Shane Lanham's court case re: a black couple suing him for bias, and him fighting back.

[RCA]

It will take many years to fix the problems in residential appraisal - and commercial appraisal.

1. We need much better inspections.
2. We need better records.
3. We need better regulations on home ownership and maintenance.
4. We need better enforcement.
5. We need more precise protocols on valuation, with an appropriate application of mathematics, statistics and accounting.
6. And we will need more AI, Robotics, etc..
7. And more.

 

[RCA]

A little late in response, but I overlooked the point being made at the time. Yes, I have looked at all of these examples from the outside/distant perspective and have run my mouth quite liberally about my opinions on them. But the reason I can do that and TAF can't is because their role is limited to standards and qualifications. Not endorsement for the conduct of any individual or any group of appraisers - THAT individual advocacy is arguably the role of professional orgs.

Your big mistake here is believing you can divide appraisal into isolated units of responsibility.

A software engineer understands these things very well. The 737 Max failures are a good example: Software failure. TAF/USPAP is our core software and it has always had major flaws - that impact everything else.

Of course add to that the failure to put competent people in leadership positions. - All you have at the top are pot heads and John Kelly’s.

 

[George Hatch]

WRT the subject of this thread, the alleged act of racism in an appraisal - if true - is a direct violation of the ETHICS RULE. The appraiser either did or didn't act out of a personal bias. You can't prohibit an act any further than 100%.

 

[RCA]

One of the major problems in appraisal is the common belief that the leadership is somehow intellectually competent. That is not the case. The whole system is one big logjam, so that being too smart can in fact be a disadvantage. It’s largely a popularity contest + political connections thing that gets you to the top, plus some luck.

So, the whole appraisal system is inherently doomed in its current incarnation.

 

[George Hatch]

If that's your opinion then it looks like you signed up for a doomed profession. How did you make that mistake?

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I will never believe that you can quantify the heuristic, and appraising is simply a formulaic algorithm and successful if you can only quantify every aspect of a property. I don't know any computers who buy houses. I don't think you can quantify the mindset of a married couple trying to decide on which house best fits in their wants and their budget.

 

[Fernando]

I will never believe that you can quantify the heuristic, and appraising is simply a formulaic algorithm and successful if you can only quantify every aspect of a property. I don't know any computers who buy houses. I don't think you can quantify the mindset of a married couple trying to decide on which house best fits in their wants and their budget.

There was a house my wife was interested in buying. Offers were to be accepted next week.
However, last week it became pending.
Human emotions and tactics can affect purchase price.

 

[Mejappz]

One of the major problems in appraisal is the common belief that the leadership is somehow intellectually competent. That is not the case. The whole system is one big logjam, so that being too smart can in fact be a disadvantage. It’s largely a popularity contest + political connections thing that gets you to the top, plus some luck.

So, the whole appraisal system is inherently doomed in its current incarnation.

Absolutely! It’s like thinking you can win a race by being the smartest turtle in a field of hares—meanwhile, the hares are all playing political hopscotch to the finish line! The leadership often seems more focused on networking and making tons of money off the back of appraisers than on actual competence, turning the whole system into a logjam of popularity contests.

With that kind of setup, being too smart might just get you stuck in the mud while the "lucky" ones waltz past. It feels like we’re trying to navigate a maze designed by someone who’s never been in one themselves! Until we change the game, I’m afraid we’re just going in circles.

 

[RCA]

If that's your opinion then it looks like you signed up for a doomed profession. How did you make that mistake?

It gives me interesting R & D work to do for the rest of my life.

 

[RCA]

There was a house my wife was interested in buying. Offers were to be accepted next week.
However, last week it became pending.
Human emotions and tactics can affect purchase price.

Buyers can overpay, i.e. pay more than market value - or underpay- pay less than market value. That is to say, purchase price is not necessarily the same as market value.

A lot of appraisers lack the intelligence to know that a comparables net sale price is not necessarily its market value - even though it is used to estimate market value. A good appraiser should have a deep understanding of this concept. Very few do, they don’t REALLY understand it.

Therefore your protocol for SCA should provide a mechanism for exposing this difference. The only one I know of is RCA using MARS.