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Answers (16)
"Besides, it is clear from Surbiton's posts that Zillow has communicated many things privately to Surbiton, likely more than they communicated to me privately in the same time period."
Communication is the 'sharing of information'; Zillow has not told me anything other than 'we don't change zestimates', even if they are wrong.
Communication is the 'sharing of information'; Zillow has not told me anything other than 'we don't change zestimates', even if they are wrong.
- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21432
"Then, Zillow should use the entire County record and not half of it!" -
If you find that a county tax assessed value was copied wrong by a 3rd party data collection company that Zillow pays a fortune to every month, use the "report a problem" button under the edit pull down tab under the main photo on the home details page, to have it looked into and corrected.
Zillow wants to correct that type of data, but cannot do so if no one points out the issue. (300 employees cannot individually check over 100 MILLION web-pages by themselves).
And I do believe it would be helpful if Zillow provided the Zoning information and included it in their modeling, but for whatever reason, they have chosen not to include that data so far. Likely because each city has their own Zoning designations and there is little correlation between the designations used between different agencies.
If you find that a county tax assessed value was copied wrong by a 3rd party data collection company that Zillow pays a fortune to every month, use the "report a problem" button under the edit pull down tab under the main photo on the home details page, to have it looked into and corrected.
Zillow wants to correct that type of data, but cannot do so if no one points out the issue. (300 employees cannot individually check over 100 MILLION web-pages by themselves).
And I do believe it would be helpful if Zillow provided the Zoning information and included it in their modeling, but for whatever reason, they have chosen not to include that data so far. Likely because each city has their own Zoning designations and there is little correlation between the designations used between different agencies.
- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21432
Zillow advanced search --> *Google* advanced search
(I've never claimed anyone should be "perfect" in typing, I try to correct most of my "errors", but I still make at least 6 per page. Only un-Realist people post that if websites can't be perfect, they shouldn't exist or should be heavily regulated by wasting my tax dollars, or sued).
(And most of my typing errors could cost me a substantial amount of money, and even other people's lives, so I do try to be very careful)
(I've never claimed anyone should be "perfect" in typing, I try to correct most of my "errors", but I still make at least 6 per page. Only un-Realist people post that if websites can't be perfect, they shouldn't exist or should be heavily regulated by wasting my tax dollars, or sued).
(And most of my typing errors could cost me a substantial amount of money, and even other people's lives, so I do try to be very careful)
- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21432
"...or do you believe that Zillow must be giving this information specially to Pasadenan?" -
I doubt anyone would believe that, as it is clear how I read the information from the website. Yes, I've occasionally guessed wrong (such as stating they used multiple linear regression), but I figure, if they don't correct it, then I could not be too far off. And they did correct the assumption of "linear regression" and posted is was a "learning modeling method", and not linear.
But for the specific question, I could post links to at least 10 posts by Zillow staff people that state such a thing, but I won't since anyone that knows how to use a Zillow advanced search with a specific site domain for the search could find them just as easily.
Besides, it is clear from Surbiton's posts that Zillow has communicated many things privately to Surbiton, likely more than they communicated to me privately in the same time period.
But of course Zillow has corresponded with me on questions I've asked about some website issues..., just as they tend to do for most people that E-mail them about issues...
my count over 4.5 years?
Andrea Smolin 1
Andrew Hafzalla 3
David Gibbons 8
Diane Tubman 4
Drew Myers 63
Emily Trinks 2
Erin Coningsby 1
Erwin Francisco 1
Geofrey O'Neil 1
Hernan Savastano 6
Ia Santos 1
Ice Ligon 5
Jeany Tully 7
Jigs Francisco 2
Kathleen Philips 1
Kristin Acker 20
Mary Miller 1
Matt Bowers 2
Nate Moch 8
Nida Makein 4
Rachel Rosen 17
Russ Hatfield 61
Sara Bonert 2
Spencer Rascoff 33
Stan Humphries 20
Yen Bun 3
Total 277
(Note that several of those employees left Zillow and went on to other things, such as David Gibbons, Drew Myers, Jigs Francisco... Drew occasionally does still post on this site, but other than this site, I have not had any contact with any of the past Zillow employees since they left Zillow)
I doubt anyone would believe that, as it is clear how I read the information from the website. Yes, I've occasionally guessed wrong (such as stating they used multiple linear regression), but I figure, if they don't correct it, then I could not be too far off. And they did correct the assumption of "linear regression" and posted is was a "learning modeling method", and not linear.
But for the specific question, I could post links to at least 10 posts by Zillow staff people that state such a thing, but I won't since anyone that knows how to use a Zillow advanced search with a specific site domain for the search could find them just as easily.
Besides, it is clear from Surbiton's posts that Zillow has communicated many things privately to Surbiton, likely more than they communicated to me privately in the same time period.
But of course Zillow has corresponded with me on questions I've asked about some website issues..., just as they tend to do for most people that E-mail them about issues...
my count over 4.5 years?
Andrea Smolin 1
Andrew Hafzalla 3
David Gibbons 8
Diane Tubman 4
Drew Myers 63
Emily Trinks 2
Erin Coningsby 1
Erwin Francisco 1
Geofrey O'Neil 1
Hernan Savastano 6
Ia Santos 1
Ice Ligon 5
Jeany Tully 7
Jigs Francisco 2
Kathleen Philips 1
Kristin Acker 20
Mary Miller 1
Matt Bowers 2
Nate Moch 8
Nida Makein 4
Rachel Rosen 17
Russ Hatfield 61
Sara Bonert 2
Spencer Rascoff 33
Stan Humphries 20
Yen Bun 3
Total 277
(Note that several of those employees left Zillow and went on to other things, such as David Gibbons, Drew Myers, Jigs Francisco... Drew occasionally does still post on this site, but other than this site, I have not had any contact with any of the past Zillow employees since they left Zillow)
rchan - you better get used to my whining
pasadenan - so your the poster who has never made a typo? Get over it. And I am curious as to where in the FAQ's you found the level of detail you quoted in your last post
"Zillow uses the tax assessed value adjusted for local county rules, and the last sold price adjusted for the last sold date to account for such amenity differences."
Anyone else ever read specific details like this on the zillow site? or do you believe that zillow must be giving this information specially to pasadenan?
pasadenan - so your the poster who has never made a typo? Get over it. And I am curious as to where in the FAQ's you found the level of detail you quoted in your last post
"Zillow uses the tax assessed value adjusted for local county rules, and the last sold price adjusted for the last sold date to account for such amenity differences."
Anyone else ever read specific details like this on the zillow site? or do you believe that zillow must be giving this information specially to pasadenan?
- CAS61
- Contributions:2
Then, Zillow should use the entire County record and not half of it!
- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21432
"Square footage prices!" -
Zillow does publish the "list price per sq ft", but people are foolish to base offers on price per square foot ONLY.
And certainly, the estimates would not be very useful if it assumed a constant value per square foot of living space, and ignored the land, and other features.
Even if two houses are next door, they are not usually worth the same per square foot. If that was the case, all houses would be 2 story square boxes with flat roofs, slab on grade, no finishes, no amenities, no case work, no cabinetry, and the floor finishes would be the cheapest grade of glue on carpet one could get. And there would be no landscaping nor trees; just dirt or weeds; simply because it would cost the builder "less", and they could sell it for the "same" per square foot.
Zillow uses the tax assessed value adjusted for local county rules, and the last sold price adjusted for the last sold date to account for such amenity differences.
Of course that means that if the property deteriorated since purchase, or if improvements were made to the property since purchase, the estimate will not account for those changes, and one would need to do that manually, such as in the comment space provided next to each Zestimate.
Zillow does publish the "list price per sq ft", but people are foolish to base offers on price per square foot ONLY.
And certainly, the estimates would not be very useful if it assumed a constant value per square foot of living space, and ignored the land, and other features.
Even if two houses are next door, they are not usually worth the same per square foot. If that was the case, all houses would be 2 story square boxes with flat roofs, slab on grade, no finishes, no amenities, no case work, no cabinetry, and the floor finishes would be the cheapest grade of glue on carpet one could get. And there would be no landscaping nor trees; just dirt or weeds; simply because it would cost the builder "less", and they could sell it for the "same" per square foot.
Zillow uses the tax assessed value adjusted for local county rules, and the last sold price adjusted for the last sold date to account for such amenity differences.
Of course that means that if the property deteriorated since purchase, or if improvements were made to the property since purchase, the estimate will not account for those changes, and one would need to do that manually, such as in the comment space provided next to each Zestimate.
- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21432
"Not standing up for your rights is caused appeasement, and history shows that appeasement never works" -
You are "right", Zillow must "stand up for their rights" and not "appease" you in any form or fashion, as history shows that appeasing you "never works".
Besides, didn't you mean "called appeasement", rather than "caused appeasement"? Or did you mean "has caused" instead of "is caused"?
If Zillow's "accuracy" was as good as "yours", they would have been out of business in 2005.
You are "right", Zillow must "stand up for their rights" and not "appease" you in any form or fashion, as history shows that appeasing you "never works".
Besides, didn't you mean "called appeasement", rather than "caused appeasement"? Or did you mean "has caused" instead of "is caused"?
If Zillow's "accuracy" was as good as "yours", they would have been out of business in 2005.
- Rchan81
- Contributions:73
Surbiton - "Just my 2 cents"
The Zestimate on your "2 cents" just decreased again. Please carry on your whining or just choose to ignore the Zestimates and move on.
The Zestimate on your "2 cents" just decreased again. Please carry on your whining or just choose to ignore the Zestimates and move on.
workabee
there is a difference between whining and requesting obvious errors to be corrected. Not standing up for your rights is caused appeasement, and history shows that appeasement never works. So the Zillow CEO can look forward to many more posts from me on here and other websites giving my point of view of zillows ineptitude.
there is a difference between whining and requesting obvious errors to be corrected. Not standing up for your rights is caused appeasement, and history shows that appeasement never works. So the Zillow CEO can look forward to many more posts from me on here and other websites giving my point of view of zillows ineptitude.
- workabee
- Contributions:1030
CEO managed you just fine. He told you no and stuck to his company policy of not caving to whiners. Then did you the favor of correcting your grammar. Problem solved.
@rchan
You are missing the point completely. It is Zillows refusal to act in a fair minded manner and have a process for appeals by homeowners who disagree with their valuation that is my main issue.
I am not the only person who has concerns with zillow zestimates as just reading 100's of complaints on here shows that my grievance is a common problem and has been for 5 years. If zillow insist it's their right to publish garbage information on my home, then it is equally my right to look at public domain information and publish my opinion on zillow as a company. With their requirement to file financial information with the SEC there is lots of information for me as a critic to draw on.
As a newly listed company they have many problems to overcome, particularly how they are struggling to maintain their growth rate with unique users and subsequent impact on their revenues. If I was the zillow CEO the last thing I would want is someone highlighting issues of this nature and would want to minimize any reputational damage resulting from petty disputes with consumers. As a inexperienced CEO he will learn that he has to manage critics and not aggravate them the way zillow does currently. Just my 2 cents.
You are missing the point completely. It is Zillows refusal to act in a fair minded manner and have a process for appeals by homeowners who disagree with their valuation that is my main issue.
I am not the only person who has concerns with zillow zestimates as just reading 100's of complaints on here shows that my grievance is a common problem and has been for 5 years. If zillow insist it's their right to publish garbage information on my home, then it is equally my right to look at public domain information and publish my opinion on zillow as a company. With their requirement to file financial information with the SEC there is lots of information for me as a critic to draw on.
As a newly listed company they have many problems to overcome, particularly how they are struggling to maintain their growth rate with unique users and subsequent impact on their revenues. If I was the zillow CEO the last thing I would want is someone highlighting issues of this nature and would want to minimize any reputational damage resulting from petty disputes with consumers. As a inexperienced CEO he will learn that he has to manage critics and not aggravate them the way zillow does currently. Just my 2 cents.
- Rchan81
- Contributions:73
@ Rita - More than just complain, look at Surbiton. Made it his life goal to to bad mouth Zillow, all because his Zestimate is lower than he expected...
- David Barr, "dpbarr2000"
- Contributions:279
Zillow does not employ any real estate professional in a local market. They use "algorithms" when posting zestimates of your home's "value".
Zillow exists to sell advertising on this site. It is not a substitute for your local MLS or local experienced real estate professional.
Zillow exists to sell advertising on this site. It is not a substitute for your local MLS or local experienced real estate professional.
- Rita A. Walker, "Rita Walker"
- Contributions:277
Depending on this website for correct values is a step in the wrong direction.
The information used for listings is what has been syndicated. Zillow is not affiliated with any mls.
Find a good Realtor in your area and they can give a more realistic value
of your home.
For the life of me I cannot understand why people put so much credence in Zestimates. If you read many posts on the subject, you will see that everyone seems to complain about them.
The information used for listings is what has been syndicated. Zillow is not affiliated with any mls.
Find a good Realtor in your area and they can give a more realistic value
of your home.
For the life of me I cannot understand why people put so much credence in Zestimates. If you read many posts on the subject, you will see that everyone seems to complain about them.
Because they want to encourage people to look out of curiousity to see the value of their neighbors homes. If they were properly valued no one would ever look again so zillow disguises 'incompetence' in the form of an algorithm to make it look like they are doing something clever just to create controversy and get people to keep checking how erroneous the valuations are. It is time this nonsense was properly regulated, and our legislators are so busy playing with themselves in DC that they have failed to catch up with technology and protect consumers.
Why is Zillow so unfair with home values when homes are right next door to each other?
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