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A California couple has been awarded $75,000 after an appraiser undervalued their home due to apparent racial bias.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Ronald and Dominique Curtis reached a $75,000 settlement with appraiser Mehdi Mehdipour-Mossafer after their home was undervalued by $254,000 during a refinance.
The Curtises initially purchased their home in Oakland in 2019. After making renovations to the Oakland duplex, the couple's home was appraised at $1.15 million in April 2020. The pair sought to take advantage of low interest rates in December 2020 and applied to Quicken Loans, now Rocket Mortgage, to refinance their home.
Mehdipour-Mossafer inspected the home and prepared an appraisal report that resulted in a valuation of $900,000, over $250,000 lower than their appraisal from earlier that year. The Curtises also found that the comparable homes used in the new appraisal report included ones with boarded-up windows, a caved-in garage, and bricks sitting on top of roof shingles to hold them in place.
With Mehdipour-Mossafer's appraisal, the couple was unable to secure the refinanced loan. The Curtises decided to sell the home, and in the process, removed all their belongings, including items that indicated their race and ethnicity.
The home ultimately sold for $1.2 million in October 2021, which was $300,00 more than Mehdipour-Mossafer’s valuation.
Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California filed a complaint on behalf of the Curtises, alleging race discrimination during the appraisal process. Following an investigation, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) determined that there was cause to believe that discrimination had occurred in the appraisal and denial of the loan.
As part of the settlement, Mehdipour-Mossafer also agreed to pay an additional $15,000 to the CRD and watch the “Our America: Lowballed” documentary, which highlights the impact of appraisal discrimination on Black and Latino families.
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