Karen Eastman Bigos, e-PRO's Q&A

What can we do when agents are listing their homes as UNDISCLOSED address and then again with the address and it shows them as having twice the number of listings, giving them a higher ranking in our market area It is unfair for the rest of us who play by the rules to go to the bottom of the list since we don't double our numbers.

I truly appreciate the timelines provided by cv and have repeatedly stated how helpful it is to have that all data detailed in one place. I do this for my clients on a regular basis and it is a time-consuming process. Mean spirited jabs are crux of this debate that has been going on for much longer than one story in the NYT. Reporting information under the heading 'Capitalizing on the greed and stupidity of others' is offensive to many and that is where the friction lies, besides listing homes in foreclosure that are NO LONGER IN FORECLOSURE. This is a place where everyone can speak at will and there is no need for anyone to hold his or her tongues or the good neighbor policy will remove the remark. I have received tons of email and phone calls from people saying they respect me and the Realtors who have gotten involved in this debate and as a result my business is growing.  

I am hardly embarrassed, nor do I think low interest rates or bonuses are propping the market. I have a lot of faith in homeownership as a part of an American Dream that my parents and grandparents shared with millions of people over the last three centuries. Owning a home is my preference to renting and living in a great community with good schools, easy commute, excellent shopping and dining, great parks and recreation, all have value to me and many others. I have repeatedly stated how valuable it is for people to have access to timelines you provide, for how long properties have been listed, when reduced, and all the other 'TRUE' info reported. The mean- spirited way you do it, is my complaint. I am not bitter nor am I angry.  There is room for everyone to have a voice and I am hardly in dreamland about the market. You see yourself as a lubricator and enabler? That is not how I see it. You list homes that are NOT IN FORECLOSURE today on your list, and insist that it is true, but it is not the case. You don't have all the info on one particular listing and you say I won't provide it without a commission check? Also not true. Just like many Realtors can be wrong, Zillow's zestimates are all over the charts and hardly line up with current values or sale prices, and you are not always right.  I'm getting too busy for this but it seems you have a lot of free time, so I'm sure you will continue to give us your slanted view of the market and many will enjoy it. I actually just sold a couple of houses and have a ton of work to do.

I took this listing in September and do not take responsibility for the prior listing periods or prices. The last quarter of 2008 was difficult for all home sellers and if this owner had not been able to find a good value in the place that she bought, she might not have sold. It worked out that the spread made sense for her because she bought a relocation property at a good price. It is true that the location posed concern for many people and that has an impact. 

Where do you live wstock? I've seen a lot of healthy back and forth in many NJ communites as I move around on zillow. Interesting that you are looking to buy in Princeton and live in Central Jersey but only now for the first come to Zillow under advice for Short Hills.  I am saddened to learn that you can't find an agent to give you MLS info - most good buyers' agents will provide you with data without a fee. I have never charged anyone for data but none of us can afford to do it on an hourly or daily basis.  Let me know what you are looking for and perhaps I can assist you or find someone who can.

cv does much more than simply document the facts 'capitalizing on the greed and stupidy of others' takes a long time. Everyone is entitled to an opinion; cv blamed one of Obama's speeches for a house falling out of attorney review. (But it had nothing to do with that address.) There ARE and HAVE BEEN errors all along. Many of those bits of misinformation have been removed by ZIllow under the good neighbor policy, but there is never any discussion about the material that gets removed because it was not true (like mistating that someone's home was in foreclosure, when it was NOT). Zillow removes it and cv ignores that the 'facts' were wrong. We just keep seeing the same reply. "The information posted is absolutely, 100% correct."   WRONG!

Prices are down, no one knows where they will go, but many believe they will go rise again in the future and interest rates might be higher in the too. This is a great time to make an offer and enjoy the benefits of the tax deduction while having a place to live without paying a landlord. If you are planning to stay in your home for a while, it should be on the upswing by the time you sell and you will have had a great place to live while paying your mortgage. You can't live in your stock portfolio and your home is more than just an investment.

I work tirelessly for people for months, and sometimes years without a commission check and I am not charging anyone who contacts me directly for information - sending me an email or a call to my cell phone should not cost much. Yesterday I received several requests and all went out without whining or fees. There is no embarrassment about requesting people to be honest about what they report as fact. This time, and in other cases, you have the facts wrong cv, and you don't want to admit it. No one has to pay me for information - just go to my website and you can see tons of free info that I am glad to provide. cv suggested that I sort out my sold data by visiting and critiquing my website and I took care of it, but cv will not adjust the facts in all of these old foreclosures.  it must be nice to have a friend like rbr123 to jump onto Zillow so suddenly to protect against criticism and join in on the hostility to Realtors. cv says "apparently I should have posted more than 3 years of data." So true.

If you want more information: call Towne Realty Group and we can give you the Jitney Route and details. 973-376-8300

Many homes in this neighborhood trade in the $800,000's. The assessment seems refreshingly low but it is hard to find a pattern in the assessments. The numbers are all over the place.