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Update from Shane Lanham

Why Mortgage Lenders Are Ignoring Trump’s Rollback on Home Appraisal Reviews​

At one midsized US mortgage lender, almost a quarter of customers who dispute property appraisals find that the value of their home had been miscalculated.

It’s an industrywide issue that has historically penalized minority groups, and now President Donald Trump has offered lenders the chance to ignore his predecessor’s attempts to make it easier for homeowners to question the valuations assigned by property appraisers. Trump has scrapped some of the guidelines, part of his team’s vow to stamp out what it sees as initiatives that support diversity, equity and inclusion.

Many financial professionals agree that home appraisals can be unreliable, and that Black homeowners and other minorities are often put at a significant disadvantage. This can be especially damaging given that home ownership is the top wealth-creation tool in the US — and an appraisal is a key determinant of how much, if anything, someone can borrow.

With their decision to end some of the requirements related to home valuations, however, Trump and his cabinet members may have little impact on lenders’ practices. That’s because there’s fresh evidence that the changes the Biden administration put in place are supported by the industry.

Some of the country’s biggest lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and U.S. Bancorp, said they would make no policy changes as a result of the rollback.

Black homeowners have long reported having their homes valued more highly after taking down all evidence of their race. Research from the Brookings Institution and the federally controlled housing finance agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has shown that home appraisals can be affected by racial bias, which in turn affects the value of homes in entire neighborhoods.

Brookings found, for example, that homes in neighborhoods where the majority of residents are Black are valued between 21% and 23% lower than comparable homes in white neighborhoods, with appraisal bias as one of several contributing factors. Economists at Freddie Mac reported in 2021 that greater percentages of homes in majority Black and Latino census tracts were undervalued compared with those in white census tracts, leading them to conclude that there was a “valuation gap” between homes in different neighborhoods.

PAVE recommended more training for home appraisers and higher standards for appraisers seeking to qualify for professional licenses. Those changes were handled by the Appraisal Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves as the regulator for home appraisers.

A spokeswoman for the foundation declined to comment on the Trump administration’s recent changes, but said that new education and licensing standards put in place last year are still in effect.

PAVE also called for an industrywide requirement for mortgage lenders to let borrowers request “a reconsideration of value” (ROV) if they disagreed with an appraiser’s determination. Last year, regulators began requiring mortgage lenders to decide how they would standardize their procedures and to explain them clearly to their customers. In a rare win for the government, the policy received support from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Federal housing regulation includes a web of rules issued by different agencies, including HUD and also Fannie and Freddie. The new home-appraisal guidance went into effect for all of the housing agencies. But so far, the Trump administration has only rolled back the policy for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which help low- to moderate-income families attain home ownership.

On July 17, Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, proposed a bill that would make mortgage lenders’ ROV policies required by law. It also would expand public access to data on mortgage appraisals by forcing a federal housing regulator to more regularly share details.
 
Fernando said:

Why Mortgage Lenders Are Ignoring Trump’s Rollback on Home Appraisal Reviews​

At one midsized US mortgage lender, almost a quarter of customers who dispute property appraisals find that the value of their home had been miscalculated.

It’s an industrywide issue that has historically penalized minority groups, and now President Donald Trump has offered lenders the chance to ignore his predecessor’s attempts to make it easier for homeowners to question the valuations assigned by property appraisers. Trump has scrapped some of the guidelines, part of his team’s vow to stamp out what it sees as initiatives that support diversity, equity and inclusion.

Many financial professionals agree that home appraisals can be unreliable, and that Black homeowners and other minorities are often put at a significant disadvantage. This can be especially damaging given that home ownership is the top wealth-creation tool in the US — and an appraisal is a key determinant of how much, if anything, someone can borrow.

With their decision to end some of the requirements related to home valuations, however, Trump and his cabinet members may have little impact on lenders’ practices. That’s because there’s fresh evidence that the changes the Biden administration put in place are supported by the industry.

Some of the country’s biggest lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and U.S. Bancorp, said they would make no policy changes as a result of the rollback.

Black homeowners have long reported having their homes valued more highly after taking down all evidence of their race. Research from the Brookings Institution and the federally controlled housing finance agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has shown that home appraisals can be affected by racial bias, which in turn affects the value of homes in entire neighborhoods.

Brookings found, for example, that homes in neighborhoods where the majority of residents are Black are valued between 21% and 23% lower than comparable homes in white neighborhoods, with appraisal bias as one of several contributing factors. Economists at Freddie Mac reported in 2021 that greater percentages of homes in majority Black and Latino census tracts were undervalued compared with those in white census tracts, leading them to conclude that there was a “valuation gap” between homes in different neighborhoods.

PAVE recommended more training for home appraisers and higher standards for appraisers seeking to qualify for professional licenses. Those changes were handled by the Appraisal Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves as the regulator for home appraisers.

A spokeswoman for the foundation declined to comment on the Trump administration’s recent changes, but said that new education and licensing standards put in place last year are still in effect.

PAVE also called for an industrywide requirement for mortgage lenders to let borrowers request “a reconsideration of value” (ROV) if they disagreed with an appraiser’s determination. Last year, regulators began requiring mortgage lenders to decide how they would standardize their procedures and to explain them clearly to their customers. In a rare win for the government, the policy received support from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Federal housing regulation includes a web of rules issued by different agencies, including HUD and also Fannie and Freddie. The new home-appraisal guidance went into effect for all of the housing agencies. But so far, the Trump administration has only rolled back the policy for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which help low- to moderate-income families attain home ownership.

On July 17, Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, proposed a bill that would make mortgage lenders’ ROV policies required by law. It also would expand public access to data on mortgage appraisals by forcing a federal housing regulator to more regularly share details.
Click to expand...
You will believe anything that has to do with race. It is obvious you have no critical thinking skills when it come to real estate and appraisals. There is no proof that appraisers consider race in their appraisals. Not that it can't happen, but what reason would any appraiser have to do so. 99% of the arguments fail to consider location, location, location. You take an identical house and place it in different neighborhoods regardless of the racial composition of the neighborhood, the values will be different. You could put that house in different predominantly white neighborhoods and the value would be different. Because the underlying site values will all be different
 
Fernando said:
Brookings found, for example, that homes in neighborhoods where the majority of residents are Black are valued between 21% and 23% lower than comparable homes in white neighborhoods, with appraisal bias as one of several contributing factors. Economists at Freddie Mac reported in 2021 that greater percentages of homes in majority Black and Latino census tracts were undervalued compared with those in white census tracts, leading them to conclude that there was a “valuation gap” between homes in different neighborhoods.
Click to expand...

Why are census tracts broken out by race? Where are the mixed race neighborhood census tracts?????????????????????????


:ROFLMAO: Drink the kool aid.
 
Demographics: population, housing, and socioeconomic characteristics. When first
establishing census tracts, the Census Bureau recommends that the average population for all
tracts in a county be about 4,000 people, which is about 1,500 housing units. The population for
any individual tract should be between 2,500 and 8,000 people, which is about 1,000 - 3,000
housing units. Also, the Census Bureau recommends each tract to be homogenous with respect
to housing and socioeconomic characteristics. Over time, these characteristics will change and
a given tract will become less homogenous, however, in the beginning similarity in housing and
socioeconomic characteristics is standard. (p. 10-6)


Pretty funny that census tracts are delineated by socioeconomic characteristics, but then it's the appraiser's fault when more expensive homes are located in different census tracts than less expensive homes, when that was the entire point of creating census tracts in the first place.

:ROFLMAO: Drink the kool aid. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
Actually it is kinda funny that you report the census number of the subject, so that the lender knows what kinda neighborhood their money is going to, before they decide to make that mortgage loan.

Does anyone else see the irony in the government delineating neighborhoods based on the "wealth" of the typical residents per neighborhood, but then address the "public" with those neighborhoods being delineated by race???? Yet blaming appraisers for being racists????

:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: Ya all need lawyers. :ROFLMAO:

After all, if all homes in all census tracts were worth the same, there would be no need for census tracts.

:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
1754349621067.png

Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Qualified Census Tracts must have 50 percent of households with incomes below 60 percent of the Area Median Gross Income (AMGI) or have a poverty rate of 25 percent or more. Difficult Development Areas (DDA) are areas with high land, construction and utility costs relative to the area median income. Maps of Qualified Census Tracts and Difficult Development Areas are available at: huduser.gov/sadda/sadda_qct.html.




:shrug: No black or white census tracts, only census tracts that are based on economics. Oh, ghee, economics impacts property values too.


:rof::rof::rof:
 

Federal judge dismisses high-profile case involving allegations of racial discrimination in appraisals​


A federal judge has dismissed a high-profile case involving allegations that a home appraiser was racially biased in his appraisal.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that Nathan Connolly and the estate of Shani Mott, who passed away in March of 2024, failed to provide an appraisal expert to support their claims against Shane Lanham and his company, 20/20 Valuations, LLC.

“An expert is necessary to explain the proper methodology for an appraisal and to assess whether the Defendants complied with industry standards,” the judge ruled. “Defendants have put forth such an expert, and Plaintiffs have not.”

She added, “Because the Plaintiffs have failed to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Defendants’ legitimate nondiscriminatory reason [for the basis of the appraised value] was pretextual, summary judgment must be granted in Defendants’ favor on all counts.”

Connolly and Mott, a Black couple, purchased their home in Baltimore in 2017 for $450,000. Four years later, after investing in home improvements, the couple sought to refinance their mortgage through loanDepot.com. An appraisal management company hired Connolly and his firm to conduct an appraisal. In the end, Connolly appraised the couple’s home for $472,000 and their refinancing application was denied

In January, 2022, seven months after the first appraisal, another appraiser valued the house at $750,000. For that appraisal, the couple reportedly removed all evidence that a Black family lived in the home.

The couple filed suit against Lanham, alleging that he dramatically undervalued their home because of their race and because of their home’s location, adjacent to the only area of a generally white neighborhood with a significant Black population. The case received a great deal of media attention, including a story in the New York Times and one on ABC News.

Lanham contended that his appraisal was conducted in a fair and reasonable manner and aligned with professional norms and standards. A particular factor in Lanham’s valuation was the location of the home on a busy road.

Lanham produced two expert witnesses with, collectively, over 50 years of appraisal experience, to support his position, according to the judge.

Connolly and Mott, on the other hand, relied on Dr. Junia Howell, a sociology professor at the University of Chicago, to support their claims. Judge Gallagher excluded portions of Dr. Howell’s testimony, saying she is not an appraiser and has no experience conducting appraisals.

“Her analysis does not—and could not—rebut Defendants’ position that their appraisal was fair, reasonable, and well explained, nor does it affirmatively show that the appraisal was the result of intentional racial discrimination,” the judge ruled.

She added, “Without the foundation in appraisals necessary to explain the significance of these distinctions, this Court has no way to place them in context.”

www.consumerfinancemonitor.com

Federal judge dismisses high-profile case involving allegations of racial discrimination in appraisals

A federal judge has dismissed a high-profile case involving allegations that a home appraiser was racially biased in his appraisal. U.S. District Judge
www.consumerfinancemonitor.com www.consumerfinancemonitor.com

but judge...what about the second appraisal :rof:
 
Appraisals

Appraisal bias suit that sparked policy changes is dismissed​


By Kate BerryAugust 12, 2025, 6:00 a.m. EDT9 Min Read

Shane Lanham first heard he was being sued for racial discrimination from a New York Times reporter who called him for comment. That story ran with the headline: Home Appraised With a Black Owner: $472,000. With a White Owner: $750,000.

www.americanbanker.com

Appraisal bias suit that sparked policy changes is dismissed

A headline-grabbing 2022 lawsuit alleging racial bias by home appraisers has been quietly dismissed for lack of evidence. At the same time, the Trump administration is rolling back many of the policy changes involving home appraisals that the Biden administration put in place.
www.americanbanker.com www.americanbanker.com

ouch... :rof:
 
So, does Lanham get a payout then? I mean..... he was slandered and dragged through the mud for 3 years with substantial legal fees. Probably lost a client or two because they just didn't want to deal with being associated with him due to the case. Where is his winnings now that his accusers were proven wrong?
 
Surf Cat said:
So, does Lanham get a payout then? I mean..... he was slandered and dragged through the mud for 3 years with substantial legal fees. Probably lost a client or two because they just didn't want to deal with being associated with him due to the case. Where is his winnings now that his accusers were proven wrong?
Click to expand...
Probably lost every client.
 
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