A molecular biologist says she couldn’t buy the Virginia Beach apartment of her dreams after the white owner found out she was black.
Dr. Raven Baxter, 30, was ready to buy the house after taking a virtual tour of the property. It had everything she wanted: a private foyer, wainscoting, beautiful crown molding and a marble fireplace.
Baxter offered the asking price of $749,000, which was immediately accepted by the seller. The molecular biologist, who works remotely for Mount Sinai Hospital, then sent a deposit and the apartment was put into escrow.
But then she got a late-night call from her real estate agent, telling her that the seller, Jane Walker, 84, now wanted to pull out of the deal.
“He said, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this, but she doesn’t want to sell the house to you, and that’s because you’re black,’” Baxter recalled.
Dr. Raven Baxter, 30, was prevented from buying her dream home in Virginia Beach after Susan Miller, the seller, learned she was black. Dr. Baxter is a molecular biologist who works for Mount Sinai
The Gone with the Wind-inspired property is located near the beach and offers stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean
Earlier that day, the biological scientist and her longtime friend, Dr. Ronald Gamble Jr., a theoretical physicist who works for NASA, made the three-hour drive to the apartment from their apartment in Alexandria, Virginia.
For the first time, the two scientists explored the property in person.
When Baxter had previously toured the apartment virtually, her camera was turned off. Jane Walker, the salesperson, was unaware of her race.
After inspecting the property, which is located near the beach and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, they came across the seller.
As the couple prepared to leave, Walker showed up and her agent, Susan Pender of Berkshire Hathaway RW Towne Realty, introduced the two parties.
Moments after the scientists left, Baxter said Walker confronted her agent and told her she was not willing to sell her apartment to a black person. Walker ordered Pender to end the sale.
Pender called Wayne Miller, an agent with 757 Realty, and informed him of what was going on.
Miller then contacted Baxter’s agent, Bill Loftis, who called her with the disturbing news.
Baxter was stunned when he heard the seller was renouncing. She loved the apartment.
‘It is a classic house with a lot of character. It’s absolutely beautiful and you can walk to the beach. It was like a bargain,” she said. “I actually made an offer sight unseen,” Baxter told the newspaper New York Times.
According to the apartment’s Zillow page, the Georgian-style property was built in 1932.
The Gone with the Wind-inspired property is fitted with a spiral staircase, gilded mirrors, chandeliers and antique oil paintings and features three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Baxter’s friend was shocked to hear the seller backed out of the deal. When the molecular biologist received the call from her agent, she put it on speaker so Gamble could hear the news.
“I kind of fell back in my chair,” he said.
‘I couldn’t believe what I heard. Long after the civil rights movement, after Covid, after George Floyd, you would think society wouldn’t still think like this. But in 2024 they still are.’
Jane Walker, 84, refused to sell her apartment to Baxter after learning the molecular biologist was black
Later that evening, Baxter shared her story on her X.com account, where she has 163,000 followers.
She ended her post on a defiant note: “Honey, I’m either buying your house or you’re buying YOUR BLOCK. CHOOSE ONE.’
In response to commenters on her post, Baxter filed a discrimination claim with the Virginia Fair Housing Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She has also contacted a civil rights attorney.
“If I hadn’t gone to Twitter and gotten help from people who knew what they were doing, I would have been in a panic all weekend,” Baxter said.
She added: “It was the first time I bought a house. I knew my civil rights were being violated. I knew something illegal was going on, but no one knew what to do.”
The next day, Loftis contacted Baxter and told her that while it was “unfortunate that the seller” had “brought race into the process,” “her children” could change her.
Baxter is now expected to proceed with the purchase of the apartment, which will take place later this summer.
Despite her disturbing experience, Baxter plans to go ahead with the purchase of the apartment, now that the seller has been mollified by her children.
After the molecular biologist’s story attracted national attention, Barbara Wolcott, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway RW Towne Realty, sent Baxter an email: “In light of the actions of our terribly misguided salesperson, I feel compelled to send you this email.” email.’
Wolcott continued, “Please be assured that this individual’s attitude is not something that will be tolerated by Berkshire Hathaway RW Towne Realty, Susan Pender or anyone within our organization or region.”
Berkshire Hathaway RW Towne Realty has not yet clarified how they refuse to tolerate the behavior of the apartment seller.