considered a full bathroom. A half bath only has a toilet and sink.

A room does not have to be divided by walls to be considered a room. An example would be a large open living/dining area. It would be considered a living room and a dining room. "Bathrooms, laundry rooms, sun rooms, closets, storage rooms and entries are not usually considered rooms." 

A bedroom generally has a closet. If it's an older home, it may have been built without a closet. It could still be considered a bedroom if it's at least minimum size and meets all other requirements for a bedroom. A legal bedroom would have its own access off a hallway or main room. The only access cannot be through another bedroom. It would most likely be considered a sitting room for the adjacent bedroom in that case. 

Openings to the Floor Below

"Openings to the floor below cannot be included in the square footage calculation. However, the area of both stair treads and landings proceeding to the floor below is included in the finished area of the floor from which the stairs descend, not to exceed the area of the opening in the floor."

Sloped ceilings

"Ceiling Height Requirements: To be included in finished square footage calculations, finished areas must have a ceiling height of at least 7 feet (2.13 meters) except under beams, ducts, and other obstructions where the height may be 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 meters); under stairs where there is no specified height requirement; or where the ceiling is sloped. If a room’s ceiling is sloped, at least one-half of the finished square footage in that room must have a vertical ceiling height of at least 7 feet (2.13 meters); no portion of the finished area that has a height of less than 5 feet (1.52 meters) may be included in finished square footage." See graphic.

Attics, lofts

"Lofts and finished attics must be accessible by a conventional stairway or other access to be counted. If you can only reach the loft by climbing a ladder or very steep small stairs, it’s not part of the  finished floor area regardless of the ceiling height." The loft or attic must be a legal conversion completed with a building permit and included in the tax assessment roll to be included in the gross living area. It must be finished with heat.

Finished Areas Connected to the House and Not Connected to the Main House

"Finished areas that are connected to the main body of the house by other finished areas such as hallways or stairways are included in the finished square footage of the floor that is at the same level. Finished areas that are not connected to the house in such a manner cannot be included in the finished square footage of any level."

A finished area that is not connected could be a separate guest house, separate Accessory Dwelling Unit ADU, separate mother in law unit or converted garage. Those areas will be measured and included in the report. They just won't be included in the gross living area of the home. 

Unfinished, Unpermitted Areas which are not included

An unfinished area would be a basement that doesn't have finished walls, ceilings or flooring. Unpermitted areas such as unpermitted garage converted to living quarters; porch, patio, balcony which was enclosed and added to a bedroom and any unpermitted addition would also not be included in the gross living area. The living area must be livable year round. A garage would be measured, included on the sketch, included in the sales grid with credit and included in the cost approach. The size of the garage just would not be included in the size of the gross living area of the home.

Finished Areas Adjacent to Unfinished Areas

"Where finished and unfinished areas are adjacent on the same level, the finished square footage is calculated by measuring to the exterior edge or unfinished surface of any interior partition between the areas."

Above- and Below-Grade Finished Areas

"The above-grade finished square footage of a house is the sum of finished areas on levels that are entirely above grade. The below-grade finished square footage of a house is the sum of finished areas on levels that are wholly or partly below grade."


The exception to the above and below grade area is multilevel homes built on a sloped lot. 

From Fannie Mae ( link to Fannie Mae Selling Guide for this quote ) in regard to basements and multilevel homes. "For consistency in the sales comparison analysis, the appraiser should compare above-grade areas to above-grade areas and below-grade areas to below-grade areas. The appraiser may need to deviate from this approach if the style of the subject property or any of the comparables does not lend itself to such comparisons. For example, a property built into the side of a hill where the lower level is significantly out of ground, the interior finish is equal throughout the house, and the flow and function of the layout is accepted by the local market, may require the gross living area to include both levels. However, in such instances, the appraiser must be consistent throughout the appraisal in his or her analysis and explain the reason for the deviation, clearly describing the comparisons that were made."

Below is a home that fits that exception which is very common here in Los Angeles, California. The middle level is at street level. The lower level is considered above grade because it's built on a sloped lot and three sides are out of ground. It is common for the area.


The above are only some areas which are not included in the gross living area of the main home. All areas will be measured, photographed, included in the report and given credit if they contribute to value. While the size of a permitted ADU would not be included in the gross living area of the main home, it would be included in the appraisal report on the line "Basement and finished rooms below grade" and given credit if it contributes to the value of the home. An ADU adds value to a home. A 100 year old unpermitted guest room that's about to fall down might be included on the same line but probably not given credit. A small old tool shed would not be included and not given credit. A large unfinished workshop would not be included in home size but would be measured and given credit if it contributes to value. 

The main purpose of using ANSI is consistency. People need to be able to compare apples with apples. If all real estate agents, developers, appraisers used ANSI and stated ANSI measurements on their reports and listings, it would make for more transparent real estate transactions. Unfortunately most living area sizes in real estate listings do not comply with ANSI. The size listed on MLS listings is generally larger than the legal gross living area. That's why they include the disclaimer on the bottom stating they don't guarantee the size or legal bed, bath count. 

References:

https://www.e-rallc.com/ANSIstandards

https://themilfordteam.com/How_to_measure_a_house.pdf

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.


Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit

Friday, June 18, 2021

False statement by President Joe Biden on home valuation and race - by Mary Cummins

Home Valuation is not related to race, President Joe Biden


SUMMARY: Joe Biden, HUD, Marcia Fudge repeatedly cite Andre Perry's paper on race and home values. Perry's paper is not published or peer reviewed researched. It's deeply flawed in its execution and analysis. Race is not related to home valuation. Socio-economic status is related to income which is related to race which is related to the value of a home bought by a POC. Blacks, POC make less money than whites. People buy the home they can afford. The value of those homes are not being reduced by appraisers, appraisals or AVMs. 

UPDATE: 03/26/2021 Here is a very well researched and written reply to Andre Perry's misleading paper. Perry conflates race with socio-economic status. SES is income, marital status, % single mothers with children under 18...) If you adjust for SES, the differences disappear. If you compare whites with low and high SES, the gap appears. This proves it's not a race issue. It's vitally important to know the real cause of the wealth gap between black and white so a proper solution can be applied. I've been stating that we need to fix the income gap to fix the wealth gap. Helping people with lower SES pay for a down payment won't help them down the line if they don't have enough income to easily make the mortgage payments. You just set them up for failure and bigger financial losses. This research is from Edward Pinto and Tobias Peter of from American Enterprise Institute (AEI).



This research brings up more flaws in Andre Perry's paper than I stated. Most importantly Perry intentionally did not include income stating it wouldn't affect the results. When income is included the value gap shrinks by half. Perry didn't include other important SES factors such as % single mother with children under 18. Everyone knows how expensive and difficult it is to work and raise young children as a single mother of any color. Perry also didn't include lot size, condition of neighborhood, condition of home, location next to natural amenities... I would bet Perry did this intentionally in order to show the results he desired. This is why his research was not published or peer reviewed. Thankfully AEI took it upon themselves to independently review the research. 

Interesting findings from their report.

"We find that with higher incomes, Black borrowers increasingly chose neighborhoods, in which the Black share of residents is lower." "If Black and White neighborhoods are identical in every aspect except for price and their racial makeup (as Perry et al. claim), then why are Black buyers not taking advantage of lower priced homes in Black neighborhoods? It must be that Black buyers understand that White neighborhoods do have more amenities and those who can do so are willing to forego the “cheaper” homes in Black neighborhoods in order to get those amenities."

"The Black homeownership (HO) rate is much lower than the White HO rate, but the difference
gets smaller as income grows. The HO rate for White or Black married households (HH) is
much higher than for unmarried White or Black HH."

"There is a big disparity by marital status between Blacks and Whites. Unmarried Black HH
comprise 70% of Black HH, and the vast majority are below area median income." Their research has also shown more integration, increased income among blacks.

"Diagnosing the causes of the home value gap, along with a recognition of
decreasing racial and ethnic segregation and increasing Socio-Economic Status
(SES) stratification, helps in the consideration of appropriate policy solutions that
will increase financial security and shrink the SES gap."

They offer some sound solutions at the end of the report.This is the type of real scientific fact based data that Joe Biden and HUD needs to see and use. Using Perry's report harms POC and will not help them. Perry is harming black people with his dishonest paper. 

11/08/2021 Farther below in this article it's proven that Andre Perry's "paper" about the value of white and black owned homes is based on major statistical errors. Perry compared the values of a very small sample of two intentionally extreme groups which Perry himself chose. Perry also did not control for the other variables especially location which we all know is the main contributor of value. There is no way to control for location. Perry also used Zillow data. Zillow stated they had a median error rate of 6.9% today and previously it was over 14%. Within the last week it was shown that Zillow's data is totally unreliable today. Zillow used their own data to buy and sell homes for profit or at least that was the plan. They ended up selling them for less than what they bought them. This proves Zillow's data which Andre Perry relied upon is deeply flawed. That makes his paper even more meaningless and worthless.

ORIGINAL: I'm glad that on June 17, 2021 President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a Federal holiday. It's been a holiday in most states including California for years. Unfortunately during that presentation President Joe Biden made a totally false statement about home valuation and race when he stated the following (sic),

"...it belongs to an aggressive effort to combat racial discrimination in housing. Finally address the cruel fact home owned to this day by a black American family is usually appraised at a low rate for a similar home owned by a white family in a similar area."


Someone repeated a misleading statement related to the misleading Brookings report to Joe Biden. A paper was written by Andre Perry who is promoting and selling a book on the subject. It's not peer reviewed research or a legitimate paper released by a University. The "report" misstates an alleged relationship between home valuation and race. The report only showed that all people of color including Latinos, Native Americans, Alaskans ... tend to buy and own less expensive homes in less expensive areas. The home values were determined from Zillow listing price robots who didn't see the homeowners or the homes. The values were list prices which are agreed upon by the homeowners and their own real estate agent and the homeowners estimate of value of their own homes. Real estate appraisers had nothing to do with the values. Race and color were not a factor in the calculation of home values. Perry doesn't say if these are active or off market listing prices. There is error in both prices but off market list prices has a much, much larger error making them meaningless. And again Zillow even states their Zestimates should never be considered an "appraisal" and are "no substitute for an appraisal." Perry also doesn't bother to mention that anyone can edit Zillow's data. I could go in there and say a home actually has ten bedrooms and not two. 

This article shows that Perry conflates race for socio-economic status. When adjusted for SES, the gap disappears. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/comments-on-the-pave-report/ 

UPDATE: Yesterday July 15, 2021 Andre Perry stated that "media articles" appear to indicate that real estate appraisers low ball the value of homes owned by black people. He didn't say his research proved this. He inferred that "white staging" homes for real estate inspections seemed to show this. 

The mathematical formula used to determine value is the most common asset valuation formula used worldwide for thousands of years. That formula compares one item to another similar item. It's also called matched pairs analysis. Homes of the same size, bed/bath count, condition, amenities were compared to other similar homes which recently sold in the SAME EXACT AREA. Homes in certain geographical areas are worth less than others in more desirable geographical areas with different characteristics. The mathematical calculation has absolutely nothing to do with race or color. In this instance they used Zillow listing prices per square foot. All appraisers know the "a" in "Zillow" stands for "accuracy." Zillow "zestimates" are not accurate at all. They also used ACS data which is the value the actual homeowner thinks their own home is worth. 

A home in South Los Angeles is worth less than a home of the same size, condition and features in Beverly Hills. The main difference is the value of the land and not the house. Here in California the land makes up over 70% of the total value. A vacant lot in South Los Angeles is worth less than a vacant lot of the same size in Beverly Hills. Everyone knows home value is based on three main factors, i.e. location, location, location.

There is a correlation between all people of color, new immigrants, people who don't speak English, people with less education... and level of income and net financial worth. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE tend to have less income and a resulting lower net worth. Because they have less income and less financial worth they tend to buy less expensive homes which they can afford in less expensive areas. Andre Perry committed the main fatal statistical sin confusing correlation with causation. That makes his "report" totally meaningless and useless. There are even more grave errors in his analysis which will be examined below. 

In Andre Perry's paper he used the separate inaccurate Zillow home valuation listing prices per square foot and self reported home values from the American Community Survey. The ACS is sent to a sample of 3.5 million people in the nation in the mail. A response to their written questionnaire is mandatory but most people throw it away assuming it's junk or scam mail. All of the information is self reported including when the home was built, number of bedrooms, rooms... Here's a sample form. Based on my experience most homeowners don't know all of this information off the top of their head. They generally don't know what their home is worth today. I would not trust the results of the ACS to be accurate about real estate values or home characteristics. Perry refers to the ACS results as the Census results. The ACS is not part of the Census. 

Perry compared those values to the racial makeup of the areas at large. Again, Zillow valuations are not accurate and listing prices don't equal home valuations. Homes don't always sell for listing price. Perry used price only per square foot which is never used in appraising because it's not accurate for home valuation. We weight comparable home sales based on similarities. Self reported home values are also very inaccurate. 

UPDATE: 07/30/2021 July 29, 2021 Andre Perry was on a panel talking about this issue. He stated, 

"Appraisers have the freedom to discriminate. In the price comparison approach they compare homes in area to another in the same area. If you only compare homes in a discriminated area to the same area, discrimination continues. There are multiple ways to arrive at value. We look across metropolitan areas instead of just the same neighborhood to get our values."

This proves that Perry knowingly compared different areas to each other. Perry only looked at 113/384 metropolitan areas which he chose based on his % black limit. Of course different areas would have different values. Everyone knows the main factor in value is location, location, location. Perry didn't control for location because it's impossible. If all the areas were truly similar, they would have had the same values. Perry basically admitted his research was flawed. UPDATE

Perry allegedly compared the values of alleged "similar" homes in "primarily black" areas to the same in "primarily white" areas. He claims the homes and neighborhoods had the exact same characteristics except for color of homeowner. Perry alone made that determination based on no real science. He ended up comparing 10% of all homes which he stated are in "primarily black" areas to an even smaller percentage of homes which he stated are in "primarily white" areas. The "primarily white" areas have 0-1% black people. He doesn't even bother to state the racial makeup of the 99-100%. Are they white Latinos, Asians, light Native Americans...? We don't know. Perry then took that data and extrapolated, stated it represented the entire USA. Let's look closer at the groups he compared. 

Perry stated an area was "primarily black" if 50% or more of the population identify as "black." He compared that to an area with less than 1% black residents. Perry actually stated zero black residents in the report. How many places have zero black people? I find it hard to believe they are any unless they are very tiny towns in the middle of nowhere. Perry clearly intentionally chose two very extreme comparison groups in order to create the most extreme statistics possible to fit his preconceived "results." That would be like comparing only very tall people to very short people to see if there's a difference in their lives. Of course there will be a difference. This is clearly an example of "garbage in, garbage out" i.e. GIGO statistics. Perry actually stated the areas that are "primarily black" are "more segregated." If you are looking at an area that is 50% plus black of course it's more segregated. 

Below is Table 2 from the report for comment. It shows the 10 metropolitan areas with the largest and smallest differences in the value of homes. Notice how widely the home "values" range in only the 99%+ white areas. What is causing the wide range of values in the white only area? It's not black people. The values range from $61,000 to $783,000. The same is evidence in the mainly black areas with a range $59,000 to $403,000. Perry stated he controlled for all factors except black or white skin color yet the "same homes with same amenities" are worth very different values in different areas. Could it be that there are other factors involved besides skin color? Maybe it's the location.  


Here is Table 6, the 10 metropolitan areas with the most and least devaluation of homes. The ones with the most alleged devaluation due to black skin color are depressed areas. Some neighborhoods in Detroit, Michigan? The city is auctioning off vacant homes for $1,000 just so they don't have to demolish them. I would bet that people who could afford to leave those specific neighborhoods left. Those that couldn't are still there. 

Per the chart, "Devaluation measure estimates median list price per sq foot after adjusting for home and neighborhood quality." We still don't know exactly how the home and neighborhood qualities were derived. Perry doesn't show the math. 
Perry has now added an "anti black sentiment index" from Stephens-Davidowitz. The "paper" is a New York Times op-ed opinion piece (pay wall). It's not peer reviewed research. Anyone can write an op-ed piece. The paper is based on "the percent of Google search queries that include racially charged language." The author Seth Stephens-Davidowitz then compared the search results to Obama's votes. His conclusion was anti black sentiment cost Obama 4% in votes in 2008 and 2012. Obama won. Did Obama win in spite of this or maybe he won because people wanted a black President and he was extremely well qualified? Perry is not only cherry picking his groups for comparisons but also his reference material. 

How much of the US fell into only those two very specific small categories of 50%+ black verses 0-1% white? Perry states that 10% of the US falls into the category of "primarily black." An analysis of only 10% of the country does not represent the entire country, see Perry's map below. Per the map this 10% appears to only be in the East and a little in the South. This is still only the percentage of the population living in the specific area and not the percentage of all black homeowners in that area or the entire country. Most homes in less wealthy areas which tend to have more people of color are actually owned by white investors or large public and private corporations. Perry then compared those values to areas with only 1% black people. Again, that would be a very small group for comparison. Of course it will show differences when you intentionally choose two very small and  extremely different groups for comparison. This is very misleading statistical analysis. It's as bad as any Fox News "statistics" or poll.


 

What about the white, red, yellow person who lives next door to the black person in an identical home in the "primarily black" area? What about the other <50% in the area who are not black? From Perry's report "Though most residents are Black (because he chose 51%+ black areas)(14.4 million non-Hispanic Blacks) by definition, approximately 5 million non-Black Americans live in majority Black neighborhoods." The 5 million non-Black person's home is worth exactly the same as the black person's if it's the same size and condition. The white person's home value is not "caused" by being black because they're not black. They're white or other. The home was not "devalued" or valued by black skin color of the homeowner.

If you actually read the 28 page report, Perry out of one side of his mouth admits "Majority
black neighborhoods do exhibit features associated with lower property values, including higher crime rates, longer commute times, and less access to high-scoring schools and well-rated restaurants." He then states that only explains half of the alleged devaluation of homes. Those are just the characteristics of poorer areas in general. I live in a high crime area in Los Angeles, California with poor schools. It's 80% Latino. The homes are valued less here but it's not because of black homeowners. 

Perry goes on to say there is a "significant correlation between the devaluation of homes in black neighborhoods and upward mobility of black children in metropolitan areas with majority black neighborhoods." The real correlation is any and all children living in poorer areas will find upward mobility very difficult. It has to do with more than just the value of the homes in the area. It has to do with the people being poorer. Homes in poor areas are just worth less. One should also note that most people living in poorer areas don't even own a home. They're renters in poor areas. That's the main reason it's difficult to move up the ladder. 

Here is another example of poor data used. Perry used the EPA walkability index to determine if an area had amenities such as "access to shopping, jobs and schools." This is how he compared areas with the "same amenities." The EPA index only shows the "suitability for walking as a means of travel." It doesn't show if there are lots of great local shops, cafes, great high paying jobs or great schools. It just shows if you can walk to the bus stop to take the bus to your job, school or store. Two homes with the same walk score can be worth very different amounts. Walk score does not equal value. In poor areas there are few grocery stores, retail chain stores or shopping malls. The reason is high crime, theft, higher insurance rates, higher expenses and less projected net profits which keep major chain stores away. Most people in poorer areas don't have cars. They can't just drive to the next city to go shopping or escape from hurricane Katrina. More info on the walkability analysis here

I remember the Los Angeles Rodney King riots. There were a few chain stores there like Payless Shoes. They were looted along with many other stores then burned to the ground. They didn't reopen. The area is still a grocery store desert. There are only liquor stores and a few non-chain fast food restaurants in the better pockets of the area near the freeway on ramps. I appraise in these areas. This is a huge issue in Los Angeles. 

Here is yet another example of Perry selectively using statistics. He states there is a correlation between a high number of violent crimes, black areas and reduced valuations. He also stated there is a correlation between high number of property crimes in high valuation non black areas. For that reason he only included violent crimes in his analysis of black areas. Then he didn't really include "crime" in his analysis. His "conclusion" is crime doesn't explain the devaluation of homes in primarily black areas. That's actually the opposite of what he said in another section of his report. A high violent crime area does explain a lower home valuation area. That's why all the home sites include the crime statistics. I would not live in a high crime area if I could afford to live elsewhere. 

On top of the useless statistics Perry then used the results of his limited analysis to extrapolate devaluation to 113 other metropolitan areas if they had at least one majority black area. He took very bad math from a few small extreme areas to state that many other areas he did not analyze have his same preconceived results. Andre Perry's entire paper should be dismissed because of the intentionally misleading statistics used to fit Perry's personal agenda to sell his book.

One more ridiculous comparison. Someone with less money will buy a less expensive car which they can afford. People of color tend to have less money as do some others who are not of color. Kelly Blue Book uses a computer program to calculate the value of your car. You type in make, model, year, mileage, condition and it tells you what it's worth. They will tell you the value of a Rolls Royce or a Ford Escort. They don't know the color of the person typing in the information. Is Kelly Blue Book "intentionally devaluing" cars owned by black people when they tell the owner of a 1990 Ford Escort that their car is worth less than a 2020 Rolls Royce? No. Real estate robot appraisals are the same. Actual appraisers follow the same mathematical formula as the robot appraisals. Land in Beverly Hills is the Rolls Royce of land and worth more than land in South Los Angeles. It's perceivable that all homes in less desirable areas could be worth $48,000 less than homes in more desirable areas per Perry's report.

A last thing to consider is that people who own homes in less expensive areas paid less for the homes originally compared to homes in more expensive areas. They bought a home they could afford. When they go to sell that home they will sell it for the same price as a similar home in the area which is market value. If they bought a home in South LA, it will sell for less than a home in Beverly Hills. Did someone "devalue" or "steal" the difference in price between their home and a home in Beverly Hills? No homes were "devalued" by $48,000 by robot appraisals, appraisers or anyone. 

Andre Perry has done very poor biased research. The report is therefore meaningless. Perry is guilty of using misleading statistics and data to prove his preconceived bias that black homes are devalued compared to white homes only because they are owned by black people. Perry used small extremely biased sample sizes. He organized the data to omit any findings that contradict the result he tried to prove. He manipulated the results to influence perception through misleading graphs and visuals. He used faulty correlations and causations to create false statistics. He committed every single statistical sin in the book. The Brookings Institute should retract his report. 

At the June 20, 2019 House Finance Committee meeting Andre Perry spoke about the alleged devaluation of black owned homes. There were real estate appraisal industry experts at the meeting. I watched the meeting and took notes, see above link. When the speakers were asked by a Committee member if they thought appraisers discriminate against black people in arriving at their home's value Perry was the only person who raised his hand in a room of real estate valuation experts. Perry was the only non expert in the room. 

Perry clearly does not understand real estate valuation. He is trying to use his report full of bad statistics to state that racist appraisers intentionally devalue the homes of black people by $48,000. He stated that in the Committee meeting. He stated the purpose of the report was to give "Black homeowners and policymakers a target price for redress." Oddly enough in the meeting Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib stated that the government should just add $48,000 to the value of all black people's homes. One doesn't have to be a real estate appraiser to realize how ridiculous that would be. What about the white person who has an identical home next door that's worth the same? Does he also get $48,000?

If Joe Biden or anyone wants to tackle the real issue of the correlation between people of color and income, net worth, they need to deal with those issues.The issue is most people with less income and money are people of color including many other colors and races other than black. Those issues have nothing to do with robot home appraisal analysis or home appraisers. They would need to make sure everyone makes the same amount of money regardless of any other factor. Until that happens all people with less money will buy and own less expensive homes in less expensive areas. People with no money won't buy or own any home at all. Most people in the US don't even own a home. Some don't even rent a house but maybe rent a tiny apartment or else they're homeless. Don't forget about those people.

The point of this article was to analyze the Brookings report and prove Joe Biden's statement incorrect. No one should ever rely on this misleading report. The media and others today have been stating that white real estate appraisers are intentionally appraising homes owned by black people lower than market value because all appraisers are white racists. No appraiser appraised any home in the report. The alleged valuations came from misleading computer analyzed Zillow listing prices per square foot and the ACS which uses self reported home values from the homeowner. Any low balling would therefore be caused by Zillow or the homeowner. 

These attacks on appraisers must stop. While racism certainly exists and there are racist appraisers not all appraisers are racists who devalue homes owned by black people. Most of us are hard working appraisers who always provide the best appraisal possible which complies with all the laws for everyone and anyone. 

* I'm a Democrat and voted for Joe Biden. I just disagree with Biden on this specific issue. I believe he was given an incorrect talking point. I'm also a Latino real estate appraiser. I appraise in primarily lower income areas which are mainly POC. I live in a lower income, high crime, very mixed area in South Los Angeles. 

** I went to the University of Southern California. I took statistics and a graduate class in research as an undergraduate. My research was selected by two Psychology faculty members to present at the Western Psychology Conference for Undergraduate Research at the University of Santa Clara in 1984.  The subject of my research was Classical Conditioning as a Factor in Response Bias. I used chi-square tests on my data. My Faculty Sponsor was Herm Turk. I do know a thing or two about statistics and research. 

___________________

References



Perry, Andre M. (2020). Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black
Cities. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press


Sweeney, Maureen (2019). Is Race Baked into Big Data?  My Letter to Housing SubCommittee.


Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.


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Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Alleged racial discrimination case in Oakland, California, real estate appraisal, Saleem Shaheed, Sunnyside - by Mary Cummins

Saleem Shaheed, 9821 sunnyside, oakland, california, racial, discrimination, real estate, real estate appraiser, appraiser, appraisal, fha, mary cummins, los angeles, alameda, loan, lender,
Saleem Shaheed, 9821 sunnyside, oakland, california, racial, discrimination, real estate, real estate appraiser, appraiser, appraisal, fha, mary cummins, los angeles, alameda, loan, lender,

Here is another alleged case of discrimination in a real estate appraisal in Oakland, California. Saleem Shaheed purchased a Cape Cod Colonial home at 9821 Sunnyside for $430,000 Nov 26, 2019. It was listed at $475,000 for over a year and a half. It appeared to be a fixer home based on pics. At the time he got a $417,000 first loan which is a 96% loan to value ratio. He put down $23,000. Nov 2020 the home was appraised for $575K. Jan 2021 while applying for an FHA loan which has much stricter requirements for the home the value was $480K. Shaheed then ordered a third appraisal April 2021 which came in at $630,000. These values are as per Shaheed. 

Shaheed claims the second appraiser didn't give credit for the second bath. He also claims that appraiser clicked the box that said "no updates in last 15 years." Shaheed said that was incorrect because he added a new roof. A new roof is a maintenance item. It's not an update. The home per photos had roof damage and needed a new roof when he bought it, see photo below. An update, upgrade would be a fully remodeled new kitchen with new appliances and new bath of higher quality. It would include new electrical system and new plumbing. I would agree with the appraiser if the kitchen, bath were the same that I saw in the 2019 listing photos. The home does not have a legal second bath, see below. Shaheed complained, appraiser didn't change value and Shaheed filed a claim of discrimination against that appraiser's license. 

I'll first deal with the actual physical home in question. Address is 9821 Sunnyside St, Oakland, California 94603 in Alameda County parcel number 46-5463-8-2. On taxes and in public government documents it's listed as a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom home with 1,343 sf. Keep in mind Saleen Shaheed stated it's a 3 bed 1.5 bath home. An extra bedroom and bathroom makes a huge difference in value.

I got comments doubting the bed, bath count. Here is an ad for the house from 1967. It's a two bed, one bath home. "2 plus" means two legal bedrooms. 




The top image came from the MLS listing. It was listed at $475,000 from at least March 12, 2018 to November 26, 2019 with agent Jasmine on the MLS. It's listed as a 2 bed, 1 bath home with 1,343 sf. Then the agent made a video where she states it's 3 beds, 2 baths with 1,609 sf. Screen shot from the video below. The agent Jasmine Sunkara is a liar which is probably why she removed her website below. She listed the real bed, bath count and size on the MLS. Based on government records this home is legally 2 beds and 1 bath. That appears to be the main issue in this case. Saleem Shaheed bought a 2 bed, 1 bath home which he is now trying to pass off as a legal 3 bed, 1.5 bath home in order to get a higher valuation. The home is also across the street from an elementary school which negatively affects value compared to homes not next to an elementary school. 

Saleem Shaheed, 9821 sunnyside, oakland, california, racial, discrimination, real estate, real estate appraiser, appraiser, appraisal, fha, mary cummins, los angeles, alameda, loan, lender,

I looked at the pics of the bedrooms in the video. They are not all bedrooms. Below are the pics of the alleged bedrooms. Two top pics are of the same bedroom. 





A legal bedroom must have a real closet and not just an armoire or clothing rod on a wall if it's not a very old home which was built without one. A legal habitable room must be legal minimum height in order to be included in the total gross living area. While older homes with sloped walls on the sides are common the angled area where it slopes under six feet is not included in the gross living area. 

You'll notice the home is listed as 1.5 floors. It's not two stories. The second floor is not a full floor with full height wall to wall. Notice the dormer windows. Notice the angled, sloped walls in rooms. A legal room must have a heat source connected to the main part of the home and should have insulated walls and ceilings. Attics generally don't. Below is a pic of the side view of the home. You can see it's not a full two story home. The two bedrooms are on top on either side of the "2nd" floor. The main part of the first floor of the home is about 23' x 32' (762') based on Google measure minus average sized roof eaves. The 2nd fl could be about 581'. You can't add area of the stairs on the second floor. 2nd fl definitely not the same size as the first floor. The rear extended part of the home looks like an unpermitted enclosed porch maybe. The one car garage is on the other side of the home. 


I'm assuming the green room is also considered a bedroom. Notice the odd closet with a window in it. It almost looks like part of the second floor was an attic-like area that was converted. See the little low door that goes to a storage area. That area in there is probably angled. 

The last turquoise blue pic is not a bedroom. That is not a third bedroom. The walls are angled, roof is low and there is barely any walking floor space. I'm going off the video and listing. 

I saw only one pic of a bathroom in the video. It was just a close shot of a toilet and window so I'm assuming the bathroom is small. Just found a pic of the full bathroom. It's the main bathroom.



I don't know what the full or half bath looks like. As the extra bed is not legal I'm sure the extra half bath isn't legal either. The problem with non legal rooms built without permits and not to code is that Building and Safety could order them removed at any time if they are reported. If you are the bank you want to make sure the loan is covered by the value of the home. A legal 2 bed 1 bath home is worth less than a legal 3 bed 2 bath home even if they are the same size. A legal 2 bed 1 bath home is worth about the same as a 3 bed 2 bath home where the extra bed and bath are not legal. Anyone can report the owner today and he'll probably have to rip out the extra bed and bath. Please, don't report the guy. 

In every day appraising we see unpermitted additions especially in areas with more affordable homes. We generally note whether or not they were built to code and built in a workmanlike manner. We also mention if they pose a health and safety hazard and include photos. Some lenders allow the appraiser to count them as beds, baths and some do not. One thing to consider is if you were offered a legal 3 bed, 2 bath home and a legal 2 bed, 1 bath home with unpermitted extra bed and bath, which home would you choose for the same price? You'd choose the legal one because someone could report the unpermitted rooms and you'd have to remove them. Clearly the home with legal beds, baths is worth more. 

Just for a wide range of values below are the three main robot appraisal values. The values are based on a mathematical formula which is the same as what real estate appraisers use. We search homes +/- 15% legal gross living area within a half a mile from the subject sold within the last 3 months or max six months if there are no recent comparable homes sold. We then choose the most similar comparables based on size, bed/bath count, amenities, condition, view... 

Everyone knows garbage in, garbage out (GIGO) with computer software. Flawed, or nonsense (garbage) input data produces nonsense output. That's what we have here with our robot values. The first two went by the false MLS information stating it's 3 bed, 2 bath. The last one is based on the tax data and is 2 bed, 1 bath. The difference today between a 3 bed, 2 bath home and a 2 bed, 1 bath home is about $130,000. These values are as of June 15, 2021 which is later than any of the appraisals. There are eight months between the first and third appraisal. I'm sure the value increased significantly in the last eight months. 

Zestimate/Trulia $666K range $619K - $764K 3+2 1343 sf

Redfn $669K 3 + 1.5 1370 sf

Real AVM $533K range $469,216 - $597,184 shows as 2 bed + 1 1343

Back to the three appraisals, i.e. November 2020 $575K, January 2021 $480K FHA appraisal, April 2021 $630,000. Shaheed has a problem with the six month old $480K appraisal which was for an FHA loan. FHA loans are very restrictive on the type and condition of homes on which they will lend. They would count legal beds, baths. The FHA appraiser did not give credit to the second bath which could be proper based on condition, permits. There can be no health, safety issues or major code violations. A regular loan might allow an appraiser to consider unpermitted beds, baths. I obviously have not seen the home. I don't know the condition or if it's changed. Shaheed states he added a new roof and redid the kids' bedrooms. The roof is a maintenance issue. Redoing bedrooms doesn't add that much value to the home. The pics of the alleged bedrooms are pretty funky. 

There is one issue most homeowners don't understand. Most underwriters, lenders will not allow the final appraised value to be higher than the highest recent sales price of a similar home in the area. It's possible there were no recent higher sales of a similar 2 bed, 1 bath home when the 2nd appraisal came in at $480,000. There are few homes on the market so there aren't that many sales. Maybe most homes in the area are newer legal 3 bed, 2 bath homes. It's also very possible that there were some recent higher sales of 3 bed, 2 bath homes when the 1st and 3rd appraisals were done. I haven't seen the appraisals. 

Based on the legal bed, bath count the second appraisal would have been within the range of value for the home at that time for an FHA appraisal. Based on 3 beds, 2 baths the first and third appraisals would have been within the range of value for the home at the time of those appraisals. That would appear to be an 8% appreciation within eight months between appraisals one and three. That sounds about right for the market. Home values have been rising quickly in that area. Cheaper areas such as Oakland have seen a larger increase. People can't afford the nicer areas so they are moving to Oakland where homes are more affordable. That is quickly driving the price up sky high. Because I haven't seen the home I can't get more specific about the value of the home. I can say there are issues with the home that would cause a wider range of values, namely the legal bed, bath count and condition. 

A last issue is that most loans are declined due to credit worthiness of the borrower, their income, assets, debts and not the appraisal. It's up to the lender to approve the loan as a package comprised of the borrower and the collateral. The appraiser has no say in the loan approval. If the last appraisal was done April 2021, any loan should have closed by now. Shaheed stated he still doesn't have a loan. Shaheed said the value of the last appraisal was "good" so one can only surmise that the borrower is the issue. If he goes ahead with the loan now, he now may have to have the appraisal updated. 

*Disclaimer. I haven't seen any of the appraisals. I do review appraisals for banks. I am not appraising this home. I haven't seen this home in person. 

**All real estate appraisals completed on the 1004 form state the appraisal is only for the use of the client. The client is the AMC or lender. The appraisal cannot be used for any other purpose by other parties. The borrower is not the client or owner of the appraisal. The purpose of the appraisal is to make sure there is sufficient equity in the property to cover the loan balance and costs to foreclose the property by the lender. The borrower is entitled to look at the appraisal. The borrower cannot use the appraisal for their own use. 

Below is the video tour of the home. Agent removed one version of it within an hour of me posting the article. I saved a copy.
 

Below is the original article.


Original real estate agent's website which was removed.


Jasmine Sunkara 916.501.3393 #calbre#01855557 #NMLS#112033

Photo of roof before sale. It needed a new roof. 

Photo of living room. You can see water damage to the wall most likely from the roof damage.


Kitchen.




Government city, county, state property record for subject. 


I just checked permits. There was no permit to add a bedroom or bathroom. There were two permits the current owner pulled to add solar but it was never completed. There was no permit for a new roof. You need a permit to replace the roof. They need to make sure people use roofing material and application methods which are up to code and fire proof. 

08/12/2020
Permit Inactive
SE2000661
Solar Electric Panels
9821 SUNNYSIDE ST, Oakland CA 94603
Install roof-mounted 3.30 kW PV solar system with 10 modules.
08/12/2020
Permit Inactive
RE2001806
Residential Electrical - Alteration
9821 SUNNYSIDE ST, Oakland CA 94603
Install 13.5 kWh Energy Storage system, 225 amp Main service panel, load center, and backup gateway.

2019 the sewer and sidewalk were repaired. 

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.


Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit

Thursday, June 10, 2021

Race and Racism in Real Estate Appraisals - Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Appraisal, Los Angeles, California

Mary Cummins, real estate appraiser, appraisal, Los Angeles, California, racism in real estate, race, racism, diversity, discrimination
Mary Cummins, real estate appraiser, appraisal, Los Angeles, California, racism in real estate, race, racism, diversity, discrimination

I just read an article about racism in the real estate appraisal industry. I'm not going to link to it because it's so misleading. The author who is not an appraiser or in the industry stated that because most real estate appraisers are white per one poll that means the real estate appraisal industry is "racist" against Black people. According to the same Appraisal Institute poll they cited most real estate appraisers are male, i.e. 77% vs. 21% female, when females make up 50.8% of the population. Does that mean all male real estate appraisers are misogynists who will appraise women's homes for less than men's homes? Obviously not. That's as ridiculous as the article I just read.

A very important thing to note is the disclaimer in the Appraisal Institute race chart, i.e. "U.S. appraiser population statistics were derived from the ASC National Registry as of Dec. 31, 2018. Additional demographic statistics were derived from Appraisal Institute studies conducted in 2016-2019 that were comprised of randomly selected AI and non-AI real estate valuation professionals. In Q1 2019, the Appraisal Institute invited 15,600 valuation professionals, resulting in 750 responses."

Appraisers in the ASC National Registry are only "State certified and licensed appraisers who are eligible to perform appraisals in federally related transactions." We're talking a small subset of all appraisers in the US. This is not all appraisers in the US. The results don't reflect the racial diversity of all appraisers in the US. It probably represents more successful, wealthier appraisers who are generally white men.

Appraisers in the Appraisal Institute are a even smaller subset of long time, wealthy, successful appraisers. The reason is because it costs a lot of money to become an AI appraiser. We're talking at least $15,000. It costs $370 just to join the group without even being an AI appraiser. These people are even more wealthy than ASC appraisers. They're more likely to be white men.

The appraisers they questioned for their poll on races of appraisers is clearly biased. They only asked wealthier appraisers. We do know that wealth correlates positively with the male sex and being "white." That means poorer people, women, Blacks, Latinos, new immigrants....were most likely excluded. Of course the results would show that most appraisers are white men. 

Below is a chart of race % of nation per US census, real estate appraisers per appraisal institute and real estate agents. 



Let's get to the AI race numbers anyway. Per the Appraisal Institute based on answers to a question on "race," the responses were as follows for licensed real estate appraisers: 

Hispanic/Latino 4.3%
American Indian/Alaska Native .4
Asian 1.1
Black or African American 1.3
Caucasian or White 85.4
Multiracial .7
Prefer not to say 5.1
Other 1.7
Total 100%

Per the US most recent US Census, the responses were as follows. Keep in mind that this represents ALL people including babies, children, retired people, disabled, incarcerated, criminals convicted of finance crimes, people in comas... people who can't be appraisers. It does not represent all the people who could physically, legally, technically be real estate appraisers. Such a subset would more likely be white men based on wealth and income.

Hispanic/Latino, alone, percent 18.5%
American Indian/Alaska Native 1.3
Asian 5.9
Black or African American, alone, percent 13.4
Caucasian or White, alone, percent 76.3
Multiracial, percent 2.8
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, 60.1
No prefer not to say category
No other category

Total = over 100% because of multiracial and multiple categories

We're not really comparing apples to apples here because of multiple categories including "prefer not to say" and the fact that it includes all people in the US. The population sample of appraisers was also highly skewed because of the limited appraisers they questioned. There still could be more white real estate appraisers than in the general population. In this instance someone tried to state that means appraisers are racist against Black people. Oddly enough people haven't said the same thing about real estate agents. I only see articles about appraisers. Let's look at those numbers and see how they compare. 

White  74.2%
Hispanic or Latino 12.3%
Asian 6.4%
Black or African American  5.0%
Unknown 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Those numbers look pretty similar. They also look pretty similar to the population as a whole. There are more white people in the US than Latinos, Blacks, Asians. Does this automatically mean all white people are racists against Blacks? Of course not. The racial makeup of a population does not mean one race is racist against another specific race. There are also fewer Latinos, Asians, American Indians... They are not the ones specifically complaining today. 

Don't get me wrong. Racism definitely exists in the US. It's a huge problem. More Black people are murdered by police. More Black people are in jail. More Black people are falsely convicted of crimes. There definitely are appraisers who are racist just like in all other professions. My issue here is articles stating that because most appraisers are white similar to the US population as a whole means they definitely are racist toward Black people and intentionally low balling their appraisals. 

Based on experience the real reason people right now are yelling racism in real estate appraisals is because buyers are not getting their loans approved for purchases and are unable to make up the difference in cash. The same goes with refinances. Properties are not just selling over list. They are going under contract over the price of the highest sales in the area for similar homes. Appraisers can't appraise a home for higher than the highest similar closed sale. A similar home is +/- 15% size, within last three months, within a 1/2 mile radius, with same condition/upgrades, amenities (e.g. pool, 2 garages)... The appraiser must use the "most similar" comparables. We must bracket size and amenities. The lender made that requirement. Not the appraiser. We are just following orders and a mathematical formula. Buyers are being forced to make up any difference between the contract and the maximum loan allowed in cash. Black, white, brown ... people are all having their appraisals come in lower than they desired. It's not race specific. In 2019 Fannie Mae stated home appraisals came in low 8% of the time. Today it's over 20% of the time. This affects everyone.

Buyers, homeowners don't seem to understand the purpose of a real estate appraisal in the home buying process. If you want to pay 100% cash for a property, you don't need an appraisal. Pay whatever you like. If you want to make a down payment and have a loan, you need an appraisal to get the loan. The real estate appraiser works for the lender and not the seller, buyer or borrower. The lender is willing to loan a certain loan to value ratio (amount of loan / value of property) on property for a borrower with good credit, steady job, assets, cash, investments and a down payment. The purpose is to make sure that if the owner can't make the loan payment for whatever reason that the lender can foreclose and sell the property for enough money to cover the loan balance and all costs. 

The real estate agent is involved in the same transaction yet people aren't calling them racist. The racial makeup of real estate agents is about the same as appraisers. They are going after the appraiser even though it's the lender who is denying the loan. They could pay the difference in cash but they either can't or don't want to. They would call the lender racist but there is no one individual that represents the lender. It's easier to attack the appraiser who has a name and a face so that is what they're doing. 

If Black people want more Black appraisers to feel better represented, they need to become appraisers. If they are having a problem finding a mentor to get their hours, Black appraisers should form an organization to mentor and support Black trainees. Then Black people should only hire Black appraisers to support them financially. The problem finding a mentor has nothing to do with color. It has to do with the difficult trainee process. One article blamed the problem on white people which is totally false. ALL trainees have the same problem finding a mentor. I actually wanted to start a program to help new appraisers and mentor Latinos and Black people. When I found out how much time, money and hassles it would cost me, I changed my mind. Here's an article I wrote about the mentorship issues. 

FWIW I'm Latino and speak Spanish. I appraise properties in lower priced Black, Latino areas. I understand the issues as they relate to value. 

If your loan is denied because of an appraisal value, here's an article I wrote on how to appeal the appraisal. 

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.


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