Appraiser for Rocket Mortgage Sees Black People In Home and Knocks $220,000 Off Appraisal, Tanking Black Woman’s Refinance Loan, DOJ Lawsuit Reveals

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a racial discrimination lawsuit on behalf of a Black woman in Denver on Monday against Rocket Mortgage and two appraisal companies, alleging they purposely low-balled the value of her home because of her race. Francesca Cheroutes originally complained to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2021 after she received an appraisal from Rocket Mortgage for her duplex home. Located in an upscale neighborhood of Denver, the home was appraised for $220,000 lower than one she’d received only eight months earlier from Rocket, despite a booming housing market in Denver and substantial upgrades she’d made to her home. Black couple in their home (Credit: Stock/Getty Images) The new appraisal was also $200,000 lower than an appraisal for a similar duplex property nearby with a white owner that had been done by the same appraiser, who is white. HUD determined there was “reasonable cause” to determine that the new appraisal was discriminatory and had violated the federal Fair Housing Act, and referred her complaint to the Justice Department. Cheroutes claims in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on Monday that she was looking to take advantage of...