Indy woman claims race played a factor in home appraisal after changes raise appraisal by $149K, after white friend took her place as staged homeowner

A Indianapolis woman says she was discriminated because of his race while she got her house appraised in 2020. An appraisal came in as $149,000 less than the final one after she staged the home with a white friend standing in as the homeowner. Carlette Duffy with the help from the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The neighborhood is located near a historically Black neighborhood. Duffy’s grandparents and other Black people started settling there generations ago according to WISHTV 8.

“I wanted it (her grandparents’ house) primarily because it was very close to my home and I was hoping that at some point my daughter and granddaughter could live there,” Duffy said.

The news station didn’t share where Duffy or her grandparents homes are located. Duffy’s plan was to refinance her remodeled home, take the extra money, and buy her grandparents’ home. Duffy was unable to make that happen. “I just felt like I needed to fight it. I felt like I had to say something, and that’s when I reported it to one of the state agencies.”

Amy Nelson executive director of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana told WISHTV 8, “Starting last fall, we’ve started to see more attention being paid to appraisals and how discrimination may be playing a role.”

Duffy says her own research put her home’s value around $185,000 and a initial appraisal valued it at $125,000. A second valued it at $110,000. Then she came up with an idea,  “Maybe I should whitewash my home and see what happens.”

After taking her race off the paperwork, removing all family pictures and African artwork, staging a guest room as a yoga studio, and having a white friend stand in for her as the owner. Then the next time she said the third appraisal went up to $259,000. Duffy says she’s doing her part to show the next generation that no one has to simply take whatever is given.

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