Melissa Loughridge Savenko's Q&A

OK, just went to Zillow's own links, as attached in another post.  1.  According to Zillow, the Zestimate is based on public data.  2.  It appears that the Zestimate is based on quantifiable data points, like square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, lot size, age of home, etc.3.  Assessed value is a big quantifiable data point.  4.  If the assessed value is off - which it quite often is in my market, for the reasons I posted initially - then the Zestimate is highly likely to be off.  5.  By Zillow's own data, it is within 20% of the ultimate sales price ONLY 69% of the time in the City of Richmond.  In other words, for 31% of ultimate sales, Zillow was more than 20% off of the true market value, as measured by the sales price.  If you are talking about a house with a Zestimate of $200,000, being off more than 20% is being off $40,000 or more.The whole thing basically comes down to the fact that Zillow can't account for QUALITATIVE differences, like level of renovation and upgrading.  If you are talking about a suburban subdivision with a price per square foot "swing" of $10-$20/square foot for the basic model versus the tricked out model home, this isn't too terribly debilitating.  But if you are looking at an urban neighborhood of historic homes where the PPSF differential can be anywhere from $100-$200 PER SQUARE FOOT, that's a big daggone differential. How do people get hurt by this?  Well, more and more people start their home searches on the Internet, and if I had $0.25 for every time one of my clients said "Well, Zillow says this house is only worth $X...," I would be a very wealthy woman.  And what about the houses that never even get a look because a prospective buyer eliminates the house because it is grossly overpriced as measured against the (oftentimes inaccurate) Zestimate?I like Zillow as a starting point, I really do.  But there should be some mechanism for owners to be able to correct Zestimates that are grossly off.

Dottie:Unfortunately, I do not believe you can get rid of your Zestimate.  If you find out a way that you can, please let me know!However, there may be some ways to counteract or mitigate an outdated and inaccurate Zestimate.  Here are some ideas:1.  Have you owned your home for a long time, typically 6 or more years?  If so, your Zestimate should be based on what you paid, plus the assessed value increases over time.  Since those assessed value increases are typically a small percentage, intended to reflect appreciation, you may have had a 2-3% appreciation value applied to your home over time.  If you live in a neighborhood that had rapid appreciation and has held it's value, that 2-3% increase may very well not reflect true market value.2.  Is your home in a unique neighborhood?  Is it an older home?  In these situations, true market values can vary widely based on the age and quality of a renovation, and the availability of certain amenities, such as a basement, a garage, off-street parking, some locational advantage.  I work in the City of Richmond's historic neighborhoods, and that is quite often the case - House A may be worth $350,000, and House B - on the same block, with the same square footage, bedrooms, and baths - could be worth $500,000.  Zillow often woefully undervalues Home B.  3.  Consider getting an appraisal.  This will cost you a few hundred dollars, but is a written report by a professional trained in evaluating a home's market value and obligated to follow specific standards.  The report should better reflect the true value of your home, after an evaluation of your home's specific amenities.  It gives you an objective document that you can share with potential purchasers.  What happens if the appraisal reveals that your home is worth much less than you believe?  Well, at least you know.  Then you can move on to a Plan B, rather than going through the heartache and stress of trying to sell an overpriced home in this market.  Best of luck to you!

Deborah:  Posted this in response to another question, and then saw yours.  Hopefully, this is helpful. Dottie:Unfortunately, I do not believe you can get rid of your Zestimate.  If you find out a way that you can, please let me know!However, there may be some ways to counteract or mitigate an outdated and inaccurate Zestimate.  Here are some ideas:1.  Have you owned your home for a long time, typically 6 or more years?  If so, your Zestimate should be based on what you paid, plus the assessed value increases over time.  Since those assessed value increases are typically a small percentage, intended to reflect appreciation, you may have had a 2-3% appreciation value applied to your home over time.  If you live in a neighborhood that had rapid appreciation and has held it's value, that 2-3% increase may very well not reflect true market value.2.  Is your home in a unique neighborhood?  Is it an older home?  In these situations, true market values can vary widely based on the age and quality of a renovation, and the availability of certain amenities, such as a basement, a garage, off-street parking, some locational advantage.  I work in the City of Richmond's historic neighborhoods, and that is quite often the case - House A may be worth $350,000, and House B - on the same block, with the same square footage, bedrooms, and baths - could be worth $500,000.  Zillow often woefully undervalues Home B.  3.  Consider getting an appraisal.  This will cost you a few hundred dollars, but is a written report by a professional trained in evaluating a home's market value and obligated to follow specific standards.  The report should better reflect the true value of your home, after an evaluation of your home's specific amenities.  It gives you an objective document that you can share with potential purchasers.  What happens if the appraisal reveals that your home is worth much less than you believe?  Well, at least you know.  Then you can move on to a Plan B, rather than going through the heartache and stress of trying to sell an overpriced home in this market.  Best of luck to you!

This story behind this listing is complicated.  The house was unfairly stigmatized by buyers that walked away from closing after a long pending period - done to accomodate self-same buyers, by the way -  well after all contractual contingencies were cleared. The house is aggressively priced.  There has been a serious subsequent investment by the sellers, upwards of $15,000 to install 2-zone central air and heat pump.  The house is no longer occupied and does not show as well as it did furnished.I am thinking about (i) getting price quotes on cosmetic improvements, like painting; (ii) staging the home; and (iii) re-shooting new pictures with the staging.  The house is in the entry-level buyer price range, and the sellers are not in a position to spend additional money on improving property. I'd be happy to hear additional suggestions that might help in this situation.

Do you think removing a listing from the market for a short period of time and re-listing at a predetermined future date is an effective marketing strategy?

Are you buying or selling?In either event, you can do several things: (1) look at the tax assessed value of the property, what the locality believes it to be worth; (2) hire an appraiser; and/or (3) have a licensed real estate agent in your market prepare a Comparative Market Analysis ("CMA") on the home.  Of course, you can also look at online valuation sites like Zillow, but keep in mind their data is often outdated or incorrect.  An appraiser will cost you several hundred dollars, depending on your location.  By reviewing all these different data sources, hopefully you can come up with a reasonable estimation of value.  Good luck!

A foreclosure is as damaging as a bankruptcy, in terms of your ability to purchase a replacement home.  It will take 7-10 years before you will be able to qualify for either government backed loan products or conventional loans.  A short sale is a much less damaging avenue to an underwater home owner.  Typically, an individual can qualify for a new home loan after two years.

In my experience, the biggest problem I've had under the new regulation is appraisers who have no familiarity with the area in which they are appraising.  It appears these appraisal management companies ("AMCs") are hiring the cheapest appraiser, not the most qualified or experienced appraiser.  That may be fine in a standard subdivision, but when you are working mainly in historic neighborhoods, where there are vast differences between properties, it creates huge problems.Why is it often that a regulatory "solution" makes the original problem worse?

The bonus room is 11x9, and has three (3) doors, one on the rear south side, adjacent to the bookshelves, leading out to the rear stairs, a panty or storage closet on the north wall, and a washer/dryer closet on the north wall beside the pantry/storage closet. I'm attaching the videotour link below, in the hopes that this may help as well.http://www.circlepix.com/videotour/AGA6TG I would welcome the opportunity to show you the units, they really are very nice and an excellent value. Thanks for your interest, Tobi. Very truly yours, Melissa

Dear Roz:Your cousin is one of my absolute favorites! He is a real sweetheart, and I am so glad he is doing better. We have a friendly bet over whether or not Petersburg, Virginia is going to revitalize over the next 2-3 years. I say yes, he says no. We'll just have to see.The building's rear stairs have been painted and refurbished. The entire renovation was done using historic tax credits, which means the developer had to comply with federal preservation guidelines when doing the renovation. So, original elements of the building, such as the rear stairs, were preserved and refurbished where necessary, rather than replaced. I think both the developer, Fowler Properties, and the contractor, Monument Construction, did a lovely job. It's a real pleasure to work with people who respect and restore old buildings, rather than doing "wham, bam, thank you Ma'am" renovations to make the most money out of a historic property in the shortest time. I am an old house purist, and it breaks my heart to see bad renovations in these gorgeous old buildings. And trust me, there are a LOT of B-A-D renovations.In any event, thanks again for your comments, and best of luck with selling your second home when the time comes. I'll pass on your compliments to the developer and the contractor. I'm sure they will appreciate the compliments. Best,Melissa Loughridge Savenko