Black California couple’s home appraises for $500K more when White friend poses as owner

Source: Fox Business — 

A Black couple has settled a lawsuit with a property appraiser who undervalued their California home by almost half a million dollars.

Paul Austin and Tenisha Tate-Austin’s four-bedroom residence in Sausalito, near San Francisco, was valued at $998,000 by Janette Miller, co-owner of Miller and Perotti Real Estate Appraisers. That figure was $455,000 lower than an appraisal done for a prior mortgage refinance in 2019. 

Feeling that their home was worth much more money, the Austins asked one of their White friends to pose as the owner of their residence. They had the home reappraised — and it was suddenly worth $1.48 million.