In July, 2024, HUD announced that it has charged an appraiser, appraisal management company, and lender with race discrimination for issuing a biased appraisal and then denying a refinance loan application in Denver, Colorado. HUD’s Charge alleges that the appraiser issued a discriminatory appraisal that undervalued a Black homeowner’s property, located in a predominantly white neighborhood, …
appraisal
Settlement in Landmark Appraisal Discrimination Case
By: Hope Williams, Supervising Attorney, Legal Aid of North Carolina – Fair Housing Project A settlement promising a significant impact on the home appraisal industry has been reached between the plaintiffs and one of the defendants, loanDepot.com, LLC, in a landmark appraisal discrimination case. As reported in the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of …
Black Homeowners Sue Appraisers Alleging Racial Discrimination
By: Hope Williams, Supervising Attorney, Fair Housing Project, Legal Aid of North Carolina When Drs. Nathan Connolly and Shani Mott, a Black married couple who are professors at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, sought an appraisal of their home in the summer of 2021 in connection with their goal to refinance their mortgage, they were …
NFHA and Interagency Task Force Issue Action-Oriented Reports to Address Bias in Appraisals
By: Hope Williams, Supervising Attorney The first months of 2022 brought significant news impacting ongoing efforts to address the legacy of discrimination in housing appraisals. In January 2022, the National Fair Housing Alliance and its partners, Dane Law LLC and Christensen Law Firm, published a federally-funded report, entitled “Identifying Bias and Barriers, Promoting Equity: An …
Interagency Task Force Issues New Guidance on Appraisals & Fair Housing Compliance
On November 17, 2021, HUD issued a Mortgagee Letter (ML Guidance) clarifying the existing requirements for appraisers and mortgage lenders to comply with the Fair Housing Act….Read More