Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Real Estate Appraisal, Los Angeles, California, Mary Cummins.

Mary Cummins is a real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California with 38+ years of experience. Cummins provides real estate appraisals for banks, lenders, mortgage brokers, Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs), lawyers, Courts, factors and private parties for lending, lawsuits, probate, estate planning, divorce and all types of litigation. Cummins provides 1004, 1073, 1025 and other form reports, narrative reports and historical appraisals besides real estate research and appraisal advice.

Thursday, July 20, 2023

PAREA Update from David Samnick - Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal , comment by Mary Cummins

parea, practical applications of real estate appraisal, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, los angeles, california, hud, ai, appraisal institute, mckissock, aqb, Appraiser Qualifications Board, mentor, trainee, license, certified residential,

I haven't been following PAREA as closely as I should have but thankfully appraiser David Samnick has been following it. He attended an Appraisal Institute meeting yesterday about the program. It's disheartening to say the least. The purpose of PAREA was to make it easier, cheaper and faster for new appraisers to get the training and hours of real life experience they need to get their license. A main purpose was to help diversify appraisers by making it cheaper and getting rid of the mandatory mentor/trainee. Lower income people can't work as a trainee for free for two years. I wrote a few articles about this huge obstacle to getting a license. Here's one from June 2021. https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/2021/06/difficulties-becoming-real-estate.html

This post below by David Samnick makes it clear that AI and others such as McKissock have used the issue of diversity just to line their pockets with money. The Appraisal Institute, McKissock make money selling education hours to appraisers. AI got a grant from the government to work on PAREA. May 18, 2023, the AQB approved the first PAREA program, belonging to the Appraisal Institute (AI). I wish I were wealthy and retired so I could train people for free. I'd only train POC if that were legal and not discriminatory.

"Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA) is a program that aims to revolutionize the real estate industry by increasing the number of appraisers. However, after listening to the Appraisal Institute speaker at yesterdays board meeting it quickly became evident that this initiative is a complete failure.

A) You cannot start PAREA until you have received all your real estate appraisal education. 94 hours = $1,700 per McKissock

B) Appraisal Institute speaker said that most AMC's/banks won't accept licensed appraisers work so he suggests going the CR route. Cost to become a CR appraiser through PAREA - $10,000

C) PAREA is a complete online course. Zero mentorship in the real world. No physical measuring. No driving. No real time experience. No true mentorship.

D) No discussion with the PAREA student about the pay to play. Multiple MLS services, E&O insurance, business expenses, accounting, appraisal software, computers, reliable transportation, and other miscellaneous expenses. Total costs can exceed $6,000 per year.

E) The Appraisal Institute said that this would increase diversity into the appraisal field yet could not tell us the breakdown of how many applicants were minorities.

F) PAREA graduates will be scooped up by AMCS to sign off on Hybrid reports performed by third party data collectors.

G) PAREA graduates have no geographic competence.

H) Total cost for PAREA at the end of the day = $17,700 and potentially more.

The Average Joes argued several points in the board meeting.

A) A graduate of the PAREA course would be paid and treated like a trainee as they have no real-world experience.

B) We could have more appraisers back into the industry if banks/amcs would allow appraisers to use their trainees.

C) Reinstate Licensed appraisers to be able to mentor new trainees. This would introduce the next generation of appraisers into the business.

D) Petition FHA to reinstate any licensed appraiser who took the FHA course and had to pass the test.

E) More appraisers would hire trainees if the AMC model wasn't taking so much money out of the pockets of working appraisers. Work is slow. Most have the mentality that my bills come before your bills.

In closing PAREA launched in 2019. And the program has not been successful in diversifying the appraisal profession. In fact, a study by the Appraiser Qualifications Board found that the PAREA program has had a negative impact on diversity in the appraisal profession.

The study found that the PAREA program is disproportionately used by white appraisers. In fact, white appraisers are more than twice as likely to use the PAREA program than minority appraisers. The study also found that the PAREA program is not as effective in providing a more accessible pathway to licensure as the traditional apprenticeship model."

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7087764386198556672/

Below was stated May 2023 by AI. “Market research has shown that value proposition—what PAREA is worth to someone in the marketplace—is around $5,000,” DiBiaso said. “Our pricing strategy may be different than that and include scholarships and discounts and payment plans. We have a commitment to The Appraisal Foundation that we will give preference of our scholarships to minorities, veterans, and people who indicate a willingness to serve in rural areas. The scholarships will come from a number of different sources including AI.”

McKissock stated their program will be ready June 2023. “We are investing heavily in the technology tools that appraisers use,” Nancy Gerome said, McKissock’s appraisal general manager. “Our hope is to have them consistently trained. You’ll get all different types of properties and scenarios because we’re leaning into the technology and experience. We’re trying to be thorough, that’s why we’re taking our time. We want to get it right.”

McKissock staff is preparing their launch to accommodate thousands of trainees, over a staggered period. They estimate the average time a person will take to complete the program is six months. The cost for participating is not yet determined. Staff did confirm there will be a “buy now, pay later” option, as well as scholarships.

“We are building a scholarship program because we know one of the goals of PAREA is to bring diversity into the profession, and we want to make it as affordable as we can,” Gerome said. Those interested in participating in a PAREA program of either McKissock or AI need to have already completed their Qualifying Education. "

Clearly when the government said there was a probably with diversity among real estate appraisers and the government would give money to help diversify appraisers all these companies heard was MONEY. They will just be training more appraisers for more money and the appraisers will probably all still be mainly older white men.

Appraisal Institute talks about grants and scholarships for POC and women all the time. I tried to apply and they said I have to pay to join their organization before they'd even talk about it. What if I had no qualifications or were denied? I'd be out the membership fee which is not cheap. It normally costs $15,000 to become an AI MAI appraiser even though I have 40 years of experience and have taken every publicly available real estate appraisal class in existence over the last 40 years. This is clearly a racket when you consider the government gave them money for the program. Gate keeping with a membership fee to the Appraisal Institute before you can access government funding.

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

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Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate Services has been in real estate since 1983, over 35 years. She is licensed by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. Mary Cummins was an agent and broker licensed with the California Department of Real Estate selling residential income, commercial buildings, raw land and homes for Merrill Lynch Realty in Beverly Hills and Westside Properties in Los Angeles before concentrating on appraisals. Mary Cummins currently provides real estate appraisals, expert witness testimony, historical research, legal real estate research for mortgage brokers, banks, lawyers, factors, insurance companies, financial consultants and private individuals. Mary Cummins was born and raised in Southern California. Cummins attended Beverly Hills Good Shepherd Catholic School and Beverly Hills High School. Besides being on the Dean's list, Mary Cummins was a top ten national swimmer and competed on the men's water polo team. Mary Cummins began college at the age of 15 attending the University of Southern California on scholarship, majoring in Psychology/Sociology. http://www.animaladvocates.us http://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdvocatesUSA

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Fed Michael Barr: AI could 'perpetuate or even amplify' racial bias in mortgages, by Mary Cummins

Michael Barr of the Federal Reserve stated artificial intelligence AI could perpetuate or even amplify racial bias in mortgages, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, los angeles, california, michael barr, racial bias,federal reserve, fed, loan origination, race, black, white, bias

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now being accused of racial bias. They're basically stating math, statistics, numbers themselves are racially biased. Again, the correlation between race and home value is caused by the income gap. If you have less money, you buy a less expensive home. Same with credit scores. The less money you have, the lower your credit score. POC make less money than whites. I'm just glad they're not still falsely accusing appraisers of AI's bias like they did previously with Andre Perry's fraudulent paper. No appraiser was involved in his data only robot Automated Valuation Methods (AVMs) which were basically accurate.

https://www.americanbanker.com/news/feds-barr-ai-could-perpetuate-or-even-amplify-bias-in-mortgages

"Fed's Barr: AI could 'perpetuate or even amplify' bias in mortgages

By Kyle Campbell

Michael Barr, vice chair for supervision at the Federal Reserve, said in a speech Tuesday that artificial intelligence in mortgage underwriting could exacerbate racial bias if left unchecked.Bloomberg News

The Federal Reserve's top regulator is wary of the use of artificial intelligence in mortgage underwriting.

Speaking at the National Fair Housing Alliance's national conference Tuesday morning, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said advancements in mortgage origination technology could lead to discriminatory lending practices."

Just did some Googling on racial bias in loan origination. 98-99% of the difference in loan origination between blacks, whites explained by credit scores and leverage. Did they consider LTV on the home or all debts? There's more to credit than credit score and LTV ratios. They include savings, how long at current job, debts, monthly financial responsibilities, single vs married, children... AEI research considered those factors.

"How much does racial bias affect mortgage lending? We assess racial discrimination in mortgage approvals using new data on mortgage applications. Minority applicants tend to have significantly lower credit scores, higher leverage, and are less likely than white applicants to receive algorithmic approval from race-blind government automated underwriting systems (AUS). Observable applicant- risk factors explain most of the racial disparities in lender denials. Further, we exploit the AUS data to show there are risk factors we do not directly observe, and our analysis indicates that these factors explain at least some of the residual 1-2 percentage point denial gaps. Overall, we find that differential treatment has played a limited role in generating denial disparities in recent years."

https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/how-much-does-racial-bias-affect-mortgage-lending.htm

I'm thinking this is just showboating for political reasons. The banks, credit unions don't want to give up credit scores. They correlate highly with ability to repay loans.

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Mary Cummins

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Real Estate Appraisers Mentioned in False Light in California Reparations Report by Mary Cummins

mary cummins, california reparations task force, california reparations report,real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, california, los angeles, black, latino, reparations, slavery

The final California Reparations Report came out today. I just started reading it but thought I'd search for the words "appraiser" and "appraisal." Sure enough they're in there because Paul Austin and Tenisha Tate-Austin told their false story about alleged racial discrimination to the Task Force.

"Consider Paul Austin and Tenisha Tate-Austin, who bought a home in Marin City in 2016. Three years later, a white appraiser valued their home for $500,000 less than it was worth, calling it a “distinct, marketable area.”27 “I took that as code word as: it’s a Black area,” said Paul Austin, who testifed before the Task Force that he felt physically sick when he read the appraisal report."

The statement above is totally false. I sent in a correction. It was not valued for $500,000 less than what it was worth. The appraisals were never made public. I wrote an in depth fully research article about the Austin v Miller case here. https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/2021/02/alleged-discrimination-home-appraisal.html

They were not discriminated against or low balled by the first appraiser. Marin City is a distinct area just like Pacoima, Beverly Hills, La Habra are distinct areas. The second appraiser came in way too high. My article above goes into the values in great depth. The second appraiser is the one who should be investigated by the California Attorney General, Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, lose their license and be charged with bank fraud. The harm this case caused to the first appraiser is beyond comprehension.

I haven't gotten far in the report but did notice a few important things. The report mentions the racial and other bias against Mexicans, Native Americans, Asians, Jews, Catholics, immigrants, women, poor... All of these other groups were also affected by racial, color, gender and other biases. The report isn't about slavery per se as California was never a slave state. The report is about racial harm against black people living in California before 1900. Mexicans, Native Americans, Asians, Italians were lynched. Native Americans, Mexicans lost their lands and property. Mexicans, Native Americans, Immigrants were used as near slave labor. Women, men, the poor were raped by slave owners, employers, government sanctioned church... Mexicans, Native Americans, Asians weren't allowed to attend public school with whites. All this happened in California. Every state, nation, people has done truly horrible things to others throughout all of human history.

The Governor and others already said there will be no monetary reparations. California has a budget deficit. The report was done to educate the nation and for positive PR for California and it's politicians. The state would also have to consider the harm caused to everyone else before they ever cut a check. It would be discrimination to give money to only one group based on race. There was already a case here in Oregon over Covid funds. (The Oregon CARES Act Discrimination Lawsuit is Great Northern Resources Inc., et al. v. Katy Coba, et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-01866-IM (L), in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Portland Division.) They wanted to give some Covid funds to blacks only because they were more affected than whites but the state was sued due for discrimination. Latinos who were equally negatively impacted by Covid sued for discrimination so the funds had to be given to everyone who applied. Any reparations would be the same.

If we were to do a California Reparations Report for all races, colors, religions, genders... everyone in California would end up owing everyone else money. It'd cancel itself out. You'd also have to offset benefits of living in the state minus harm caused by past actions in the state by the state. I'm Mexican, Indigenous, African and Euro. Half of my ancestral family was harmed by the other half. The reports would just cost the state a lot of money and I'd probably get half a cent. I'll pass on that waste of funds. I personally am just very happy to live here in California. I'm lucky I was born in this state and in this country.

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Mary Cummins

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

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

My letter finally showed up in the comments

https://www.mortgagetranslations.gov/sites/default/files/rulemaking_comments/Attachments/16263/Mary%20Cummins%20letter%20AVM%20Comment%2006252023.pdf

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Mary Cummins

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.

UPDATE:03/2024 A bill was filed to seek reparations for families displaced in Chavez Ravine. ORIGINAL: 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. Gov had to choose a site that was cheaper to preserve gov funds per law. Race was not a consideration. Many times the people displaced were just poor 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

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

Mary Cummins

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.

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

Mary Cummins

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Marina City Club has no Budget for Needed Repairs by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

Marina City Club, deferred maintenance, no reserve funds, Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, California, Mary Cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, loan, mortgage, can't get a home loan, this is my photo of the project.

Ever since the Surfside condo collapse in Miami, Florida everyone is worried about the condition of older condos. Condos near the ocean deteriorate faster than condos away from the ocean because of the salt air, low lying areas, soil and possible water intrusion. One condo project which is mentioned frequently in regard to this issue in Los Angeles, California is the Marina City Club in Marina del Rey, California.

The Marina City Club Towers were first built around 1976 to 1978. They are composed of three main towers and a few other surrounding units which front the boat docks. There are about 600 units. They were converted to condos in 1986 because of rent control and other factors. These were good quality units with tennis courts, a gym, hair salon, restaurant, pools, rec rooms... They're located on Los Angeles County owned leased land fronting the boat docks. The land is filled land.

The project is now about 50 years old. All condominium home owners associations HOAs must maintain proper reserve funds to repair and replace the components of the building over time. For example, if a water boiler lasts 30 years, the HOA must save 1/30th the cost of a new water boiler every year from HOA fees so they have enough money to replace it at the end of 30 years. The same goes with all major components of the building.

After the Surfrider condo collapse the owners and tenants of the Marina City Club condos became worried that their building could collapse and they could die. They started talking about the deferred maintenance they've noticed in the project. This caused people to revisit many recent articles about the project's lack of reserve funds for needed repairs. Los Angeles County became involved because they own the land on which the project was built. Part of the land lease states the project must be maintained properly and in a safe manner. Condo owners pay a HOA fee and a land lease fee for each unit. The fees are about $1,000/month for HOA fees and $700/month for the land lease. There's an extra fee to use the other club facilities which can run $700/month. This is all before you pay the mortgage.

In order to buy a home you generally put 20% down and finance the rest through the bank. A bank will only finance a property with a 30 year mortgage if they think it will last another 30 years. A bank will only finance a condo if there are no major repairs needed and there are sufficient reserve funds, i.e. 70%+ to pay for all repairs projected. If a project only has about 8% or they need $50,000,000 to fund their reserves, this is where you have a problem with the project. This is especially so when remaining life on the major components is zero years. It's now deferred maintenance. Any sane bank after reviewing facts about the project would reject it. You'd have to pay cash for the property. Property value could go lower based on the needed repairs and reserve issues.

I am not sharing any private information about the property which I obtained through any appraisals I've ever done in the project. All of this is public knowledge or came from friends who live in the building. If you are thinking of buying a condo here, PLEASE, get a copy of the HOA budget which lists needed repairs and reserve amounts. They must give it to you. Read the "Reserve Study Executive Summary" made by the HOA Essex Marina City Club LP.

Currently the condo owners can't and won't agree to a large special assessment. Most of these condo owners are older 75+. They're now on fixed incomes. They probably thought they wouldn't be around by the time the building needed the repairs. That time is unfortunately now.

*Just for clarification I'm not saying I think the building will collapse. I am saying that it appears based on public documents to have deferred maintenance with insufficient reserve funds to make the repairs.

I've been a real estate appraiser since 1983 which is 40 years now. I've appraised the Marina City Club Towers many times since it was built 1970-1978 and later converted to condos. I've visited my friends there many times even when it was first apartments before they converted to condos. I've been in the building a few times within the last year. My friends who own units in the building gave me a copy of a more recent budget. Below are a few public articles and documents.

https://therealdeal.com/la/2022/02/24/marina-city-club-condo-towers-deemed-safe-for-now-due-for-big-repairs/

"Los Angeles County ordered the structural engineering study last summer after residents voiced concern about public safety at the 10-acre complex of 600 condominiums in three, 16-story towers and a three-story, 101-unit apartment building.

The Marina City Club includes swimming pools, tennis courts, boat slips, restaurants, a fitness center and offices on land owned by the county. Deferred maintenance at the aging complex was estimated last year to require between $80 million and $140 million in repairs.

The new engineering study found cracks in walls and cement, signs of water intrusion in parking garages, “spalling” and crumbling concrete, as well as water-damaged rooftop decks.

Cement fastenings to handrails along walkways and on private balconies also were deteriorated, creating a safety hazard, the report said.

But the report by Saiful Bouquet Structural Engineers of Pasadena found no danger of imminent collapse.

“No significant structural damage was observed,” the 14-page engineering report concluded. “It is our opinion that the majority of damages observed were a result of normal wear and tear of the structure and/or moisture/water intrusion in the building envelope.”

It recommended Marina City Club operator Essex Property Trust, a publicly traded apartment firm, make the needed repairs to the three 16-story condo towers, parking structures and apartments."

https://darik.news/florida/marina-del-rey-condo-towers-are-structurally-strong-but-in-need-of-repair-says-engineering-study-press-enterprise/524046.html

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/07/09/decay-and-disrepair-mar-life-at-aging-marina-del-rey-condo-towers/

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-01/after-florida-building-collapse-l-a-county-inspects-marina-del-rey-condo-tow

Public References but not complete list

Marina City Club - Tennis, spa, sauna, gym, restaurant, hair salon

https://www.marinacityclub.net/

Marina City Club condo docs- Ground lease, Bylaws, CC&Rs, Condo sublease,

http://www.marinacityclub.com/httpdocs/DLLinks.htm

Full legal description, APNs, plat maps, building plans, unit layouts. Subject has no specific APN.

http://www.marinacityclub.com/Documents/CondoPlan1987.pdf

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

Mary Cummins

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

Thursday, July 20, 2023

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