'Black homeowner's appraisal doubles after white friend steps in'
An Indiana woman was shocked to see her home appraisal value double after she stripped her home of Blackness and had a white friend replace her during an appraisal.
Carlette Duffy said she had two previous appraisals conducted, which saw her home valued at between $110,000 and $125,000. The home — which is located in the historic Flanner House Homes neighborhood west of downtown Indianapolis — was appraised again with her white friend present.
The new appraisal amount was $259,000.
Duffy told the Indianapolis Star she felt relieved and angry. “I had to go through all of that just to say that I was right, and that this is what’s happening,” she said. “This is real.”
The woman has since filed fair housing complaints against the mortgage lenders and appraisers who did the initial appraisals. She has the support of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana.
The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, alleges that appraiser Tim Boston, appraiser Jeffrey Pierce, CityWide Home Loans, employee Craig Hodges, lender Freedom Mortgage and two of the company’s employees violated fair housing laws.
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In February of this year, a Black couple in Marin City, California went viral after sharing the story that their home was undervalued by more than $500,000 when they got a second appraisal. They had white friends pose as the owners of their home as well.
Homeownership is one of the greatest ways for families to build generational wealth. The Brookings Institution found that racial disparities in home prices reveal a national trend of widespread discrimination, further deepening the wealth gap, even among homeowners.