Reviews about Real Estate Web Sites

DaveVan says "Zillow, 30% off the mark! It can happen to you! " about Zillow

DaveVan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:03:18 GMT

I ran my home on Zillow to see how much it was worth. I subtracted 10% from their estimate, as a "fudge factor" and used that information to apply to refi my home.

The professional appraiser came in with value 32% LOWER than Zillows estimate. To make sure I did not get a bad appraisal, I paid for a second appraisal. Both professional appraisers were within 2% of each other.

Zillow WAS 30% OFF THE MARK. Sweet mamma, what the hell? What data are they using to come up with values? Can you even use their data? I can’t say that I trust their data. Weren't they sued by the FTC for fraud a few years or so ago?

But, alas, Zillow does not make money by being accurate, they make money by ads that are all over their website. If they give you good news you'll come back ( & look at their ads). But...but, they have disclaimers. Yeah, so what? I bet the disclaimer is smallest piece of their web page, that way they have more room for ads.

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AllenCuthrell says "A hard worker in a hard real estate market" about Cheryl Teague Team

AllenCuthrell — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:01:16 GMT

Face it! Its a hard real estate market. I have been using Cheryl To sell my house and it takes BUYERS to sell it along with professional real estate agents. Also, Buyers need to stop making "low-ball" offers on anything they think they can pick up for a bargin. It just hurts the market and causes unfair review as the one before me here. Trust me, Cheryl and her team work very hard and are STILL in the business for sucessful reasons. Most other agents in this town have lost their business, their license, their home and left town! I highly recommend Cheryl and RE/MAX.

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gailc57 says "Want a new home start here!!!!!!" about Realtor.com

gailc57 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:59:07 GMT

I am a Realtor in Whitinsville Massachusetts, withe ERA Key Realty Services and my office uses Realtor.com. We have used it for years, and a large percentage of our leads come from Realtor.com. As Realtors we have the option of paying a yearly fee to enhance our listings on Realtor.com, which will then get more views by customers coming to look for the perfect property.

As a consumer I have used Realtor.com for at least the last 6 - 8 years. I found it a fabulous tool to search for properties in other states that we were interested in. When I contacted the Realtors through Realtor.com I always received a prompt and thorough answer.

As a Realtor I am seeing the market starting to pick up in our area, and Realtor.com will help you find both a Realtor and properties. If you are looking for a Realtor, make sure you interview at least 2 or 3 before you pick one. All Realtors are not created equal, and if you choose the first one that comes along, or has a home listed that...

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skywatcher1215 says "Best Greenville SC MLS Search Site" about Cheryl Teague Team

skywatcher1215 — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:11:50 GMT

I have looked at many real estate sites in the search for homes in Greenville SC. I heard that this is a town to relocate toward. I all my seaches, I have not found a better internet website in which to seach homes and their locations that this one. ...

johnutah12 says "Saved me a lot of time!" about Rent Source St. Louis

johnutah12 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:43:04 GMT

I used Rent Source when I relocated back from Las Vegas this fall and they were very professional. I admit at first I was a little skeptical, but I didn't have much time. They came through big time for me and my family and we now have a beautiful home. Thanks a million Rent Source!...

CarolMouf says "I'm happy I've dealt with Fizber" about Fizber

CarolMouf — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:12:21 GMT

After being messed up by some Real Estate Agency I have decided to try and sell a house myself. I knew about FSBO and after looking at different relative web-sites stopped on Fizber.com. Their service seemed very good and quick and after registering with them it proved to be true. They even helped me to find a professional photographer. I am very happy I have dealt with Fizber....

LoveisJoy says "How Much is a House Worth These Days? Ask Zillow." about Zillow

LoveisJoy — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:11:03 GMT

Real estate seems to be a popular subject these days. Television shows like House Hunters and Designed to Sell represent our collective fascination with the unpredictable real estate market. With the mortgage crisis in full swing, it's only natural to wonder how much your house is really worth. According to Zillow.com, learning the estimated market value of practically any house in the nation is only a click away.

Zillow is quick to acknowledge that its website offers only a "Zestimate" (estimated market value), not an appraisal. That's because the data does not always include specifics of the house, such as the home's square footage or the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. It seemed to me it would be difficult for Zillow to produce an accurate estimate without that detailed information, but I thought I'd try it out. At the top of the page is a box labeled "Find Homes". I typed in my address and hit the GO button.

To my surprise, a new page loaded that had an aerial view...

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gatorgrrl says "Georgia's Complete Choice Realtors" about Lacey Shanks & Wanda Bline, Mother & Daughter Real Estate Team

gatorgrrl — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:20:12 GMT

Lacey Shanks & Wanda Bline are a mother and daughter team that make real estate fun and a positive experience to remember. They love helping people no matter what phase of the buying or selling process they are in achieve their real estate dreams. They were awarded Top Selling Agents for 2007.

Their site includes a up-to-date daily blog, games, search of 1,000's of homes and properties in the State of Georgia from two of Georgia's biggiest multiple listing services. They also provide a community page that with just a click you can access local services. They have a yard sale page where you can list items you have for sale FREE. Registering on their website is not required, but if you do you go into a drawing for a FREE vacation. You can search on their site in privacy without registration and they only contact you if you request them too. Check them out at searchnicehomes.com or wesellyourhousefast.com.

They serve primarily North Georgia including: Adairsville, Calhoun, Cartersville, Rome,...

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JovialCougar says "I found decent rental housing - for me and the pooch" about Apartments.com

JovialCougar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:26:40 GMT

A few months ago I moved to a new city and decided I wanted to rent a home for awhile. Since I had some specific requirements, I needed to find a way to narrow-down the apartment search to only those units that would be suitable. Fortunately I can across the website Apartments.com, which helped me to only look at apartments that fit my needs.

Apartments.com allows you to search for rental housing by state, city, and/or specific zip code. After choosing the area of your search, the website allows you to narrow-down your choices even more. For example, I wanted a 2-bedroom apartment that was pet-friendly (I couldn't abandon the pooch), had a clothes washer and dryer in the unit, and with a rental price of around $900/month.

Apartments.com provided me with a list of apartments units with all that criteria. Each apartment listed showed a picture, floor plans, brief description, contact information, prices, and a map of its location, and, in some cases, an option to check availability....

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chucklingcrow says " The very best Real Estate Agent in Kansas City Missouri" about Realtor.com

chucklingcrow — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:08:02 GMT

Gloria Wilson is without a doubt the most professional real Estate Consultant in KC-MO.
A few years ago she happily embraced my family's dream of owning a home.
And if it happens that the chips are down or doubt fills the air, all you have to do is believe!

She is not afraid to believe with you. She can dream if you can dream.

Miracles happen everyday and if you believe strong enough you will see them come to life. Gloria is the Lady to get you there. Trusted, and very dedicated and she really does care.
Trust her you will not regret it.
Gloria Wilson Professional real Estate Consultant.

19045 E, Valley View parkway Suite H
Independence , Missouri 64055
Office..816-268-3855
Cell.816-560-5913
Fax.913-563-6855
http://www.soldbygloriawilson.com
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averntula says "Great site to help a potential home buyer find a home" about Realtor.com

averntula — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:30:51 GMT

Realtor.com is a trusted site used by the company I work for. I am a receptionist for Red Arrow Real Estate in Prescott, AZ and I am responsible for updating and uploading certain information about our listings that are up for sale. Realtor.com has given my company no problems that I am aware of in the receptionist role. The agents that use this source have not complained about the site. And Realtor.com has allowed our listings to be distributed on the Web and to bring in potential buyers.

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charland says "Lacks detail" about Zillow

charland — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:24:19 GMT

As a Realtor, I can tell you that this source is not very reliable. It will give the sale prices of homes but what it does not tell you is the transaction's detail. A home that is sold as a "Handy Man Special" more than likely will not sell for the same price if that same home were renovated and value has been added. So basically, you have a seller thinking he/she can get $125,000 for their less than desirable property, not realizing that the home that they are referencing was sold for $125,000 because $30,000 worth of repairs/renovations have been preformed....

Secrtsrfr says "Riddled with errors - VERY unreliable. " about Zillow

Secrtsrfr — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 04:28:57 GMT

I have discovered many errors on this site, and there is NO contact us buttons, so you can't even request for them to be fixed. For instance, a house listed as for sale shows 1510 square feet priced at $154,000 - they show that is $116 per square foot, but my calculator says that is $102 per square foot. That is quite a difference when you consider that they then go on to show you the price per square foot of comparative homes that have recently sold. I needed to check each of them too, and found that the math is bad on more than half of them as well.

This site is completely useless if you have to sit with a calculator and check all their math. It's a computer for pete's sake - it ough to be capable of simple grade school division!

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kid-kansas says "One of the sources I used to find a home." about Realtor.com

kid-kansas — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 07:49:14 GMT

When I first moved here to Kansas I was in search of a house in the country and some property to go with it. This was one of the sources I used to try and find what I wanted and in certain areas where my soon to be wife knew the school systems. I had simple requests it had too have 3 bedrooms, at least 2 bathrooms and a large yard.

Our search

The site did a decent job of listing my preferences and price constraints, but where it lacked was with maps to the houses. Some where listed and others were not it was perhaps 60/40 and was making my job a bit harder. Most listings lacked sq. footage along with whether they were on city water or well, septic or public sewer. This proved to be the biggest drawback we encountered.

I was a plumber for 11 years and I knew the workings of each but was not familiar with the suitability of the Kansas soil and how well each worked. There are two types of septic systems you have your normal tank in the ground and then a new one to me a drainage pond. Which......

Bryan-Carey says "Find the Property of Your Dreams at Realtor.com" about Realtor.com

Bryan-Carey — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:52:50 GMT

Looking for homes used to be a tedious, time- consuming task, especially if you were looking for a home in another location. But today, the process is much simpler thanks to the internet and one site that makes home searching enjoyable is Realtor.com, a real estate web service that will help you find a home, get a mortgage approved, obtain a moving quote, and much more.

Web Site Commentary:

The main reason that people visit this site is, of course, to search for a home. When you logon to the site, you can quickly go directly to the state that you want to search for property by clicking the state, on the map. You can also search by city/state or by zip code. And you can narrow down your search to include only properties with a specific number of bedrooms and bathrooms; only properties with a two- car garage; only properties with a pool; etc. You can also specify a price range, if you wish.

Realtor.com allows users to see their results on a map or in a list format. The properties will display...

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carolina736a says "Great Information on the upstate of South Carolina" about Cheryl Teague Team

carolina736a — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:09:24 GMT

This site has a lot of good information on the upstate of South Carolina. You can look up homes from Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg. It has an easy to use map so you can see what homes are available in the area. The team consist of several agents so you can always get someone to answer your questions.

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Bonnie1 says "Get airmiles for selling/buying your house" about Avviva

Bonnie1 — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:11:58 GMT

I signed up years ago and got an airline ticket out of the deal. But am having trouble contacting the business to get a response on my remaining miles. They don't post a phone number or address so be careful, the only way to contact them is via their website, which I have learnt they just pretty much ignore.

The only way to get a ticket is to make a reservation first and then fill out the online form and they buy it for you. This does not work for superweb deals where you purchase the ticket immediately. So it is highly likely you end up with a higher price ticket.

Their mile translation schedule to ticket value leaves much to be desired. Eg. if your ticket costs $200, you have to fork out 25,000 miles since you can't use the 12,500 miles (only for tickets up to $175).

Overall good idea, poor execution, service, structure.

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emitnemic says "I'm an employee, customer, and an advocate!" about RealEstate.com

emitnemic — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:48:10 GMT

RealEstate.com houses a myriad of different products, features, and resources in one place (essentially everything you need for your real estate search under one roof). Through Home Price Check you can see the estimated value of your home (or check out your boss or neighbor's house - why not?), or be connected with a local agent who can provide a comparative market analysis for you.

The iNest program (also called Find a Builder) allows you to get 1% cash back when you purchase new construction through their program. The Find a REALTOR(r) program provides a rebate to you when closing on existing construction (in states that allow rebates), and RealEstate.com, REALTORS(r) is a local brick and mortar real estate company in 14 markets across 11 states. There are a ton of articles to help you navigate the home buying or selling process, and a phone center for immediate help. You truly can find anything you need to help you in real estate under one roof.

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Valaxo says "Quick, easy, and free way to look up a home value" about Zillow

Valaxo — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 18:09:36 GMT

This is a great website to see how your home value compares to others in the area if you're a homeowner, or to check the approximate value of a potential home if you're looking to buy. The website connects to Google Maps and will give you an aerial view of the neighborhood, with home values superimposed on top of the map. It seems to take into account only the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, however, and not the size of your lot....

houndsgood says "A must read reference for Citrus County, Florida" about Tom's Citrus County Real Estate Blog

houndsgood — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 05:18:02 GMT

This site goes beyond the typical real estate site where you search for homes. Afterall, there are many things a typical real estate search doesn't indicate - is the house priced right for the market, what real amenities and attractions are in the area and what the area is truly like. There are occasional articles that also talk about market conditions, changes in the local area that will affect homebuyers, and more.

If you are thinking about moving to Florida, or from place to place within Florida - this blog is a must read. It is specifically about Citrus County, but there is information that is relavant to other areas as well....