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| Rob Hayes, ABC News 7, @abc7 #abc7n@abc7robhayes, robhayes, Robert Hayes, Bias in Home Appraisals, Eyewitness News, Mary Cummins, real estate appraiser, los angeles, california, discrimination, appraisal gap, appraisal institute, national fair housing alliance, nonprofit, poc, race, people of color, white, brown, black, asian, latino |
I just saw there was an actual article about this here.
https://abc7.com/racial-disparities-in-home-appraisals-bias-discrimination-diversity/11496088/
No response to the email. Many other appraisers sent emails and responded to the article online. No response. This proves these "journalists" knowingly spread this false narrative to get traffic and clicks to sell advertising. It's not about reporting the real news or facts. It's about sensationalist news. In this case it's false claims of bias and discrimination which further divides our nation and people. There is enough real racism, bias and discrimination in our nation that we don't need to invent it. People should be fighting real cases of racism. How about dealing with the root cause of the white black brown wealth gap? It's income. How about helping POC make more money? That would allow them to buy and own more expensive homes and have the same amount of money as white people.
Email to Rob Hayes of ABC News 7
I'm a female Latino Appraiser in Los Angeles with over 38 years of experience. There were some inaccurate statements in your news segment this morning about "Bias in Home Appraisals."
The National Fair Housing Alliance ( https://nationalfairhousing.org ) you cite is a private non-profit organization. Their recent 84 page "report" is based on false and misleading data. It was not a research report. I wrote an article about the major errors here.
https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/2022/01/identifying-bias-and-barriers-promoting.html
The biggest flaw is that the report is not based on "multiple studies." None of the "studies' were independent peer reviewed and published research. They were all papers written by individuals and groups with agendas. I will illustrate just one issue in that report i.e., "appraisal gap."
There will always be an appraisal gap in areas which are appreciating quickly due to the historical nature of appraisals. Per government regulations Appraisers must use closed sales. Closed sales will always lag behind current contract prices by two to three months. Home values have appreciated during that time causing a gap.
Values have been appreciating quickly in the last few years. The faster the appreciation rate the larger the gap. Lower valued areas which generally have more POC which are revitalizing or what some call "gentrifying" will appreciate at a faster rate than the market as a whole. That is why there are greater appraisal gaps in those areas. I wrote an article about this issue here https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/2021/11/appraisal-gap-what-is-appraisal-gap-and.html NFHA knows this but they promote the false narrative to create a racial discrimination issue so they can increase donations to their organization. The more outrageous the story the more donations they receive.
It is difficult for anyone of any color to become an Appraiser today because of the trainee/mentor program. It has nothing to do with race but the program itself. Yes, I wrote an article about that as well here https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/2021/06/difficulties-becoming-real-estate.html They are currently working to modify the program.
Most importantly the Appraisal Institute ( https://www.appraisalinstitute.org ) is NOT the governing body of appraisers. AI is a private nonprofit just like NFHA. Appraisers are governed by multiple state and federal government agencies. Another article which explains it. https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/2021/08/who-oversees-regulates-real-estate.html
AI's board is 100% white and mainly male. It costs $15,000 to become an AI MAI Appraiser. Their members are by far more white and male than regular Appraisers due to the positive correlation between higher income and being white and male. I asked them about their scholarships for women and Latinos. They said I would have to pay to become a member then I could apply with no guarantees of actually getting a scholarship. There is no scholarship for membership fees. That's not really a scholarship offer.
Another misleading issue is the "accuracy" of the Zillow Automated Valuation Method (AVM). Zillow itself states their values are not appraisals and should not be used for valuation purposes. They recently admitted their AVMs are highly inaccurate when they closed down their ibuying department because they over valued homes they bought and had to sell them for less than what they paid. All Appraisers know the "a" in "Zillow" stands for "accuracy."
Perhaps the next time you do a segment on Appraisers and appraisals you should interview a local experienced Appraiser instead of just relying on inaccurate information on the internet. You are helping others promote the false narrative of the "racist white Appraiser." The four main articles about "racist Appraisers" have been debunked yet they are still promoted. I researched and wrote articles about those cases which are in the blog above.
Sincerely,
Mary Cummins
http://www.marycummins.com
http://www.facebook.com/cumminsrealestateservices
Mark Alston was quoted in the article but not the video, "Mark Alston said the report will be an "invaluable tool in trying to offset the damage done by the wealth stripping activity of undervalued appraisals in communities of color and especially in Black neighborhoods."
There has been no "wealth stripping" of anyone except the Native Americans who owned this land originally. Appraisers appraise homes based on what similar homes in the same area have sold for. That is the law. We don't use the price of sold homes in Beverly Hills to appraise homes in South Los Angeles and vice versa. That is a federal regulation to use the most similar sold home comparables.
There is a confirmed correlation between people of color and lower incomes. It's also a fact that women earn less than men doing the same job. Women of color earn even less than men of color or whites. People who make less money have less money. They tend to buy homes which cost less because that is what they can afford. For this reason there is a correlation between POC and lower priced homes.They also own cars that cost less money than white people especially white men. That does not mean that wealth has been "stripped" from them. If people want to close the wealth gap, they need to close the income gap. Help these people make more money. Don't go blaming real estate appraisers for appraising their homes for less than homes in more expensive areas. Remember, the three main factors in home valuation are location, location, location.
Mark Alston is the President of NAREB which is the "National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inc. (NAREB) was founded in Tampa, Florida, in 1947 as an equal opportunity and civil rights advocacy organization for African American real estate professionals, consumers, and communities in America." That is where Alston is coming from in this article.
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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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