NY Bill has Appraisers Worried

by Kendra Budd, Editor

he New York State Senate’s Finance Committee has introduced a Bill that, if passed, would fine appraisers for unlawfully “undervaluing a home” on the basis of discrimination. This Bill has set off alarm bells for many appraisers who are concerned about being accused of racial discrimination every time their appraised value doesn’t meet the homeowners’ or the lenders’ expectations. According to the New York State Senate’s website, Bill S2919 aims to “address appraisal discrimination by imposing a fine for violation for state and federal fair housing policies and laws, and having those fines allocated to the anti-discrimination in housing fund.” Meaning any appraiser that is found liable for unfairly undervaluing a home can be fined up to $2,000 per violation. As of May 9th, 2023, the Bill has been moved forward with 15 committee members voting “aye” and only two “naye.” It is now set to move to the Senate floor, where it will be presented and voted on. Appraisers are worried that, if passed, this law will threaten their credibility and make it easier for false accusations to be filed against them. Some appraisers have even gone as far as calling it a “bounty hunter” law. Many appraisers fear that the definition of “discrimination” is too lax and unhappy homeowners will incriminate an appraiser for not coming it at the value the homeowner or the buyer needs or wants. On the other hand, if an appraiser overvalues the home due to the fear of being accused of discrimination, then they would be in violation of USPAP—trapping them in a lose-lose situation. It is unclear at this time whether or not this Bill will pass on the New York State Senate floor, or what changes may still be made to it. This is a developing story, so subscribe to WorkingRE.com to stay up-to-date on the latest news in the appraisal profession. WRE

California Discrimination Lawsuit Settles

A settlement has officially been reached with Janette Miller, the appraiser in a widely publicized lawsuit accused of racial bias in a Marin County home appraisal. In December of 2021 the federal lawsuit was brought by homeowners Tenisha and Paul Tate-Austin, who made headlines after complaining that their house was undervalued because of the color of their skin. The Austins came to this conclusion after ordering a second appraisal in which they “white-washed” their home and had their white friend show it to the second appraiser— who appraised the property nearly $500,000 higher than the first appraiser. Terms of the agreement with Janette Miller is confidential, and is likely to stay that way. “The crux of this case has much more to do with the indignity of what they believe to be a racially biased appraisal rather than the monetary damages,” Julia Howard-Gibbon, an attorney for Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California, who represented the Austins, told NPR. “We’re glad that we can put this lawsuit behind us,” Paul Austin said in the same statement. “Having to experience everything that came with receiving the lowballed appraisal was overwhelming. Being able to tell our story and knowing we had legal recourse helped. We want others to know that if you experience discrimination, you can go to your local fair housing agency so they can investigate your case and help you if you want to file a complaint.” WRE

Appraisal Institute May Elect First Black Vice President

Byron Miller, SRA, AI-RRS, ASA, RAA, MSSE (see Grassroots Lobbying 101: How Appraisers Can Effect Change, pg. 14) is currently running for Vice President of the Appraisal Institute, and if elected he will be the first Black Vice President of AI, since the formation of the Appraisal Institute in 1991. Visit https://bit.ly/byronmiller to read his vision for how appraisers can work together to effect change. WRE of the Appraisal Institute as well as the President of the Appraisers’ Coalition of Washington multiple times. Those are huge achievements that should be recognized and promoted. When she joined our team, we were all excited to learn from her. What a great role model.

Q: What are some of the next steps for you and your business?

Walsh: Well, not only do we do appraisals for individuals and lenders, but we are also now collaborating with other residential and commercial firms.

We recently participated in submitting a proposal as a subcontractor with a local commercial firm, and were selected by the City of Seattle’s Department of Transportation for on-call appraisal services. We won the business, in part, due to our woman-owned status. Through this relationship, we also secured multiple orders for another city that needed residential appraisals. As lender work softens, we are looking at other avenues of appraising.

We’re working really hard on mar- keting right now. For a long time, we became pretty complacent because we had so much more business before this slowdown, and we really didn’t need to market ourselves. I was lucky that my office manager has a background in marketing, so I’ve transitioned her over to lead that effort and brought somebody else onto the team to handle operations. We’ve rebranded and updated all our materials. We increased our social media presence and are gaining additional private appraisal work as we become more visible. The next step is updating our website.

By participating in leadership positions in the appraiser community, we maintain access to the newest information available regarding updates and changes to requirements; we also leverage these organizations as a great resource for networking with other appraisers and firms. I have been lucky to make some really good friends in both.

Q: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about you

or your business?

Walsh: The profession as a whole is struggling to attract new appraisers. The PAREA program is a new way of educating appraisers and hopefully will be successful. In the meantime, appraisers and appraisal firms need to look at the trainee situation as a really great opportunity. There are some incredibly smart people out there, but there’s a problem with trainees and their prospective supervisors. People who have experience have the perception that trainees will take their business away once they’re trained, while trainees approach potential mentors saying, “I just need hours, just give me hours and then I will go.” This is a problem. From a supervisor’s point of view, I’m going to invest a huge amount of time and money in your growth. I’m going to give you all the tools and procedures that I’ve developed, and help you to be a successful appraiser, so stay with me and be part of our team. It is a give and take. We can make each other successful when we come together. WRE

The Appraisal landscape has changed. Many appraisers are experiencing a painful slowdown due to higher interest rates and reduced mortgage volume.

“After joining the Dream Team Mastermind, my revenue increased by more than 75%.”