Indianapolis

Value of Home Doubles After Black Owner Asks White Friend to Stand In for Appraisal

Carlette Duffy suspected race played a role in her first two low appraisals. Now her experiences are part of complaints with federal housing authorities

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A Black Indianapolis homeowner who had a nagging suspicion that her house was lowballed in two appraisals last year says the value of her house doubled after she asked a white friend to stand in for her during a third appraisal, NBC News reports.

Carlette Duffy's home was assessed by two different companies in 2020, with the first appraisal at $125,000 and the second at $110,000. But after she removed photos of herself and her relatives and had a white friend pose as her brother for the appraiser's home visit, her home was valued at $259,000, according to the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana.

The nonprofit announced this month that it had filed housing discrimination complaints on Duffy's behalf with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The complaints allege discrimination against Duffy based on her "race" and "color." They argue that the lower valuations amount to violations of "Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 as amended by the Fair Housing Act of 1988."

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

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