{"id":6203,"date":"2024-12-24T07:29:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T12:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=6203"},"modified":"2024-12-24T07:29:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T12:29:41","slug":"feds-sue-rocket-for-race-based-appraisal-bias-rocket-fights-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/feds-sue-rocket-for-race-based-appraisal-bias-rocket-fights-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Feds Sue Rocket for Race-Based Appraisal Bias. Rocket Fights Back."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Retail lending powerhouse Rocket Mortgage is now suing the U.S. Justice Department. Rocket says the government wrongly dragged the company into a discrimination lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a Colorado deed holder who first called out a lowball appraisal. The Justice Department claimed that Rocket derailed the refinance application after that calling-out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Rocket leadership denies having retaliated against the deed holder. Now, Rocket wants a court to dismiss the allegations of race-based appraisal bias. It\u2019s a case with direct bearing on how a deed holder can tap into home equity<\/a> by refinancing \u2014 regardless of who <\/em>that deed holder is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A Deed Holder Complains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The original complaint came to the Colorado Civil Rights Division in 2021. In it, a Black deed holder claimed that Rocket Mortgage hired an appraiser who discriminated against her. Then, she claims, Rocket dropped her refinancing application to get back at her for the complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rocket was using an appraisal firm named Solidifi US \u2014 which, in turn, hired the Maverick Appraisal Group to assess the Denver-area duplex. Maverick sent out an appraiser who determined the duplex was worth $640K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year before, the deed holder had the same duplex appraised through Rocket and its value came out to about $860,000. If anything, the appraisal should have come out higher than it did the prior year, because home prices had risen during that time. So the deed holder told Rocket Mortgage about the matter, and her sense that the lowball number had something to do with her race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Complaint Goes Federal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the next stage, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) examined the deed holder\u2019s complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HUD noted some interesting aspects in the appraisal. A Black Lives Matter<\/em> sign was visible in the appraisal images, and the deed holder could be seen in the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HUD found \u201creasonable cause\u201d to believe the lowball appraisal offended the federal Fair Housing Act. To enforce the Act, HUD then referred the case to the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2024, the DOJ sued multiple defendants, alleging racial discrimination. The defendants were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n