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Black Couple's House Valued $493,000 Higher After White Friend Pretends She Owns It

Black Couple's House Valued $493,000 Higher After White Friend Pretends She Owns It

The property's value leapt by around 50 percent after a white friend agreed to show the appraiser around

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A black couple claim that their home appraisal leapt by $493,000 after they enlisted a white friend to show the house instead of them.

They say that this is yet another example of the discrimination that black Americans face in US society at large.

Paul Austin and Tenisha Tate Austin, from Marin City in California, bought their home in 2016 from another family, then performed around $400,000 worth of renovations on the property.

That included adding an entire floor, which brought an extra 1,000 feet of space, as well as new flooring, new appliances, and a fireplace, according to ABC7.

Despite all their work, when it came to appraising the value of the house, they believe they were given a lower valuation because of their race.

ABC7

Tenisha said: "I read the appraisal. I looked at the number - I was like, 'This is unbelievable.'"

They say that the appraiser was an older white woman, and claim she used coded phrases like 'Marin City is a distinct area' when estimating the value of the house.

They believe these remarks to have been race-related.

In the end, it was valued at $989,000, or about $100,000 more than what it was worth before they piled hundreds of thousands into the house.

So, they decided to run an experiment.

ABC7

After complaining to their lender, they secured a second appraisal, and asked their white friend to play the role of Tenisha.

Paul said: "We had a conversation with one of our white friends, and she said, 'No problem. I'll be Tenisha. I'll bring over some pictures of my family.'

"She made our home look like it belonged to her."

After that valuation, the house increased in value by around 50 percent. According to the appraisal report, it was worth $1,482,000. That's nearly half a million more.

Tenisha added: ""There are implications to our ability to create generational wealth or passing things on if our houses appraise for 50 percent less."

Those who know about the property market in the USA don't seem to disagree, either.

ABC7

Jessica Lautz, the National Association of Realtors' vice president of demographics and behavioural insights, said: "We know discrimination is in nearly every aspect of that home buying process.

"We need to be addressing it as an industry."

The good news is that change has been promised. Within the matter of weeks he's been in charge, President Joe Biden has said that he wants to introduce tax cuts and plans to increase homeownership among black Americans.

Featured Image Credit: ABC7

Topics: Money, US News