Update from Shane Lanham

[J Grant]

What I meant by his winnings was that the other side suing Lanham for being biased against them due to their race, should have been made to pay his legal fees. They lost after all in proving that accusation. A good thing to be sure.

Lanham's report however, in my opinion, was awful ("if" it was the same report posted here a few years back). I stated I wouldn't want to go to court with that appraisal in hand. Not because of it being biased, but because its lack of support for his opinion of value, adjustments, and mistakes.

The thread was something to the nature of "TAF paid over 500k to destroy Shane Lanham".

I'm glad he won though.

I agree they should have, but that may not be how the legal system works?

 

[djd09]

The Federal Government Won’t Stop Home Appraisal Bias. Local Officials Can.​

Racial bias in appraisals is still a problem—but there are steps we can take to fight back. Philadelphia's reforms are a model to follow.

As the election of 2024 has made painfully clear, elections have consequences. One of the consequences of the recent federal election is a shift in the government’s approach to fair housing, especially its enforcement of federal civil rights laws. This includes a shift of federal attention away from home appraisal bias.

Ira Goldstein
August 30, 2025 at 6:11 pm
Dear Ms. Haney. The tone, insults, and substance of your comments lead me to believe that you will not be persuaded by anything I say. You are, as my father used to say: unbiased by fact. The “not a step back” posture you adopt notwithstanding evidence to the contrary on the issue is not constructive. But for those readers who are looking for some facts, objectivity, and a robust and polite debate about the issue, I offer a few facts.

Fact 1: The Philadelphia Task Force I chaired on appraisal bias included appraisers, a trustee of the Appraisal Foundation, guests from the Appraisal Subcommittee and many others with the kind of expertise you say my colleague Dr. Squires (not Shires) and I did not consider. We did listen and continue to listen to responsible members of the appraiser profession.

Fact 2: The issues we raise, we can certainly debate but are not baseless and are rooted in facts and data – data collected by the GSEs and reported by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Fact 3: I am in fact more than passingly familiar with the nation’s fair housing laws and USPAP. There is not a professional standard that allows an appraiser to violate the Fair Housing Act, Truth in Lending Act or other of the nation’s laws. And you offer a false narrative that there is no appraisal data that could be released because of USPAP ethics standards. Certainly, some of what is in an appraisal should be protected for privacy considerations. But like mortgage loan applications for which Congress created the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requiring reporting of important data about mortgage applications but protecting the privacy of the applicants, a reporting regime balancing privacy and data available for a legitimate set of public purposes could be fashioned for appraisals.

Fact 4: I recommend that you and other readers of this piece read Advisory Opinion 39, Antidiscrimination of USPAP wherein the fair housing obligations of the profession are clearly articulated.

Again, my colleague and I are not saying that the entire appraisal profession engages in unlawful racial discrimination resulting from bias – and we are not saying that it never happens. But like every other part of the real estate industry, discrimination happens sometimes and as a society we need a robust and fair enforcement regime, and data and transparency to support that effort.
As the election of 2024 has made painfully clear, elections have consequences. One of the consequences of the recent federal election is a shift in the government’s approach to fair housing, especially its enforcement of federal civil rights laws. This includes a shift of federal attention away from home appraisal bias.

The Federal Government Won't Stop Home Appraisal Bias. Local Officials Can.

Racial bias in home appraisals is still a problem—but there are steps we can take to fight back. Philadelphia's reforms are a model to follow.

shelterforce.org

....it's not over yet

 

[Elliott]

The 4th and 5th verse of "Truckin'" by G. Dead seem to fit our dilema,


"[Verse 4]
Sittin' and starin' out of the hotel window
Got a tip they're gonna kick the door in again
I'd like to get some sleep before I travel
But if you got a warrant, I guess you're gonna come in

Chorus 5]
Busted down on Bourbon Street
Set up like a bowlin' pin
Knocked down, it gets to wearin' thin
They just won't let you be, oh no "

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Again, no one can show me or anyone else how there is any benefit to an appraiser to practice with a biased report. What would I gain? Nothing. And I would be risking it all.

 

[djd09]

it is the conspiracy of all conspiracies...appraiser working together to devalue neighborhoods i cant stop laughing

 

[ucbruin]

Again, no one can show me or anyone else how there is any benefit to an appraiser to practice with a biased report. What would I gain? Nothing. And I would be risking it all.

How does any bias benefit anyone....
Yet it exists....

 

[djd09]

goldstien and squires are your basic dividers...they fail to realize that the SOW requires the appraiser to be the lenders lap dog

 

[George Hatch]

Requires the appraiser to not ignore what the intended user believes to be "meaningful and not misleading"

 

[djd09]

no ignoring fannie forms, fannie guidelines, fannie rating system, fannies definitions...yep feel the independence

 

[George Hatch]

They establish what - in addition to the USPAP minimums - they consider to be meaningful and not misleading for their usage. Your arbitrary opinion of what user-driven expectations they are allowed/prohibited to ask from you doesn't count.

Appraisers are independent and can always choose to not do business with clients and users who have standards. There is no such thing as appraiser conscription in America.