A Bay Area family has won a victory in court after their home was significantly undervalued in a reappraisal.
Ron and Dominique Curtis were hoping to refinance their mortgage to take advantage of the historically low interest rate in 2020. It was appraised a year earlier at well over a million, but upon reappraisal was valued at $900,000, or $254,000 less than the previous estimate.
With no major changes to their home and many homes in the neighborhood in ill repair being valued similarly, the Curtises were forced to conclude that their appraiser was acting with racial bias.
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The low appraisal caused the couple to lose out on refinancing their mortgage.
As part of the settlement, the appraiser has been ordered to pay the couple $75,000, and the appraiser ordered to watch Our America: Lowballed, a documentary produced by KGO ABC7 News, which spotlights the couple and the ongoing problem of Black and Latinx homeowners in the area facing similar treatment.
The appraisal ordeal
In the evaluation, the appraiser, who, as the documentary notes, has been cited by the State of California for violating the appraiser’s code of ethics, compared the couple’s Oakland home to several others with boarded-up windows, caved-in garages and missing shingles.
Following the appraisal, the Curtises filed a 60-page rebuttal asking for a reconsideration and a new appraisal. They didn’t receive that appraisal until after ABC7 News reached out to the company, Quicken Loans, for a statement.
Ron Curtis serves as a licensed real estate broker, and therefore had access to the multiple listing service (MLS) to help strengthen their filing with data. Dominique Curtis is now a real estate appraiser herself, and is seeking to bring more equity to the industry.
After filing several complaints with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) against the appraiser, the appraisal management company, Clear Capital, and their lender, the couple finally got closure, almost five years later.
In addition to paying the Curtises $75,000, and watching the ABC7 documentary, the appraiser has also been ordered to pay $15,000 to the CRD.
Ron said that the ordeal has caused them significant financial hardship, beyond the limits of the settlement paid to them.
"We’re renters now. We’ve moved three times since, and we’re still trying to push and move forward,” he told ABC7 News.
“We really don’t know how it is going to affect us two or three decades from now."
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A pattern of racial bias
ABC7 News reported in the 2022 documentary that “the likelihood of appraisers lowballing homes is 10 to 30 times higher in America’s poorest Black neighborhoods than in the wealthiest white neighborhoods.”
For others in their situation, Ron Curtis says “document and to gain as much support as you can, and make sure you reach out to Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California." He also recommends reaching out to a real estate professional who may be able to help.
Some of the other couples profiled in Our America: Lowballed noted that they asked white friends to act as proxies to help them get a fair evaluation for their homes. One family had a friend pose as the owner of their home. It was evaluated for over 50% more than their previous appraisal while she was there.
Some interviewees even reported that homeowners were swapping out family photos in the home for pictures of white families.
At the time, the documentary was credited in leading to new California laws and reform in the appraisal industry. Former President Joe Biden also vowed action on racial discrimination in the real estate industry.
Now, however, the guardrails that helped families like the Curtises are coming down. ABC7 News reports that President Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development “appears to be dismantling how it handles alleged acts of discrimination.” They further report that the webpage dedicated to appraisal bias on the department’s site was deleted, then archived.
How to ensure your home is properly appraised
There are several types of home appraisals. In a traditional one, the appraiser will come into your home, collect relevant info, ask questions about any work you’ve done to the property and compare your home with similar properties in your area. These appraisals are most common when your home is being sold, and can be costly.
But there are also county appraisals, where a picture of the exterior of your home is taken and compared to similar homes in the area, without an inspection. Online appraisals are also becoming more popular, particularly with some mortgage companies, as they can cost less. The value of your home is simply based on searching for comparable homes in your area.
If you think your home is likely to be undervalued in an online or county appraisal, you can insist on a traditional appraisal. If you’re post-appraisal and looking at a valuation that’s below your expectation, make sure you review it to ensure all your property details are correct. Look at the homes used as comparables and evaluate whether they seem genuinely similar. If you ask for a reappraisal, you should document all the ways in which you feel your home was undervalued.
You can also ask for a second opinion with a different appraisal company, though this process can get costly. According to Angi.com, the average cost of a home appraisal is $358, nationally, but can be double that, depending on your location.
Finally, if you feel that you have been the victim of discrimination, the Appraisal Complaint National Hotline will take your report via email or phone, call 1-877-739-0096.
Be sure to look for local or state advocacy groups, who can help connect you to resources to challenge your low appraisal, and help you get in touch with fair and ethical appraisers.
If you live in the Bay Area, the Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) is a non-profit dedicated to equal housing opportunity.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
