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

Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California
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Showing posts with label appraisal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label appraisal. Show all posts

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Caltrans Rents Area Under 10, 5, 60, 405 Freeways in Los Angeles, California by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

fire, 10 freeway, los angeles, california, downtown,  real estate appraisal,real estate appraiser, mary cummins ,real estate,appraisal,fire,california,appraiser,los angeles,caltrans, freeway Photo: Caltrans
fire, 10 freeway, los angeles, california, downtown, 
real estate appraisal,real estate appraiser, mary cummins ,real estate,appraisal,fire,california,appraiser,los angeles,caltrans, freeway Photo: Caltrans

UPDATE 11/22/2023 As expected the freeway is not repaired. It's only braced. It will take months to repair the freeway. "Though the shored-up freeway is safe for drivers again, repairs for the damaged overpass will take months, officials said. None of the damaged columns that hold up the overpass east of Alameda Street have been repaired yet, according to Caltrans spokesperson Michael Comeaux.

“Columns damaged by the fire will need to be repaired. The repair strategy may vary between individual columns depending on the extent of damage. The repairs will include the removal of any damaged concrete, patching of the damage, and wrapping the columns with steel casings,” Comeaux said in an email."

"The fire has drawn scrutiny to the state’s open-air lease program. On Wednesday, Caltrans announced inspectors assessed 601 leased sites across the state and of 38 sites that pose a potential risk, only a few present a specific fire or safety risk."

An engineer with Caltrans who was not authorized to speak publicly said 45 columns show clear evidence of spalling, the technical term for the cracking and disintegration of concrete when it is exposed to extremely high temperatures. The heat evaporates water molecules inside the concrete, which makes the material weak and brittle.

Construction crews will have to remove the damaged concrete from each column. In many cases, the engineer said, that damage extends to the reinforcing metal known as rebar that is embedded inside the concrete and spirals around vertical lengths extending from the foundation to the freeway overhead.

Engineers have identified eight columns where the heat of the fire reached far deeper into the concrete. For those columns, crews will have to remove not only the compromised concrete but also the spiral of rebar, the engineer said.

Once the damaged concrete and steel have been removed, the columns will be rebuilt, most likely with steel jackets similar to those used in seismic retrofits of bridge columns (an earthquake review in the 1990s did not lead to jackets being placed around the columns at this location). Grout or concrete will then be injected between the jacket and column."

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-11-22/downtown-los-angeles-10-freeway-fire-repairs

11/18/2023 Authorities release photo of person of interest in the alleged arson fire of the 10 freeway. Mayor Karen Bass said it was definitely not a homeless person. This looks like a homeless person to me. I'm in that immediate area all the time. I see the people down there. I was there last week and saw a homeless guy light a wood pallet on fire for no reason. They don't just do it to keep warm but because they can. People dump shit and trash on the street. Homeless light it on fire especially at night. Someone dumps an old tv that doesn't work. They will beat and crush it then light it on fire as a fun activity like a school bonfire. Once I found a dead dog that'd been put in a shopping cart, lit of fire then pushed down the street into a fence. I'm pretty sure the dog was dead before they lit it on fire or at least I hope so.There are young'ish men down there with mental illness and lots of anger. They will destroy and burn something just as an outlet, to rage against "the man" or just for fun. All those wood pallets, stacks of boxes, trash were begging to be burned. If you go down there, you will see fire marks on all the overpasses. 



https://ktla.com/10-freeway-fire/10-freeway-arson-suspect-description-released/

11/16/2023 Governor Gavin Newsom said the freeway will be open by next Tuesday November 21, 2023! The supports weren't as badly damaged as first thought. 

Per various articles "state officials filed a lawsuit against Apex saying the company owes $78,000 (or $600,000) in unpaid rent." "Apex Development Inc. has leased the land under I-10 since 2008. One condition of Apex’s contract stipulated it not allow flammable or hazardous materials to be stored there."

“Apex rented and improved the rundown yard and made substantial capital investments during the period that it had possession of the yard,” D’Attaray said. “Caltrans inspected the premises periodically, at least once a year, and CalTrans was fully aware of the sublessees and their operations. Even the State of California’s Fire Marshall inspected the premises.”

He said Apex had also repeatedly called the fire department to report fires started by homeless encampments, including along the fence line and at other yards."

https://apnews.com/article/freeway-fire-los-angeles-interstate-10-newsom-3ab9682a866c4e60b80b2d5d185847ac 

11/15/2023 Caltrans knew of an incident where portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta collapsed after combustible material stored under the interstate caught fire. That incident closed the interstate for six weeks. They wrote a policy directive based on that incident which prohibited storage of flammable materials under bridges and required access for inspections. Engineers stated Caltrans knew about the problem but can't get under the bridges to inspect because of all the junk. In all honesty there is not much in a tightly packed warehouse that isn't combustible. These areas aren't even enclosed so you can't block off a fire like you can in a building. There should at least be smoke, fire, CO detectors, fire sprinklers and fire fighting equipment easily accessible and functioning.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-11-14/l-a-facing-more-traffic-gridlock-amid-signs-of-hope-over-10-freeway-closure

11/14/2023 Governor Newsome said the freeway will open in 3-5 weeks. "Inspectors determined the section of the freeway affected would not need to be demolished and replaced, allowing workers to focus instead on repairing the existing structure, Newsom told reporters. That means reopening the freeways will take a matter of weeks, he said, rather than the months long endeavor some were initially bracing for." He later said maybe only 4/5 lanes will be open initially.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/13/us/i-10-freeway-la-fire-closure-tuesday/index.html

11/13/2023 Fire Department is now saying arson may be the cause. They also stated flammable hand sanitizer from Covid was being stored at the location. 

There is no real address, legal description, Assessor's Parcel Number APN I can find to use to see if there are complaints in Building and Safety ladbs.org . Generally people file complaints based on real address, APN or legal description there which are investigated. Maybe people can't file or view complaints on Caltrans property because it's under a state and not a city, county jurisdiction? Caltrans just said there is no property tax so there would be no APN. That would be a big problem because all building and safety, fire investigations are complaint driven by site location. There are no annual property inspections. Clearly we can't trust the California Department of Transportation to do the complaints and investigations. They should have used emergency powers to clear or safeguard the site. Sadly the entire area down there is very similar. There are many, many shoddy storage facilities under the freeway with homeless camps.

Caltrans own press release of the fire states the address is 1700 E 14th St which is blocks away. The site is in District 7. https://dot.ca.gov/fix-10

Recent article noted one property was leased by Calabasas based Apex Development Inc which was subleasing storage without permission from state and federal authorities. The company stopped paying rent and was out of compliance with the lease.

I see 85 lawsuits involving Apex Development in lacourt.org Below is the eviction lawsuit which is recent by state of California. It includes the companies on the site that burned. The ONLY cause for eviction on the form is non payment of rent. It's not for violations of terms of the lease. Obviously not paying rent is a violation of terms of lease. It's not for allowing the site to be a danger to people and property. Caltrans should have filed emergency eviction for unsafe premises.

I'll post docs in a sec. I see a previous lawsuit 20STCV42245 filed by Apex against Caltrans. It was dismissed. I see another suit against Caltrans 23STCV15418 for breach of contract that's recent for interference with contract and unjust enrichment 06/2023. Apex appears to be litigious. I don't know if they have cause for the suits. I was hoping to find a lease agreement but none were filed or maybe they were filed under seal. I don't know if Apex is claiming Covid hardship for rent payments. 

Case Number:  23STCV22798

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORINA, ACTING BY AND THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION VS APEX DEVELOPMENT, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION, ET AL.

Filing Courthouse:   Stanley Mosk Courthouse
Filing Date:  09/20/2023
Case Type:  Unlawful Detainer/Commercial (not drugs or wrongful eviction) (General Jurisdiction)
Status:  Pending

Next hearing. 02/15/2024 at 08:30 AM in Department 37 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Case Management Conference 

Many parties didn't reply and defaults were filed.

APEX DEVELOPMENT INC. - Defendant

CHOI DANIEL - Attorney for Plaintiff

D'ATTARAY MAINAK - Attorney for Defendant

EAGLE WOOD SERVICE - Defendant

ECO-RAIN TANK OF AMERICA - Defendant

GLUCK STEVEN M - Attorney for Defendant

KATZ JEFFREY E. - Attorney for Defendant

LARA ALFREDO MENDOZA - Defendant

MAX RECYCLING - Defendant

MCA TRUCKING - Defendant

NOWAID ANTHONY - Defendant

PACIFIC EXPRESS PALLETS - Defendant

SERAFIN DISTRIBUTION - Defendant serafindistribution.com/home 1361 Lawrence 
http://serafinsdistribution.com/contact-us

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA - Plaintiff

TORRES TAURINO M. - Defendant claims to live at 1361 Lawrence

Below are jpgs of main current eviction lawsuit.








Another article stated 100 columns of the freeway were damaged. Nine or ten were damaged severely. They don't know if they will have to tear down the overpass or just retrofit it. I believe some of these were previously retrofitted after the 1994 earthquake. The original freeway was built 1933-1957 or so.

ORIGINAL: November 10/11, 2023 (just after midnight) there was a huge pallet fire under the Santa Monica 10 freeway at Alameda and 14th Street which shut down the freeway and interchange. Many have asked why there were wood pallets under the freeway. People don't seem to realize that the California Department of Transporation Caltrans leases the area under the freeways in Los Angeles for warehouse purposes. 10 Freeway on Wikipedia

Based on current law, "Authorizes Caltrans to lease to public agencies or private entities the use of areas above or below state highways. Generally, leases to private entities have to be made on the basis of competitive bids and at fair market value." They can also lease them for less than fair market value if it's for the public good such as a park, homeless shelter...

Currently most of the area under the 10 in this area is warehouse property that caters to fashion industry. If you drive by you will see auto storage, shipping storage, large machinery storage, wood pallets, trash... I would assume all tenants must have adequate fire protection, insurance and abide by Building and Safety and Fire Department regulations. Any major fire under this old 10 freeway could cause a lot of damage besides disrupting traffic to the area. The 1994 earthquake caused a section between LaCienega and Venice to collapse because the supports were made pre 1971 before they were earthquake proof. Other areas needed repairs and retrofitting. The original section was built around 1955 or 1957. I'm not positive. We're still talking about a 70 year old overpass. When I was there day after fire a block away I saw what appeared to be retrofitting and reinforcement of another overpass few blocks away. 

We shall see if Caltrans changes their lease agreement terms after this fire. They should be able to take emergency action against any lessee, sub-lessee who violates the law due to the potential hazards to humans, property and the transportation system.

If you look at these storage sites under the freeway, not all are enclosed with walls. Perhaps the ones not enclosed with solid walls are not considered structures legally so they don't have to abide by Building and Safety regulations? Many just enclose the properties with chain link fencing with barbed wire on top. Perhaps there are not regulations for such enclosures? Clearly there should be. At the very least they need smoke, fire detectors that would not be set off with smoke, exhaust from autos. 

The address of the burned properties appear to be subleases located at 4205 E 14th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021 near Lawrence St and 14th St. Also 1349, 1361 Lawrence. Legal tract is 23269. Close APN is 5167-017-004. Thomas Guide map TG634G7. 5166-004-****. Tract H. N. ELLIOTT'S NINTH STREET TRACT.  It's council district 14 Kevin DeLeon. Zone is PF-1XL. Sign says "we buy pallets" and "Serafin's Distribution." They tried to get a permit to build a building for a scrap yard in 2014 and were denied. Previous building permit was 1925. Maybe it was built in the 30'sand renamed in the 50's. Below is Google satellite image of site, parcel maps and street view. For these two sites to burn makes me think it was a fire accidentally started by homeless people. It's been getting colder at night in the 50's. Google street images shows lots of homeless, cars, car tires stacked, wood pallets.All these things are highly flammable and difficult to extinguish especially under the enclosed freeway.













Here is the Google map of the burned site. Look at street and satellite view for the area. Lots of places full of pallets, trash, cars and homeless people. Years ago when I went to a motorcycle show that was in an industrial site they made me remove all gas from my motorcycle and tape the gas cap shut or else they wouldn't let my motorcycle in the show. It was because of Fire Department and insurance purposes. I'm sure all those cars had gas and oil in them besides batteries, tires which burn for long periods of time.

Because Caltrans is government they pay no property taxes so there is no assessor's parcel map I can yet find for the site. This is all I see. If you hover over it, it says "no information available." I'm trying to get an address to see if there were complaints about fire dangers or other Building and Safety violations. If there is no address, you can't really file a complaint. There must be something. I'll post when I find it.


Here are photos from Serafindistribution.com which shows interior. Their site states they have boxes, paper products, labels, janitorial supplies...



Here is one such current advertisement for warehouse rental under the 10 freeway blocks from the fire, see photo below. This property is for sale with a ten year renewable land lease from Caltrans. 

"Naomi Freeway Distribution1600-1650 S Naomi Ave 39,372 SF Industrial Building Los Angeles, CA$3,890,000 ($99/SF) Warehouses  California  Los Angeles  1600-1650 S Naomi Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021 Owner User - Investor Opportunity Located Minutes From Downtown, Arts District & Vernon Divisible into 4 Units, Power 1,200 Amp 240 V Service - Ground Level Doors Cal Trans Ground Lease Expires: 5/11/2031 - 10 Yr Option Concrete Block Construction. Owner Use - Investment Property - 5 Warehouse/Distribution Units - Land is Leased From Cal-trans - Newer Concrete Block Construction - Retail - Wholesale Possible - Garment - Cannabis Uses. 20,000 SF Can Be Occupied at Closing. Heart of Downtown Los Angeles Industrial Area Santa Monica Freeway (10) At Central Avenue Exit" https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1600-1650-S-Naomi-Ave-Los-Angeles-CA/3612898/ POSS INT LOCATED AT 1650 NAOMI AV LOS ANGELES OWNED BY STATE DEPT OF TRANSP 5130 013 000


 #caltrans #california #transportation #fire #marycummins #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #losangeles #freeway #landlease #fire


Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

DISCLAIMER: https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer-privacy-policy-for-blogs-by.html





Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Appraisers Can't Use Demographic Census Tract Data Yet Government Uses it to Attack Appraisers by David Towne

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real estate appraisal,neighborhoods,david towne,real estate appraiser,mary cummins,real estate,appraisal,census tract,california,appraiser,los angeles,



Another great article by real estate appraisal expert Dave Towne cited below. He states what many have noted since the government started mentioning census tracts and appraisal values. Appraisers can't and don't use census tract report data in selecting comparables or valuing properties. We are not allowed to consider personal demographics. We can only consider properties in a market area similar to the subject property. Neighborhoods, market areas do not correlate with census tracts! Census tracts were made by the government to gather personal demographics of the inhabitants in specific tiny areas to compare changes over time. They are a more recent artificial constructs of government which have nothing to do with determining appraisal values.

The first census tracts in the US were made in 1906 in New York. In 1934 they were standardized and expanded to a few major cities. "The goal of the criteria has remained unchanged; that is, to assure comparability and data reliability through the standardization of the population thresholds for census tracts, as well as requiring that their boundaries follow specific types of geographic features that do not change frequently. The Census Bureau began publishing census tract data as part of its standard tabulations beginning with the 1940 Census." 

For all we know the original tracts may have included some type of "redlining" based on race, nation of origin, primary language spoken, income levels... The "redlining" may have just been a correlation of less wealthy people living near the railroad tracks, polluted industrial areas and wealthier people living near the city center or a beautiful lake. Income, wealth correlate with race but race is not the cause.

The 1934 tracts have not changed but neighborhood boundaries, home values and real estate have definitely changed. Sometimes even the physical boundaries have changed with new freeways, aqueducts, dams, large government projects, dedicated parks, removal of train tracks... These areas also change as different areas go through the real estate cycles of growth, stabilization, decline and revitalization. Home values go up and down. Different people move in and out.

Appraisers use market areas sometimes called neighborhoods to selected comparables to value a subject property. WE DO NOT USE CENSUS TRACTS! The census tract number is auto-filled by a software program in the report. That's the only mention and use of census tracts. The government is the one who requested that data for their own loan use which is why it's in the form. Now they are misusing it to mischaracterize appraisers as alleged "racists" who "lowball" blacks and Latinos. Independent research by AEI has proven that race is not a factor in appraisal values. Whites make more money than Latinos and Blacks. If you make more money, you have more money and wealth. If you have more money, you will buy a more expensive home in a more expensive area. The main value of real estate is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. 

When we search for comparables for a subject property some use a half mile radius from subject. Some go one mile. In rural areas they go a few miles. For a high density condo area you might just use 1/4 mile radius. Some appraisers use known neighborhood boundaries which could be two streets, railroad crossing, major boulevard, freeway or the ocean. It depends upon the subject property. If I were appraising a home in the N 600 block in the flats of Beverly Hills, I would search N 500-700 then probably go two blocks east and west of the subject for starters. If I needed to go wider, I'd only go east or west and not north or south. North is much more expensive because they are larger estates. South is much smaller tract homes on much smaller lots. I don't look at or search census tracts. I'd have to figure out how to do that if my MLS could even do that. In fact this census tract of Beverly Hills is the first one I've ever looked at in my life just now. There are ten census tract maps in the map below.

Below is the census map which includes Beverly Hills, zoning map of Beverly Hills and zip code map. They're all different. I'm using this because I grew up here and know all the different market areas very well. Some of the areas in the census maps are commercial only and worth trillions of dollars. People don't live in those areas. They are stores, offices, medical centers in the golden triangle. Some of the areas in the census map are Beverly Hills and some are the city of Los Angeles. Beverly Hills property is easily worth twice Los Angeles property even if it's just across the street for many reasons yet they're in the same census tract. 

There's a thick line running down the middle of two census tracts. That's Sunset Blvd. Properties north of Sunset are worth 2-3x as much as properties south of Sunset. I could go on and on. The purpose is to show you that census tracts have nothing to do with real estate appraisal values. Three homes in the same tract could easily be worth $300,000 (small studio condo in Los Angeles), $2,000,000 small tract house south of the long gone rail road tracts on Santa Monica Blvd or $50,000,000 home above Sunset. Census tracts don't correlate with value. They should only be used to talk about people. 

I think the problem with census tracts and home values first started with fraud Andre Perry. He used Zillow Zestimate home values in different census tracts and compared them with the predominant race of people in the census tract area. His goal, agenda was to show that black owned homes are worth less than white owned home due to "old white racist male" appraisers intentionally low balling black people. No appraiser appraised any homes in his paper. He used only inaccurate Zillow values. He also just used the majority percentage of blacks in each area. He then cherry picked and twisted the results to fit his agenda. The results of his fraudulent study showed that whites make and have more money than blacks, latinos. Whites can afford to buy more expensive homes in more expensive areas. We've known about the income and wealth gap for years. It's caused by income and socioeconomic factors but not race or real estate appraisers. AEI research which disproves Andre Perry's fraudulent paper.


Census map of Beverly Hills. Ten maps which include Century City, Sherman Oaks and Los Angeles cities.


Map of the city of Beverly Hills broken up by zip codes just so you can see the outline of the city.




Below is Dave Towne's article. I asked his permission to share it. I'd link to it but he posts it in an appraisal group which is not public.

"Not to gloat, but I seem to be the only appraiser in the US who has observed and reported how people-oriented DEMOGRAPHIC CENSUS TRACT DATA reported by FHFA, the GSE’s and other entities is being used to tar and feather appraisers.  I have written about this topic at least 2x in the past.

The latest is this 8/01/23 INSIGHTS newsletter, in the link, from FHFA ...... the ‘conservator’ of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

Blog | Federal Housing Finance Agency New Measures in the UAD Aggregate Statistics: Opportunities to Explore Data on Comparable Properties and Structural, Lot, and Neighborhood Characteristics (fhfa.gov)

Here’s what’s in that (screen shots of the document):




Appraisers don’t appraise properties with CENSUS TRACTS as a paramount data point.  Most of us don’t even know where the tract boundaries are.

The Census Tract Number on the appraisal form is only there so that the LENDER and their regulators can track loans made in Tracts.

Because the ‘researchers’ cannot get into the minds of appraisers to determine how comps are selected, all the ‘researchers’ can do is fall back on this DEMOGRAPHIC metric.  That’s unfair to appraisers.  “We” appraisers are not allowed to use or consider people-oriented DEMOGRAPHICS in reports.

But what’s conveniently overlooked in this metric is the econometric status and other factors that play into where people choose to live and how baseline property valuations are done, starting with the local jurisdiction Assessor.  Those baseline factors started decades ago, long before most appraisers got into the business.

Buyers also don’t use Census Tracts as a determining factor on where to buy their home, unless magically the Tract corresponds with other geographic or personal factors the buyer considers important.  Builders/developers in most cases don’t purposely put up new housing based on Census Tract demographic info.

What’s been happening since 2018 or before is the likes of Andre Perry and Elizabeth Corver-Glenn, Ph.D, etc., have incorrectly used Census Tract people-oriented DEMOGRAPHIC info to inform Congress and others that “We” appraisers are valuing properties all wrong and it must be stopped.

Because of this, Census Tracts are becoming the de facto element “We” must acknowledge and that other people think is proper.

In short, using only this people-oriented DEMOGRAPHIC based data item to judge appraisers is just plain wrong.

Dave Towne, MNAA, AVAA, AGA "  

About David Towne

Certified Residential RE Appraiser at Towne Appraisals

AGA, MNAA, Accredited Green Appraiser - Licensed in WA State since 2003

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-towne-4a65226/
https://www.towneappraisals.com/

http://www.e-appraisersdirectory.com/Washington_Appraisers:Towne_Appraisals-48-2989-0-0-1864.html

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

DISCLAIMER: https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer-privacy-policy-for-blogs-by.html

Sunday, July 30, 2023

Nazario Incorrectly Blames Their Home Affordability Issues in Los Angeles on Government by Mary Cummins


This family of four tries to blame the government for their inability, unwillingness to cheaply rent or buy a home in central Los Angeles on their low wages with little savings. There are a few issues here the biggest being their relatively low wages. The article states the two daughters graduated from college. Jennifer Nazario got a Masters in economics and Paula Zanario got one in public policy. Their Opinion op-ed piece shows they may not have been paying attention in class.

People making minimum wage can't afford to rent a one bedroom in LA same in SF and NY let alone buy a home. Median rent for one bedroom here is $2,100. You need two people with minimum wage jobs to afford that and they're still rent burdened. They should increase their wages before considering buying. They've now bought at the peak of the market with high interest rates and a super low down payment. Hope they didn't get an adjustable and never have an emergency or job loss.

One issue I've found with people living in rent control units is they never strive to increase their income because they don't need to. I can only imagine how low the rent is for that studio after having been there for 25 years. It's wayyyyyyy below market rent. They've been taking advantage of their landlord who has subsidized their rent for 25 years. Their landlord is probably also an immigrant Latino. 

Legally they were not allowed to have four people in there. They could have been evicted easily but the landlord was nice to them and allowed them to stay. It's two people max allowed for a studio though sometimes they'll allow a very young underage child.

As I read the article the two kids weren't old enough to work until about 2022. They said they both went to college then grad school. They chose not to get full time jobs. Then they said they, I assume the two daughters, make over $136,650 a year combined. They did at least state they were happy they had low rent so they could save a lot of money for years. That's nice. It also means they are admitting they could have afforded a bigger better place if they wanted to. They are complaining about a situation they created for themselves.

The writers state they applied for the BofA program but didn't qualify because they made too much money. They also applied for the California Dream for All program which ran out of funds. Then they whined about the pay back part of one program if they accrue equity and sell. That's how the program works and is funded! We're really just taking their word for it. There could be more involved like credit scores, time at their jobs, other debt like car payments, credit card debt, bad debt, student loans...

They ended up buying a home outside of expensive downtown Los Angeles with 3% down. This was after they basically complained about rising rents, home prices and gentrification. They moved somewhere else and contributed to gentrification in that area. "Gentrification" has nothing to do with race but finances. Finances correlate with race in the US. Whites make more than Latinos and Blacks. It's actually just the revitalization cycle of real estate. People get pushed out of more expensive areas into less expensive areas. That's what happened with this family. They originally found a cheap place to live because it was in the recession phase before the recovery phase. They just did the same with their new place. They committed "gentrification."

Jennifer and Paula Nazario suggest government programs should provide free or cheap down payments for homes for poor people with low income jobs, bad credit, lots of debt and no savings. They clearly were not paying attention in class especially Jennifer with her Economics degree. If anyone can basically buy a home for free even though they can't easily make the mortgage, taxes, insurance, upkeep expenses, they will default and lose the home. That's why conventional loans don't allow you to borrow the down payment money. If you aren't making enough income to afford the down payment, you can't weather any emergency and won't be able to pay back the loan. Someone with no money in the deal won't care as much about losing the property. No bank would loan on a property without an equity cushion for fees, costs if they get stuck with it in foreclosure. There is a ton of years long research on this. 

Someone should have dissuaded the Nazarios from writing this clueless op-ed piece. It makes them look really stupid. I wasn't going to say anything until I saw that Jennifer has a degree in Economics. I'm truly embarrassed for them because I'm Latino. Thankfully I have common sense and don't expect the government to pay for everything for me. You have to do some things for yourself in this world.

From the article: "Jennifer Nazario is a systems administrator at a network of college-preparatory schools and a first-generation college graduate with a master’s degree in economics. Paula Nazario is an assistant director at UCLA and the first person in her family to go to college. She has a master’s degree in public policy."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/family-four-shared-cramped-studio-100112963.html



Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


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Sunday, June 25, 2023

Quality Control Standards for Automated Valuation Models, AVMs, Comment by Mary Cummins

RIN-2590-AA62, fannie mae, freddie mac,mary cummins,real estate appraiser, appraisal,avm, automated valuation method, dodd frank act,1125,los angeles,california
RIN-2590-AA62, fannie mae, freddie mac,mary cummins,real estate appraiser, appraisal,avm, automated valuation method, dodd frank act,1125,los angeles,california


Type:Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Number:RIN-2590-AA62

Group:Fannie Mae; Freddie Mac

Comment: Quality Control Standards for Automated Valuation Models

Comment: Quality Control Standards for Automated Valuation Models RIN-2590-AA62

This is a comment letter about the proposed change in the Dodd Frank Act section 1125. 

I'm a certified and licensed real estate appraiser with over 40 years of experience. Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) should NOT be used by mortgage originators and secondary market issuers in determining the collateral worth of a mortgage secured by a consumer’s principal residence or any real property. The main reasons are because they are not reliable indicators of market value, the data can be manipulated and there are conflicts of interest.

AVMs are not accurate because the AVM never sees the actual property and doesn't know all its attributes. The actual size, effective age, condition, amenities, view, lot type, specific location in a neighborhood ... are not known or considered. These factors can affect the value by up to 100%. There is no quality control that can account for vital missing data which can only be known by a live licensed appraiser. AVMs are GIGO, i.e., Garbage In Garbage Out. In this case there just isn't enough data going into the valuation to make it accurate.

Dodd-Frank Act added section 1125 to the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA); that section requires that AVMs meet quality control standards designed to: (1) ensure a high level of confidence in the estimates produced by automated valuation models; (2) protect against the manipulation of data; (3) seek to avoid conflicts of interest; (4) require random sample testing and reviews; and (5) account for any other such factor that the agencies determine to be appropriate. This letter is a comment on the change in section 1125.

AVMs don't ensure a high level of confidence in the home value estimates produced. They don't protect against the manipulation of data. There is a conflict of interest. AVMs currently can only consider address, tax size, tax bed/bath count, original tax age, pool/no pool and site size at most. Sometimes not all of this information is available. AVMs don't know if the property still exists or was burned down and demolished last year. AVMs don't know if it's in original 100 year condition with deferred maintenance or if the property was fully renovated, upgraded and expanded. AVMs don't know if the property is next to a water tower, power line, dump site or major freeway.

AVMs are even less accurate if the property is older, over/under improved, fair C5 or very good C1 condition, has a view or no view, is in an area with few recent sales or varies from the average home. Even the AVMs owners such as CoreLogic, Zillow,... state the AVMs are flawed and no substitute for a real estate appraisal by a licensed appraiser. Below is the disclaimer of Zillow.

"The Zestimate® home valuation model is Zillow’s estimate of a home’s market value. A Zestimate incorporates public, MLS and user-submitted data into Zillow’s proprietary formula, also taking into account home facts, location and market trends. It is not an appraisal and can’t be used in place of an appraisal."

As a real estate appraiser with over 40 years of experience I look at the different AVM values after I have finished an appraisal just for comparison. I can definitely state that AVMs are not a reliable indicator of value. I've seen AVMs state $2,000,000 value when the home just sold for $35,000,000 and appraised at $34,500,000. I've also seen AVMs state $1,500,000 value when the home just appraised at $500,000. The only time I've seen AVMs be close to accurate is when they are for average newer tract homes in average condition near median neighborhood values in an area with a sufficient number of recent sales. Even then they don't match actual market value.

Here is but one example. There are two identical homes on the same block in a development built in 1950. One is in original condition with deferred maintenance and no view. The other has been fully renovated, upgraded with an addition and has an ocean view. The difference in value would easily be 50% using an experienced appraiser. For a good measurement system, the accuracy error should be within 5%. AVMs are not accurate. There is no confidence in their valuations.

The data used in the AVMs can be easily manipulated. Zillow and other AVMs allow the homeowner, anyone, disgruntled ex tenant to edit the data for a property. If you edit the size, condition or other characteristics of the home, you can drastically change the value. The data can also be manipulated by Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data. Some AVMs consider MLS size, bed/bath count, view... As a real estate appraiser and past broker I can definitely state that MLS data is not accurate. Agents want to sell homes so they make them appear larger and newer. They Photoshop out power lines, water towers, freeways from the photos. They digitally stage them with pools, new lawns, new kitchens...which don't exist. 

The AVM doesn't see the home or view so it values them the same if they are the same size in the same area. The person who owns the home in original condition will be happy because it will appraise over market value. The person who owns the upgraded home with the ocean view will not be happy because now they have to apply for a different loan with a full appraisal in order to get a higher loan or lower rate. I've been in this exact situation many times. The owner ends up paying two "appraisal" fees even though the first was just an AVM. They also waste time.

The ability to manipulate the data creates huge conflicts of interest. Sellers, agents want to sell home for the highest price. AMCs, Lenders want the highest value so they can easily make the loan to make money. Zillow is both an AVM and seller, agent. CoreLogic sells AVM data to Lenders and others. They want to make the deal to make money. The independent real estate appraiser only cares about actual market value. They don't make money on the transaction besides a small appraisal fee which is paid if they hit the value desired by the borrower or not.

Have we learned nothing from the Zillow fiasco? "The evidence is there for anyone wishing to look. In a disastrous bet made by Zillow – one in which the company staked its future on investing in residential real estate based on its own algorithms – the company lost $32 billion in market capitalization from February to November 2021. What did Zillow learn about its “Zestimates” when its own money was at stake?" (https://appraisersblogs.com/dazzled-by-wizardry-federal-mortgage-regulators-ignore-zillow-debacle )

I've studied AVMs in depth as have others. There is a lot of research already done on the inaccuracy of AVMs. Here's an article I wrote about AVMs which cites some of that research. https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/2022/03/what-is-avm-automated-valuation-method.html 

The Dodd Frank Act is the result of the 2008 Great Recession and Financial Crisis. The purpose was to protect consumers, banking and our economy so that would never happen again. The public will lose trust in the real estate industry, mortgage market and mortgage backed investments. This will negatively affect the real estate industry, banking industry, stock market and our economy. Please, do not use AVMs to value property which will be collateralized by loans. 

Sincerely,

Mary Cummins
California Certified Real Estate Appraiser


Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


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Sunday, June 11, 2023

Reparations and Return of Lost Land by Mary Cummins real estate appraiser and genealogist


When Janice Hahn first made the motion to return Bruce's Beach to one of the original owners for $20,000,000 I knew it would start a real estate gold rush for "lost land" and it has. Blacks, Latinos, Indigenous, whites and everyone else will all be asking for payment for lands once maybe owned by their ancestors. 

While the return of Bruce's Beach was big news it did not set a legal precedent because it was a gift. There was no recent lawsuit. The county of Los Angeles did not have to give the land back to the Bruces. The Bruces ultimately agreed to sell the property for much, much more than market value back in the day after an eminent domain lawsuit which they lost. It wasn't "stolen" from them. Had they invested that money back into real estate they would have much more than $20,000,000 today but they didn't. They sold the real estate and spent the money. They recently said they will sell the property again. In essence the family sold the property twice both times for more than market value. Some are upset they aren't keeping it in the family to build generational wealth for black families. It's their property to do with as they please. The real cause of the wealth gap among whites, blacks, Latinos is the income gap.

Because of the Bruces' big payday many people are thinking about asking for compensation for land once owned by their ancestors or maybe they just rented it or lived there. Sometimes that land was sold fair and square. Other times it was taken through legal eminent domain, failure to pay taxes, legal abandonment, questionable transactions, outright theft or war. 

While genealogical documents, old newspapers, old real estate deeds can show some ownership interests and transactions, that might not tell the whole story. How will we figure out who actually owned the rights to the property and whether or not they actually sold or transferred it fairly and legally? How will we figure out which descendants should be compensated, for how much and in what order? 

In 1923 20-150 black people were murdered in the Rosewood Massacre. It was sanctioned by the local government. The people who survived fled in fear abandoning their real and personal property. By the 1990's some considered a lawsuit but evidence and statute of limitations issues ended those plans. Years later a politician filed a bill to compensate the children of some victims for the losses. The few that were left got about $150,000 each. I watched the film in 1997 and did most of the genealogical research for the Rosewood Cemetery. I personally feel they deserved much more compensation but, Florida.

In the 1950's Chavez Ravine properties were taken, bought by eminent domain. The owners were compensated for the land. Some sold outright. Some filed lawsuits. Dodgers Stadium ultimately ended up being built on the land. During the eminent domain proceedings there were holdouts who sued. They lost the lawsuits but did get over market value for the land at the time. The descendants of some are now talking about suing to get Bruces Beach type of money. Some didn't even own the land but were just renters or lived there with others for free. Some renters were given relocation fees. In fact most living in Chavez Ravine at the time were renters. Do their children who never lived there have a right to new compensation? The stories of eminent domain actions for Los Angeles freeways, government buildings, schools are all very similar. Poor people living in poor areas were displaced for government projects. The government chose the sites based on logistics, economic feasibility and property values. Race was not a consideration. Many times the people displaced were whites.

There are already sufficient laws to protect real estate rights in our country. Anyone can file a lawsuit to try to reclaim land they feel rightly belongs to them. They just need to provide proper documentation. There's currently a system for clearing heir property with clouded title. Some of these cases go back a few generations over 100 years. But what about people who owned the land before the US existed? In my state of California the land was previously owned by Mexicans, Spaniards and Indigenous people in that reverse order. Who has the legal right to the land and compensation? 

In a recent article on this issue "A New Front in Reparations: Seeking the Return of Lost Family Land" Thomas W. Mitchell, a law professor and director of the Initiative on Land, Housing & Property Rights at Boston College Law School, stated  “We are talking about the loss of heritage and history and culture.” “You are talking about a fundamental hit in terms of economic mobility and generational wealth.” But whose heritage, history, culture and wealth are we talking about? Should claims by Native Americans take precedence based on chronological order? They definitely lost their "heritage, history, culture and generational wealth" besides their lives. Did they legally sell or give their land to US states and nations? No, it was stolen, taken by the Spaniards, French, Russians, US states, USA and private individuals through brute force. Is brute force, war a legal means of seizing property?

What about the Spaniards. Did they legally give all Spain owned land grants to Mexico after the Mexican revolution? Did the state of California legally acquire land from Mexico after the war? At least the California, Mexican, Spanish land grant documentation still exists but there were no grants from Native Americans. Generally possession over a period of time shows rights to the land. Perhaps because the Indians didn't have a paper deed written in English filed at the local county assessor's office showing they owned the land they never really owned it. If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it...?

Bruce's Beach was originally owned by the Tongva Indians. There was no sign that said "Free land. Take whatever you want, kill us and send the rest of us on a death march to a small desolate area of the country." Should the Bruce family give the $20,000,000 to the Tongva Indians just like LA County gave it to them? Maybe the Tongva tribe should sue the Bruces? The Tongva weren't even allowed an eminent domain hearing. They were killed and forced off the land. Is that considered a legal real estate transaction? It's a legitimate question.

Another recent article talked about reparations and real estate in California. California was never a slave state yet a state commission was convened to study black slave reparations for residents. The commission considered papers and research on blacks, wealth, income and property. No reparations will be paid for many reasons. First and foremost the state doesn't have the funds. Second and more importantly one would need to consider reparations for all before you start handing out state money otherwise it's discrimination. There was already a black only Covid subsidy case which set legal precedent and reversed the subsidy. There are a lot of poor Latinos, Native Americans, Asians and even whites who are affected by some of the same negative influences in the Reparations Report. You don't have to be descended from slaves owned in another state to be poor in California. It was actually a good thing for those slaves and their descendants that their owners came to free state California because they were freed. They would have continued to be slaves in other states for much longer.

Latinos, Chinese, Japanese, everyone except the rich were taken advantage of for labor, real property, personal property through government actions all throughout California's history. Some Chinese were murdered in government sanctioned massacres and their property stolen. Others US citizens were expatriated to Mexico during the depression losing their land, jobs, income and all possessions. The Japanese were sent to internment camps but some have been compensated for some lost property. And don't forget about the Native Americans. Some were given rations and land but it was never equal to the land value of the US. Who gets reparations, land, how much and in what order? 

In the article "Can Reparations Bring Black Residents back to San Francisco" linked above a woman talks about the old family home in Fillmore sold through eminent domain from her black grandfather. Her grandfather was paid market value for the property. Had he reinvested in real estate his family would have more money than the current value of their old home today. But they didn't. She still wants reparations for the value of the property. She also feels she personally should get the home back. What about the people who owned it before her? What about the Native Americans who owned the entire area and the Americas?

Descendants of black slaves weren't the only people living in blighted areas sold under eminent domain in California. Latinos, Asians, Italians, Irish, immigrants, Jews... poor people of every race and color including whites lived in those areas. Do they also get reparations? I realize it was the California Reparations Task Force which was formed to mainly look at reparations for the descendants of black slaves owned in other states and free black people who were in California by the 19th century. The purpose was to calculate racist and other harm done to black people. Still, the task force considered the economic effect of things which affected more than just descendants of black people. Other people experienced racism, colorism, sexism, genderism, religious persecution, people taking advantage of the poor... Will we revisit and re-litigate every act of eminent domain? Every land transfer? Every instance of a laborer being paid less than what they feel they were worth or due? Every murder and assault? Every slight ever made to another in California? Everyone would end up owing everyone else money and California would go broke. 

Another woman in the article wants the tossed about figure of $5,000,000 per black Californian reparations so she can move back to expensive San Francisco. She states it's her home because she lived there when it was a less expensive blighted place. What about all the other poor people who also lived there and had to move? Blacks weren't the only people living there. What about the Indians who used to own it? It was their home for over 10,000 years. Currently they're trying to reclaim some of their land. They tried to reclaim Alcatraz but failed. They were given back some land in the form of reparations in the East Bay. Now they want to reclaim "Turtle Island" which is their name for all of North America

So far we have no set answers but a Pandora's box full of question. We do at least have centuries of established real estate laws. Most of our real estate laws came from the British and are older their our own country. You sometimes see them cited in Supreme Court rulings. People have always been able to sue for these causes. We'll soon see if the courts will be flooded with lawsuits to unwind eminent domain actions and other real estate transactions. Title companies may be busy. 

As I'm both a licensed real estate appraiser and genealogist perhaps this may be my new calling. I was able to figure out market value for Bruce's Beach property in 1920. I could appraise even older claims if I could find enough documentation. This may be the beginning of an interesting new era in genealogical real estate studies. Or we could just give Turtle Island back to Native Americans, go back to our ancestral countries and be done with it. 

References:

AB 3121 Reparations Task Force Report https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/reports

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


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Friday, June 2, 2023

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris Lie About Appraisal Bias to Get Votes by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, los angeles, california,joe biden, kamala harris, pave task force, real estate, appraiser,appraisal,income gap

The Biden Administration continues to promote the false narrative of the racist and biased appraiser to the American public. Yesterday the White House released an alleged "fact sheet" titled "Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes Sweeping Action to Address Racial Bias in Home Valuations." This "fact sheet" basically states that Joe Biden has solved the wealth gap among whites, blacks and Latinos by "cracking down" on real estate appraisers. That is a total lie. The wealth gap is caused by the income gap and not appraisers. The wealth gap is wider today than when Biden Harris took office. 

Research by American Enterprise Institute ( AEI Housing Center Response to Perry and Rothwell, 2021, https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/aei-housing-center-response-to-perry-and-rothwell-2021/ How Common is Appraiser Racial Bias https://www.aei.org/how-common-is-appraiser-racial-bias/ ) has shown using the government's own data that there is no racism in real estate appraisals. AEI has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the papers cited (Andre Perry) by Harris are fraudulent research with a false conclusion. 

The real issue is income inequality and not appraisals. Whites make more money than blacks, Latinos. Because whites make more money they have more money (wealth gap) and buy more expensive homes in more expensive areas than blacks, Latinos. Home value is based on location. Appraisers are not appraising them differently! The data cited in the papers uses robot appraisals and not real live appraisers. This is all politics to garner votes from blacks and Latinos. FTR I'm a female Latino.

The "fact sheet" states the PAVE Task Force was announced on the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre. This news is released on the first day of National Homeownership Month after Biden/Harris announced their run for re-election. Clearly political staging and timing for maximum effect to reach target voters. 

Biden stated the Task Force has been successful. In reality nothing has changed. Biden created a non-existent problem then stated he alone could fix it if elected. He was elected and now he claims to have fixed it in order to get more votes. Now he claims he's doing even more to fix the non-existent problem with new programs. Below are these "new" programs which are basically the same programs the PAVE Task Force, government announced months, years ago. He might as well add that he just ended slavery and just allowed women to vote.

1. Preventing algorithmic bias in home valuation. 

The Administration has stated that physical living breathing appraisers are biased. They based this false conclusion by looking at valuations, not appraisals, made by robots who have never seen the homeowners or homes. The robots don't know the race, color, gender...of the homeowners. They also don't know the home's condition, true size, true bed/bath count, amenities, specific location in a neighborhood (on a busy road, next door to the dump) or if it even still exists.

Now the Administration states they will find a way to prevent these robots from being biased. The robots are not biased! They're robots. Homes are appraised by appraisers and robots using a math formula. They compare the subject property to be appraised to other very similar homes in the same exact area which have sold recently. That's it! No race is involved ever.

Some today feel that an older home in fair condition owned by a person of color in say South Los Angeles should be comprable in value to a new home in excellent condition in Beverly Hills owned by a white person. They feel that would be more "equitable." They have specifically stated they want to increase the value of lower valued homes owned by blacks by using home sales from different areas farther away in "white areas" which are worth more. This would make every appraisal as worthless as any loan based on that appraisal. The real estate industry, investment industry, stock market and our economy would crash if this were done. Even the Appraisal Institute which generally cozies up to the government said this makes no sense (https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/2023/02/mary-cummins-comment-to-asc-bias.html ).

The best way to make sure AVMs aren't biased is to not use them for appraisals, loans or specific research. While they aren't biased against people they are biased against market value. The issue is GIGO i.e. garbage in, garbage out. In this case it's not enough data goes into the formula. They don't know or consider condition, view, upgrades, amenities, actual size.... This makes homes in inferior areas in poor condition worth more than market value. Homes with excellent views, upgrades, amenities...end up worth less than market value. All the AVMs today state they are never to be used as an appraisal. Then don't use them for an appraisal. Oddly enough the government is trying to make their own AVM but it's not accurate either.

2. Empowering consumers to take action against appraisal bias.

The PAVE Task Force announced months ago that they developed an appeal process for appraisals. This is false. Reconsideration of Value (ROV) has always existed. If you don't like the value of an appraisal, ask for an ROV. Give the appraiser three sold comparables of very similar homes in the same exact area which have sold recently and they will consider them. Based on my experience the borrower incorrectly thinks their home is worth more because one down the street or farther away sold for more. When they send me the comps they are either twice the size, in a totally different far away neighborhood or they never sold. A lot of this misinformation is caused by AVMs such as Zillow's Zestimate which is extremely inaccurate. Again, AVMs don't see the homes. We all know that Zillow is inaccurate.

Zillow over values homes in lower value areas. The problem is lower value areas have fewer sales. Zillow keeps going wider in their search to find recent home sales. They end up using higher value sales in superior areas farther away which have more sales. This is the cause of most ROV requests. This is also part of the cause of the many media articles about real estate appraiser bias. The borrower says "Well, Zillow said my home is worth x. You said it's worth less so you're clearly a racist who should be cancelled, sued and attacked!"

3. Increasing transparency and leveraging federal data to inform policy and improve enforcement against appraisal bias. 

The PAVE Task Force released data on appraisals for government backed loans. The government has always done this and legally must do this. Now they state they're releasing more data. Most importantly this data has been used to show that appraisers are not racist, biased in their appraisals, see linked research above.

4. Breaking down barriers to entry into the appraisal profession. 

Biden Administration likes to say there are too many white appraisers and he's solved that. Others like Cy Richardson with the National Urban League have actually said "appraisers are pale, male and stale" which is actually racism, sexism and ageism wrapped up in a pithy phrase. There is almost a similar amount of white appraisers as there are real estate agents yet no one complains about the agents. Biden states it's because it's too difficult to become an appraiser for blacks, Latinos. It's just as difficult for all appraisers who have also been complaining about the difficult appraiser trainee program for many years even before Biden was the President. Appraisers were working on a PAREA type program long before it was announced by the government. 

If you want to be a new appraiser you must be a trainee under a licensed appraiser for many hours. While I agree that the experience is great it's difficult to find an appraiser to be your mentor. Appraisers have nothing to gain and everything to lose by doing this. I've written an article about this. PAREA allows new appraisers to use other experience to become appraisers. While I support PAREA this is old news previously released by various appraisal agencies. 

Kamala Harris is the go to person on this issue because she's biracial and courted the black vote when she ran for President. Remember when she said she'd give $60,000,000,000 60 billion to Historically Black Colleges HBCs if elected? She was elected VP and could do that but she didn't. She's definitely not a real estate expert. After the fact sheet was released Kamala Harris released her version of the news to the media. “Home appraisals are meant to be fair and objective estimates of the market value of a property. However, far too often, they are not,” Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday on a press call. “Black homeowners are more likely to have their homes undervalued than other homeowners. And homeowners in majority Black and majority Latino neighborhoods are almost twice as likely to be undervalued.”

What Kamala Harris stated is false per research using the government's own data. One anecdotal article by Fannie Mae stated there were more appraisals under contract value in lower income areas that have more blacks and Latinos. The correlation is not race. It's lower income borrowers buying lower valued homes. Fannie Mae even stated their calculations were not research and there was no conclusion as to cause. 

USA Today went on and included more absolute lies in their article. They even cited Junia Howell whose research is as flawed as Andre Perry. Again, homes in predominantly white areas are worth more than predominantly black, Latino areas because whites make more money, have more money and buy more expensive homes in more expensive areas. Based on Joe Biden's, Kamala Harris' logic, a new Rolls Royce with zero miles should sell for the same as a 1980 Ford Escort with 500,000 miles. They both have four wheels. To value them differently is clearly racism and bias. The government should sue Kelly Blue Book and the car industry for valuing them differently. (sarcasm)

While I support an honest and fair appraisal industry I don't support the false narrative of the racist white male appraiser. It's a lie. While racism, racists exist it has not affected appraisal values. I also don't support the promotion of the false narrative for votes or any other agenda. I'm a Democrat and will vote for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris again. They do more good than bad but I'm absolutely against their actions on this made up issue. It's very harmful to appraisers and the industry. Appraisers are getting cancelled, death threats, harassed over the Administration using appraisers as scapegoats for the income gap. It's the income gap, stupid! Fix the income gap and leave appraisers out of it. They won't fix the income gap because it's too expensive. Maybe the politicians don't want to even fix it.

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


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