Black couple settles lawsuit claiming their home appraisal was lowballed due to bias
When Paul Austin and Tenisha Tate-Austin sued their real estate appraiser, her company, and the company that hired her for allegedly under-valuing their home based on their race, they were after more than just financial restitution.
The African American couple, who own a home in Marin City, Calif., wanted the individuals and the companies involved in shortchanging them to change how they would appraise Black and Latino-owned properties moving forward.
They think they're on their way to doing that.
Late last month the pair reached a settlement agreement with Janette Miller in the that included an undisclosed amount of money. But more important, their lawyer told NPR, it mandates that the licensed real estate appraiser "agrees not to discriminate in the future."
