Black Homeowners Sue After Their Home Was Appraised for $500,000 More When Appraiser Thought They Were White

A Black couple in California has filed a housing discrimination lawsuit claiming that an appraiser lowballed them because of their race.

Paul and Tenisha Tate–Austin had spent a lot of time and money remodeling and improving the family home they purchased a few years ago.

During a refinance in 2020, the couple got a valuation for $995,000 from Janette Miller of Miller & Perotti appraisers. The couple said they knew immediately that the appraisal seemed low.

The couple decided to test their suspicions and asked their white friend to step in and pretend to be them, and when she did, the second appraisal was $1.48m.

After “whitewashing” their home, they got an appraisal that was more in line with the median home value for a single-family home in their neighborhood.

Now, the Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California have filed a suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on behalf of the couple. In a statement, Paul Austin said, “We believe that Ms. Miller valued our house at a lower rate because of our race and because of the current and historical racial demographics of where our house is located.”

The lawsuit claims that the defendants’ actions violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, which was enacted in 1959.

The Austins are now suing Janette Miller and her company for financial damages but they are also requesting that the court order Miller and her company to never again discriminate while appraising a house based on race.