Zillow ‘humbled’ by real estate industry

[PerryChase]

I’m all for Wal-Mart. The low prices have contributed to our higher standard of living. Imagine who much our standard of living would increase if RE were wal-martized.

[bob007]

our tax system is the root of real estate and health care industry distortions. currently the complicated tax code costs me $40 annually – turbotax for the web. maybe in $200-300 of I go to a CPA in the future.

complicated procedures in the health care sector and the real estate market could cost me thousands. already i have paid $500 to dentists who have not explained clearly the procedures but billed me for it. i am not complaining about it. i can afford the costs. i think about those who cannot.

[ucodegen]

[quote sdrealtor]The MLS is not a public utility it costs alot of money to support and depends on the fees paid by realtors and other members. I would love to see what would happen when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item and had to defend yourself in a court of law or were ready to move and had closed on a new house only to find out that you didnt fill the contract out properly and your buyer just walked with his deposit and you are screwed.
[/quote]
I have to disagree with you on this.. and in this case you are in my own area of expertise. In reality, the MLS is very easy and cheap to run, though it does use the fees paid by realtors and other members. The ‘cost’ statement is the same reasoning made by the IEEE, ACM to justify their costs. If you have been paying attention to the online world, arXiv.org blew them out of the water on their justification for their costs. In the ‘print’ world, there was reason for the costs, but in the current ‘electronic’ world, the cost of putting up a web based information distribution system is easily amortized over the number of users. (It does depend upon the hosting system you use).

As for “when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item”, this is a different subject from the MLS itself. Listing Realtors do have a responsibility in this area (the MLS does not take the responsibility) and is a reason why one does need to be careful, and an honest, experience realtor has value.

It is also useful to note, that the secretive behavior of the MLS, has allowed questionable behavior on the part of some realtors to continue. The existence of sites like zillow and sdlookup have allowed more ‘exposure’ into some of this behavior (realtors purchasing a property just to flip it directly to a client{buyer} that they knew about). What is interesting, from a history perspective, is that this behavior is part of what caused the Great Depression in the 30’s, and was outlawed by the SEC with respect to securities brokers. Do something like this as a stock broker – and you can loose your license for life – not to mention prison time. Personally, I would like to see licensing of RE brokers and mortgage brokers structured along similar lines. For most people, a house purchase is the single largest money transaction they are going to do in their life.

[ucodegen]

[quote sdrealtor]The MLS is not a public utility it costs alot of money to support and depends on the fees paid by realtors and other members. I would love to see what would happen when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item and had to defend yourself in a court of law or were ready to move and had closed on a new house only to find out that you didnt fill the contract out properly and your buyer just walked with his deposit and you are screwed.
[/quote]
I have to disagree with you on this.. and in this case you are in my own area of expertise. In reality, the MLS is very easy and cheap to run, though it does use the fees paid by realtors and other members. The ‘cost’ statement is the same reasoning made by the IEEE, ACM to justify their costs. If you have been paying attention to the online world, arXiv.org blew them out of the water on their justification for their costs. In the ‘print’ world, there was reason for the costs, but in the current ‘electronic’ world, the cost of putting up a web based information distribution system is easily amortized over the number of users. (It does depend upon the hosting system you use).

As for “when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item”, this is a different subject from the MLS itself. Listing Realtors do have a responsibility in this area (the MLS does not take the responsibility) and is a reason why one does need to be careful, and an honest, experience realtor has value.

It is also useful to note, that the secretive behavior of the MLS, has allowed questionable behavior on the part of some realtors to continue. The existence of sites like zillow and sdlookup have allowed more ‘exposure’ into some of this behavior (realtors purchasing a property just to flip it directly to a client{buyer} that they knew about). What is interesting, from a history perspective, is that this behavior is part of what caused the Great Depression in the 30’s, and was outlawed by the SEC with respect to securities brokers. Do something like this as a stock broker – and you can loose your license for life – not to mention prison time. Personally, I would like to see licensing of RE brokers and mortgage brokers structured along similar lines. For most people, a house purchase is the single largest money transaction they are going to do in their life.

[ucodegen]

[quote sdrealtor]The MLS is not a public utility it costs alot of money to support and depends on the fees paid by realtors and other members. I would love to see what would happen when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item and had to defend yourself in a court of law or were ready to move and had closed on a new house only to find out that you didnt fill the contract out properly and your buyer just walked with his deposit and you are screwed.
[/quote]
I have to disagree with you on this.. and in this case you are in my own area of expertise. In reality, the MLS is very easy and cheap to run, though it does use the fees paid by realtors and other members. The ‘cost’ statement is the same reasoning made by the IEEE, ACM to justify their costs. If you have been paying attention to the online world, arXiv.org blew them out of the water on their justification for their costs. In the ‘print’ world, there was reason for the costs, but in the current ‘electronic’ world, the cost of putting up a web based information distribution system is easily amortized over the number of users. (It does depend upon the hosting system you use).

As for “when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item”, this is a different subject from the MLS itself. Listing Realtors do have a responsibility in this area (the MLS does not take the responsibility) and is a reason why one does need to be careful, and an honest, experience realtor has value.

It is also useful to note, that the secretive behavior of the MLS, has allowed questionable behavior on the part of some realtors to continue. The existence of sites like zillow and sdlookup have allowed more ‘exposure’ into some of this behavior (realtors purchasing a property just to flip it directly to a client{buyer} that they knew about). What is interesting, from a history perspective, is that this behavior is part of what caused the Great Depression in the 30’s, and was outlawed by the SEC with respect to securities brokers. Do something like this as a stock broker – and you can loose your license for life – not to mention prison time. Personally, I would like to see licensing of RE brokers and mortgage brokers structured along similar lines. For most people, a house purchase is the single largest money transaction they are going to do in their life.

[ucodegen]

[quote sdrealtor]The MLS is not a public utility it costs alot of money to support and depends on the fees paid by realtors and other members. I would love to see what would happen when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item and had to defend yourself in a court of law or were ready to move and had closed on a new house only to find out that you didnt fill the contract out properly and your buyer just walked with his deposit and you are screwed.
[/quote]
I have to disagree with you on this.. and in this case you are in my own area of expertise. In reality, the MLS is very easy and cheap to run, though it does use the fees paid by realtors and other members. The ‘cost’ statement is the same reasoning made by the IEEE, ACM to justify their costs. If you have been paying attention to the online world, arXiv.org blew them out of the water on their justification for their costs. In the ‘print’ world, there was reason for the costs, but in the current ‘electronic’ world, the cost of putting up a web based information distribution system is easily amortized over the number of users. (It does depend upon the hosting system you use).

As for “when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item”, this is a different subject from the MLS itself. Listing Realtors do have a responsibility in this area (the MLS does not take the responsibility) and is a reason why one does need to be careful, and an honest, experience realtor has value.

It is also useful to note, that the secretive behavior of the MLS, has allowed questionable behavior on the part of some realtors to continue. The existence of sites like zillow and sdlookup have allowed more ‘exposure’ into some of this behavior (realtors purchasing a property just to flip it directly to a client{buyer} that they knew about). What is interesting, from a history perspective, is that this behavior is part of what caused the Great Depression in the 30’s, and was outlawed by the SEC with respect to securities brokers. Do something like this as a stock broker – and you can loose your license for life – not to mention prison time. Personally, I would like to see licensing of RE brokers and mortgage brokers structured along similar lines. For most people, a house purchase is the single largest money transaction they are going to do in their life.

[ucodegen]

[quote sdrealtor]The MLS is not a public utility it costs alot of money to support and depends on the fees paid by realtors and other members. I would love to see what would happen when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item and had to defend yourself in a court of law or were ready to move and had closed on a new house only to find out that you didnt fill the contract out properly and your buyer just walked with his deposit and you are screwed.
[/quote]
I have to disagree with you on this.. and in this case you are in my own area of expertise. In reality, the MLS is very easy and cheap to run, though it does use the fees paid by realtors and other members. The ‘cost’ statement is the same reasoning made by the IEEE, ACM to justify their costs. If you have been paying attention to the online world, arXiv.org blew them out of the water on their justification for their costs. In the ‘print’ world, there was reason for the costs, but in the current ‘electronic’ world, the cost of putting up a web based information distribution system is easily amortized over the number of users. (It does depend upon the hosting system you use).

As for “when you got sued for non-disclosure of an item”, this is a different subject from the MLS itself. Listing Realtors do have a responsibility in this area (the MLS does not take the responsibility) and is a reason why one does need to be careful, and an honest, experience realtor has value.

It is also useful to note, that the secretive behavior of the MLS, has allowed questionable behavior on the part of some realtors to continue. The existence of sites like zillow and sdlookup have allowed more ‘exposure’ into some of this behavior (realtors purchasing a property just to flip it directly to a client{buyer} that they knew about). What is interesting, from a history perspective, is that this behavior is part of what caused the Great Depression in the 30’s, and was outlawed by the SEC with respect to securities brokers. Do something like this as a stock broker – and you can loose your license for life – not to mention prison time. Personally, I would like to see licensing of RE brokers and mortgage brokers structured along similar lines. For most people, a house purchase is the single largest money transaction they are going to do in their life.

[justme]

Agree with ucodegen. Running an MLS costs piddly amounts of money. If advertisers (sellers) paid $100/month to list their house, MLS could be a hugely profitable standalone business.

It’s just a semi-fancy ebay with some added historical data tossed in, and lower volume of ads.

[justme]

Agree with ucodegen. Running an MLS costs piddly amounts of money. If advertisers (sellers) paid $100/month to list their house, MLS could be a hugely profitable standalone business.

It’s just a semi-fancy ebay with some added historical data tossed in, and lower volume of ads.

[justme]

Agree with ucodegen. Running an MLS costs piddly amounts of money. If advertisers (sellers) paid $100/month to list their house, MLS could be a hugely profitable standalone business.

It’s just a semi-fancy ebay with some added historical data tossed in, and lower volume of ads.

[justme]

Agree with ucodegen. Running an MLS costs piddly amounts of money. If advertisers (sellers) paid $100/month to list their house, MLS could be a hugely profitable standalone business.

It’s just a semi-fancy ebay with some added historical data tossed in, and lower volume of ads.

[justme]

Agree with ucodegen. Running an MLS costs piddly amounts of money. If advertisers (sellers) paid $100/month to list their house, MLS could be a hugely profitable standalone business.

It’s just a semi-fancy ebay with some added historical data tossed in, and lower volume of ads.

[CricketOnTheHearth]

It’s not just the comps, Zillow is so handy for a world of other things.

I have Zillowed potential rentals to check them out. Armed with the starting info I got from Zillow, I was able to detect flopped flips, less-than-honest rental “agents”, and other hazards to a prospective renter.

I used the mapping function of Zillow, along with a list from a local news station, to figure out where all the houses that burned in 2007 were located. (Hint: avoid a house that is just west of an expanse of brush.)

I love the “historical price” graph at the bottom of a listing, and being able to see what the house cost 10 years ago, etc.

Also that you can see when the house was last purchased, and for how much.

Combined with data from the Treasurer/Tax Collector, Zillow is a huge all-round resource. I hope it, or something like it, stays around.

[CricketOnTheHearth]

It’s not just the comps, Zillow is so handy for a world of other things.

I have Zillowed potential rentals to check them out. Armed with the starting info I got from Zillow, I was able to detect flopped flips, less-than-honest rental “agents”, and other hazards to a prospective renter.

I used the mapping function of Zillow, along with a list from a local news station, to figure out where all the houses that burned in 2007 were located. (Hint: avoid a house that is just west of an expanse of brush.)

I love the “historical price” graph at the bottom of a listing, and being able to see what the house cost 10 years ago, etc.

Also that you can see when the house was last purchased, and for how much.

Combined with data from the Treasurer/Tax Collector, Zillow is a huge all-round resource. I hope it, or something like it, stays around.

[CricketOnTheHearth]

It’s not just the comps, Zillow is so handy for a world of other things.

I have Zillowed potential rentals to check them out. Armed with the starting info I got from Zillow, I was able to detect flopped flips, less-than-honest rental “agents”, and other hazards to a prospective renter.

I used the mapping function of Zillow, along with a list from a local news station, to figure out where all the houses that burned in 2007 were located. (Hint: avoid a house that is just west of an expanse of brush.)

I love the “historical price” graph at the bottom of a listing, and being able to see what the house cost 10 years ago, etc.

Also that you can see when the house was last purchased, and for how much.

Combined with data from the Treasurer/Tax Collector, Zillow is a huge all-round resource. I hope it, or something like it, stays around.

[Author]

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