Some Realtors I know are vehemently against Zillow and will tell clients to never use it. Myself, I am a fan of Zillow because of its user-friendliness. It's not a problem-free site, but it is a great place to start your home search. Here are some common issues with Zillow and how to get around them.
I see a house for sale... but it's not for sale
This happens a lot. Be wary if a house is listed as an auction/foreclosure. Somehow, Zillow pulls data from credit bureaus, so a red flag goes up if someone misses a mortgage payment. Missing a mortgage payment is the first step to your house going into foreclosure, so Zillow jumps the gun and says that property is for sale, even though it's not. You could have zero intention of selling your home, but miss a few mortgage payments and your home will should up as a foreclosure on Zillow. If you ever see this, check in with a Realtor to see if the house is actually for sale.
My "Zestimate" is way off
A "Zestimate" is Zillow's estimate of how much a house is worth. Though this number is created from many data points, it is still just a computer generated number. Zillow has never been in that house to see the upgraded kitchen, the two inches of water in the basement, or any other feature that would affect the value of the home. The best way to get an understanding of the value of your home is to have a Realtor complete a Comparative Market Analysis (like an appraisal, but slightly less technical - and free!). Zestimates can be accurate, but sometimes they are WAY off. Don't take them as gospel.
The information just seems wrong!
Does Zillow say the yearly taxes on a property are $20? Chances are you didn't stumble across the world's lowest property taxes. Chances are Zillow is just plain wrong! Once a Realtor enters a listing into the MLS (multi-list service), it then goes to other sites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, etc. Sometimes data can get messed up during this transfer! If something looks fishy to you, send a screen shot to your Realtor. They should be able to look the property up and do some fact-checking for you.
I love Zillow - I use it myself sometimes! It's easy to use to locate properties and look at pictures - especially on a mobile device. You can probably glean some information from Zillow, but take it with a grain of salt, since it might not be 100% accurate. If you have any questions about what you see on Zillow, always check with your Realtor!
