Thread by @MetroUK

Paul and Tenisha Tate Austin were shocked beyond belief when their home valued at $989,000.

Over the course of five years, the couple made $400,000 worth of major renovations.

metro.co.uk/2021/12/06/bla…

They added a new floor, creating another 1,000 square feet of space, a new deck, fireplace and other improvements.

Yet the value of their home increased by just 10%.

‘It was a slap in the face,’ Austin told KGO-TV in February.

Three weeks later, the couple decided to get another opinion.

For the second appraisal by a different lender, they enlisted the help of their white friend, Jan.

The Austins ‘whitewashed’ their home, removing their family photos and any African-themed art.

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,’ Tenisha said

‘There are implications to our ability to create generational wealth or passing things on if our houses appraise for 50% less than its value.'

The lawsuit filed by the Austins accuses the first appraiser, Janette Miller, of giving them a lowball valuation because they are black.

The couple of the nonprofit Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California are now suing Miller and her company, Miller & Perotti Real Estate Appraisals.

They are seeking financial damages and asking the court to order the defendants to ensure they won’t discriminate.

Paul told the state reparations task force in October he believes the property was devalued ‘because we are in a black neighborhood, and the home belonged to a black family’.

Attorneys with Fair Housing Advocates, who are representing themselves and the Austin family, did not immediately respond to @MetroUK for requests to comment.

Jessica Lautz, of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), said discrimination is in ‘nearly every aspect of that home buying process’, adding, ‘We need to be addressing it as an industry’.

Just 34% of black Californians own a home, according to research from NAR, which claims that black applicants are three times more likely to be rejected for mortgage loans than their white counterparts.