Can You Trust Zillow?

So many of my clients have used the words “Zillow said…” and have often received the unpleasant news that a) the home they saw was sold a year ago, b) I’m sorry, but in this market, you cannot realistically expect to get that price for your home, or even c) your home is worth more than that.

I am so happy to see that I am not alone.  What is very unfortunate is that Zillow has spent a lot of money, and even appears at REALTOR® conferences throughout the country.  The site looks good and professional–but listen, people…it is not reliable.  There is no mathematical algorithm that can substitute for the opinion of a conscientious, ethical, and experienced REALTOR®.  My hope in this ranting and raving post is to help you when making a decision for yourself or helping a friend/ family member in making a critical decision for themselves.  Please have them call me.  Consultations are free, but you can be sure that I will do the best I can.

For all of my contacts, I am quick to say that nothing I say in should be construed to be legal or tax advice or opinion…but I promise to give my best advice.

Saw this in a great post this morning and wanted to share:  “Zillow uses statistics which can skew the results. They can be either too high or too low. They also don’t take into account the direction the market is trending….are we going up or down in value?, what the average number of days on the market is, etc.”  (http://www.trulia.com/voices/Using_Trulia/Does_this_site_give_valuation_information_on_my_ho-278640-p_1-recent?answerId=1026488&thisanswer=1#left_content)

If you need or want an accurate comparable market analysis, please send me a private email.  I only need the address. Then you can see all the comparables which are on the market now as well as the recent sales…and get a better picture than a Zillow can give you. I’ll also give you my opinion of the market….I live and work in the Southern California area and am very familar with our local real estate market.

Please have a blessed day!  It’s looking a lot like Spring/Summer in the neighborhood!!!

Life is Worthwhile if You…(Part III)

3)  Life is worthwhile if you STAY.  You have to stay from spring until harvest.  If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the project – see it through.  Sometimes calamity comes and then it is worth wrapping it up.  And that’s the end, but just don’t end in the middle.  Maybe on the next project you pass.  But on this one, if you signed up, see it through.

MY COMMENTS:  Staying power!  That should be synonymous with the term REALTOR®.   In today’s market, it takes tenaciousness and dedication to successfully complete many transactions.  Short sales?  They should  be called L-O-N-G sales!  Newest statistics this month from the California Association of REALTORS® show that less than 3 out of 5 short sales are concluded successfully.  That is a rough statistic…making it harder and harder on everyone.  Usually once you start the short sale, it becomes a one-way road.  If the short sale cannot be negotiated, then the home more than likely will go to foreclosure.  You can offer a deed-in-lieu, where you voluntarily give the property back to the lender — and sometimes can get cash to help cover your moving expenses in exchange for returning the home in good condition, “swept clean.”  Sometimes, though, actually too often, there is not enough time to make this decision before the property goes to auction.  Being in short sale negotiations is not necessarily justification for postponing the sale, in their opinion. 

In these difficult times in real estate, it is crucial that whether you are upside-down, right-side up, or looking to buy a property, you need to work with an agent who knows how to “do real estate right.”  Do I know anyone like that?  You bet!!!  Give us a call.

(By Jim Rohn, 2006, Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine.  Executive Agent Magazine, February 2011 issue)

Life is Worthwhile if You…(Part II)

2.  Life is worthwhile if you TRY.  You can’t just learn; you now have to try something to see if you can do it.  Try to make a difference, try to make some progress, try to learn a new skill, try to learn a new *sport.  Life is worthwhile if you try.  It doesn’t mean you can do everything, but there are a lot of things you can do, if you just try.  Try your best.  Give it every effort.  Why not go all out?

*MY COMMENTS:  OK, I probably won’t learn a new sport.  I have a hard enough time with mornings!  However, I think cross-country skiing in Siberia three times ought to count for a lifetime, don’t you? 

(By Jim Rohn, 2006, Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine.  Executive Agent Magazine, February 2011 issue)

Jeff Walker – Teaches How To Fraudulently Hype A Product Launch

Jeff Walker – Teaches How To Fraudulently Hype A Product Launch.

WHERE BLOGS MEET LIFE…You will NEVER get advice like this from me…beware of the information you believe.  As I wrote below, make sure that you are a “selective listener.”

Life is Worthwhile if You…

A blog (a of the term web log) is a type of website or part of a website.  Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.  Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs,  web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art , photographs, videos, music , and audio. Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.  As of 16 February 2011 (2011 -02-16), there were over 156 million public blogs in existence.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog)

My notes:    If you google “real estate blog,” there are 18,600,000 hits.  Now, do I think that I have more to offer then 18 million other blogs?  Probably not…but I think I have as much.  In starting down this road of blogging, I am going to first share some of the more inciteful things I run across.  This article started below is one of them.  If the real estate market has an exciting event or crucial information, believe me, I will let you know.  But running behind the scenes will be the continuation of this article.  I think you’ll enjoy it, and I think you’ll use it…

1.  First:   life is worthwhile if you LEARN.  What you don’t know WILL hurt you.  You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed.  Life is worthwhile if you learn from your own experiences, negative and positive.  We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong.  We call that a positive negative.  We also learn from other people’s experiences, both positive and negative. I’ve always said it is too bad failures don’t give seminars.  We don’t want to pay them so they don’t tour around giving seminars.  But the information would be very valuable — how someone who had it all messed it up.  Learning from other people’s experiences and mistakes is easier than learning through our own.

We learn by what we see — pay attention.  By what we hear — be a good listener.  Now I do suggest being a selective listener.  Don’t just let anybody dump into your mental factory.  We learn from what we read.  Learn from every source.  Learn from lectures, learn from songs, learn from sermons, learn from conversations with people who care.  Keep learning. 

(By Jim Rohn, 2006, Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine.  Executive Agent Magazine, February 2011 issue)

 “Learning never exhausts the mind.” ~Leonardo da Vinci

Hello, World!

As a dedicated real estate agent, I am qualified to guide you in buying or selling a home.  It is one of the most important decisions people make throughout their lifetime.  Because of that, it is important that you work with someone you trust and feel is a market expert with integrity.  People trust me with their most valuable asset.  It is a responsibility that I take very seriously.  I know that your success is my success.