ANTHONY RAEL's Q&A

Do you mean on ZIllow.com, FSBO or with a real estate agent?  I'll assume you mean HERE using the "Make Me Move" feature.  If so, start by registering at Zillow.com first. Log in & type your property address in the search bar.  Once you've located your specific property, click the link towards the bottom "take ownership of this property" (or something similar).  From there you can begin customizing the property specs, adjusting the value based on improvements you've made and even upload photos.  It also wouldn't hurt to watch the video "Ronskie" posted too.  Good luck Kim!

Any reasonable-thinking person with a copy of their own appraisal should be able to determine which properties the appraiser used and within a matter of a few minutes know if the comparables used were even valid to begin with.  I'm sure after spending $800k+ you know the area pretty well and have a good (objective) idea what it's true value is.Unfortunately, due to recent changes in the lending laws (HVCC), appraisers are now picked randomly from a "pool" and are not very likely to be familiar with your community or even Parker in general.  This is supposed to create a truely unbiased evaluation, but it is wreaking havok everywhere because appraisals - even in simple "cookie cutter" or PUD developments where comps should be very simple are coming in too low and killing deals.  I don't know which loan type you have so the new law may not apply to your circumstances, you may have just gotten a bad appraisal.I've also heard that re-fi appraisals tend to come in lower than new loans, so that may explain why yours came in at $680k.  Request a CMA from a reputable REALTOR in your area and see how it compares to what you already have.  I encourage you to be honest about your intentions and disclose that this is for a re-fi and not resale so you don't get the agent's hopes up for a potential sale.  Don't disclose the $ you've already been told until the CMA is complete (for a fair eval).  I do this for homeowners in my market area as a good-will gesture with no strings attached. "You reap what you sow."  Good luck my friend.

The answer could be yes *IF* the attached garage has been converted into livable space.  You see a lot of this in older parts of Northwest Denver like East Berkely, Regis & Sunnyside and quite a few in Northglenn too where the additional living space is more valuable to the homeowner than the garage.  They'd rather gain an extra bedroom or family room and park the vehicles in the driveway or street.But generally speaking, regular (unfinished / non-livable) attached garage spaces are not included in the home's overall square footage in any listing I've ever seen.  The rules may be different in MLS areas outside Denver & Boulder, but I would personally find it odd if it was included.  Your question didn't say the space was finished or habitable, so I'll assume it's not.

You can't.  However, you can click on the "more info" link on Zillow's home data page to see when the house sold and for what price.  You can also research the public records at your county assessors office (online).  Keep in mind that Zillow & assessor websites will only show the original purchase price and will not display refi/heloc info - so unless you have access to the PDC records (like your agent does through their MLS for a hourly fee), you're really just taking a stab in the dark.

In talking to dozens of homeowners over teh oast 3-4 years who have used Zillow's "Make Me Move" option, most of them: 1) plan or planned to list For Sale By Owner or 2) knew they're asking above-market value but wanted to test the waters or 3) didn't want their friends & family to see the ZEstimate on their property so they thought they would try the MMM option to manipulate the home value.  In a few cases, sellers entered some ridiculous price ($1mil for a $200k property) just for the fun of it.

No, that was a typo. It has been corrected. I apologize for the mistake