Maryland Commission versus Appraiser Bias

[Wayne Henry]

This one is close to home. I wonder what the future has in store for this profession. What do you all think?

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/...ounty/65-e1d9ee76-edc0-415e-af89-4c58f68b3665

 

[Joe Flacco]

I think the idea that the homes in the community were appraised differently because they are black and live in a majority Black neighborhood is probably misguided but asking how many licensed appraisers in the state are African American is a fair question.

 

[Carnivore]

It's a snowball at the top of a mountain that has begun it's slow roll towards the bottom. I can bet you many in the profession and all the ones we deal with are scratching their heads as they run in panic for the other side. It is very telling what you said above; Everybody and everyone is running to jump over the fence and to hook up with offense. It will be all of them against all of us lowly appraisers. We will be standing around wondering what happened.

Right now all you can do is refresh and sharpen your skills. Then take more time in writing complete and thorough reports.

 

[Elliott]

“The person came into his house, and all of those comparables are from 2021," Gausman said analyzing the report. “[The comparables] are all within half a mile from his home. Those are the comps of his house. They are all over 5,000 square feet in size and his appraisal is $920,000. That is the report that is correct.”

Sounds to me like Ms. Gausman has done a review, but of course we'd have to see her 'letter of engagement.' And I'm sure it is in her workfile.

Like I've said before. Unless GSEs are willing to pull their head out of the sand and take some responsibility for "their" appraisal process, all of these do-gooders legislative people should include a requirement the appraiser always get a 3-year history of appraisals on the subject property with dates and values, so the appraiser can't be t-boned. If the GSE's want all comps to be from better neighborhoods, they should just say so.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

asking how many licensed appraisers in the state are African American is a fair question.

In a true color blind society it is not a question that should be asked.

 

[Joe Flacco]

So here is largest the five largest Maryland counties by population, percentage African American in the county, number of appraiser licenses with addresses in the county, and appraiser per population for each county.

So Prince Georges does not have many appraisers per population compared to the majority white counties. That means that a lot of the appraisals being done in Prince Georges are probably people that do not live in the county. I cover multiple counties so not living in the county doesn't necessarily mean incompetence. But I think the odds of a bad appraisal in Prince Georges County is greater than it is in the other counties.

 

[Joe Flacco]

In a true color blind society it is not a question that should be asked.

I don't think it is bias. I think it is more to do with appraisers working in a county they may not be as familiar with as they should.

But anyways, I think the make up of appraisers should be more diverse.

 

[shrubberyvaluation]

This one is close to home. I wonder what the future has in store for this profession. What do you all think?

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/...ounty/65-e1d9ee76-edc0-415e-af89-4c58f68b3665

Out of the counties I work in I have seen the most out of line purchase contracts out of line with the market in PG county. I just turned down a refi in PG county where the home was purchased within the past year for significantly above the other sales in the community. There are now some under contracts in the community that are similar in size and priced significantly lower. I don't want to get hit with a bias lawsuit for doing a credible appraisal if it happens to be significantly lower than what they purchased it for. Actions taken to combat "bias" appears to be more to combat lower appraisal values based on the skin color of the homeowner.

 

[Joe Flacco]

Out of the counties I work in I have seen the most out of line purchase contracts out of line with the market in PG county. I just turned down a refi in PG county where the home was purchased within the past year for significantly above the other sales in the community. There are now some under contracts in the community that are similar in size and priced significantly lower. I don't want to get hit with a bias lawsuit for doing a credible appraisal if it happens to be significantly lower than what they purchased it for. Actions taken to combat "bias" appears to be more to combat lower appraisal values based on the skin color of the homeowner.

What county do you live in and what counties do you cover?

 

[shrubberyvaluation]

What county do you live in and what counties do you cover?

AA, PG, Howard, Baltimore County/City. First company I worked for was located in PG county and I have the most experience there.

Live in AA.