Zillow. Mention the name in a real estate office and you’re likely to get eye rolls, sighs, and smirks.
It’s like P90X to personal trainers. It’s TurboTax to accountants. It’s LegalZoom to lawyers.
Let me explain.
Mention P90X in a room of personal trainers and you’ll get the eye rolls. You’ll also get comments like these: “How could a guy on a DVD help people lose weight? That program is too extreme for the general public. That workout program is a joke. P90X could never bring the results to people that I, Mr. Super Trainer could bring them.”
In the case of TurboTax vs. the accountant: “How could a piece of software compute and complete someone’s taxes better than me, the real-life accountant in the flesh?”
In regards to LegalZoom vs. the lawyer: “How is a website going to help someone to prepare legal docs with the same expertise as I, the lawyer that went through law school (and $100K in student loans)?”
And while there is some truth to all of those comments, the truth is P90X has helped thousands of people lose weight, TurboTax has helped millions of people file taxes, and LegalZoom has helped many people and small businesses prepare legal documents.
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Back to Zillow:
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“How could a website help you determine which house is best for you, when I, Glen Gosch, real estate agent extraordinaire can roll out the expert advice and use my real estate magic to help you find your dream home?”
Well… the truth is… Zillow can help you find your new home. Some agents hate Zillow for a variety of reasons: It’s not as up-to-date as the computer database that us agents use behind the scenes – you might find a house listed for sale on Zillow, call about it, and then find out it has already been sold. Some agents think Zillow undermines what real estate agents do in helping people search for a home. “Computers aren’t as good at helping people find homes as real estate agents are.”
There’s some truth to all of that I guess.
But I think Zillow is a great search tool. It’s easy to use, it’s free, and it shows you prices on houses in your area. What’s not to love?
Before you use Zillow….
Or should I say, before you use Zillow again… let me give you a few things to think about.
Zillow is not perfect.
It does not update as quick as the MLS (multiple listing service: the computer database of homes used by real estate agents). I’ve had a client tell me, “Glen, that house you are taking us to see this afternoon is off the market,” only to check the MLS and see that the home was in fact still on the market and ready to show.
Zillow also does not provide home search results to the extent that real estate agents can. Bottom line: if you enter your criteria into Zillow, you could be missing out on some other properties.
And of course Zillow is not going to be able to provide all of the services that a real agent will: negotiating your deal like a boss, walking you through the 367 steps of buying a home, and being that resource that you need in your corner to answer questions when things come up during the home buying process. Okay, there are not 367 steps to buy a home, but it does sometimes feel like that!
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How to use Zillow (or other Internet Home Searches)
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So, you’re looking for a house. You’re probably one of the 90% of people that are going to use the Internet at some point in the process. Here’s the Glen Gosch Guide on how to do it.
Get pre-approved from a lender. This will give you an idea of how much you can spend, and how much you really want to spend on a home. It will take some of the guesswork out of the buying process and end up saving you time in the long run.
Scope out some homes on Zillow (okay, maybe that was your Step 1) and/or call an agent. And by call an agent, I mean call me – Glen Gosch. Or email, text me, shoot over a Facebook message, send me a homing pigeon – whatever line of communication works best for you.
Communicate with your agent (me, if you live in the Tri Cities) about what you’re looking for, what you’ve seen online that you’ve liked, what you haven’t liked, what you’re pre-approved for, and what you really want to spend.
Ask your agent (Glen Gosch) to show you the homes you that you found on Zillow and are interested in. Then ask if your agent knows about any other properties coming on the market soon or properties just listed. The perfect home for you might not be posted in Zillow yet!
From there the conversation can go in a hundred different directions depending if you’re a first-time buyer, moving up, scaling down, and so on. But that gives you a start.
Whether you’ve been looking around on Zillow, driving through neighborhoods, or both, If you’re looking to buy a home in the Tri Cities, contact me today.