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Is Zillow Q and A Lookie Loo Heaven and Listing Agent Hell?

Published by Joseph Ferrara (2) April 9th, 2007 in zillow. Comments

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As a real estate agent listing a home on Zillow, you, and the owner, should be prepared to answer some tough (and stupid) questions from the curious lookie loos or just plain nosy. Perhaps the answers will cause the serious buyer to look away (poorly worded, seemingly evasive or incomplete answers, etc.). Who knows, maybe a certain question (e.g. “I saw Joe the Exterminator’s truck at the home. Does this house have termites?”) might be detrimental.

Perhaps you should get the homeowner’s consent before listing the house for sale on Zillow so that they are prepared to answer. And if you, or the owner, don’t answer a tough question, how will it look to buyers? In states which use attorneys (New York), buyers’ attorneys will have a field day with you. Be careful how you answer because there is a record. Even an innocent mistake may open you to liability. Are we all ready to be transparent? Is the seller? This Q&A looks like an online version of an Open House. Yikes.

We leave to another post the issues of another agent listing the home and answering questions incorrectly or leaving them unanswered to the homeowner’s detriment.

A Zillow Q sampler:

1. Why are you selling the house?

2. How long have you lived in the house?

3. Is this the first time the home has been placed on the market by you?

4. Have you ever filed an insurance claim in connection with the home? What were the circumstances?

5. Are any obvious repairs needed? What are they?

6. Have you had any prior price reductions?

7. Is the owner willing to negotiate the price?

8. Is the owner willing to consider financing?

9. Does the owner have any pets? Describe them.

10. Are there any troublesome or noisy neighbors on the block?

11. Is there any traffic noise?

12. What are the closing costs to a buyer (exclusive of financing)?

13. What are the negatives of the house?

14. What is the commission being paid on the sale? Will your agent co-broke with mine equally so I can get a rebate from my agent? BTW, my agent is from Redfin.

15. Are there any smokers in the house?

16. Did the basement or roof have any leaks since you were the owner? Are there any leaks now?

17. Has the home ever been treated for termites, carpenter ants or other damaging pests? Is the home regularly checked for termites?

18. Why is the home priced above the zestimate?

19. Is the home currently vacant?

20. When do you have to move?

21. What did you pay for the house?

23. Is this sale in connection with a divorce, estate sale, pending foreclosure or job transfer?

24. Have you been given any reasons why the home hasn’t sold?

Although “transparency” is a lovely buzzword and has its purpose, we see the Q&A as a possible obstacle to the sale of homes. Homes are bought when a potential buyer comes to the home to view it. By viewing it, they have the chance to fall in love with it. Everyone knows that when a buyer falls in love with a home the negatives are downplayed. If you give a prospect any reason not to come see the home, you will loose the opportunity for love to work its magic. A home’s charm often outweighs the negatives. Q&A may work to prevent buyers from experiencing a home’s charm.

We also see the possibility that certain homes will sell for less . Homes that are not in mint condition (let’s face it, we’ve got a lot of those to sell), will have their flaws exposed by the savy buyer who will use them to negotiate a lower price. That’s fine but what about the next buyer, who may not have thought to ask the tough questions? That buyer will get the benefit of the Q&A. We believe honesty is the best policy but we leave it to the individual buyer to do his own due diligence. Q&A is allowing those who don’t do their own due diligence to get others to do it for them in a public forum.

Overall, we think Q&A may be a community buyer tool.

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  • T Russell

    Agreed, anyone can do it. The question is-- does Q&A; help or hinder home sales?

    Our gripe is not with posting questions and answers, so long as the owner agreed to it, it's with posting FALSE INFO unbeknownst to the owner or listing agent. Zillow lets ANYONE say a home is for sale and start the Q&A; without the owner's knowledge. Here's where the problems can arise. If someone is making false comments about an owner's home (who has not listed the home for sale on zillow) HOW does that homeowner or listing agent who is not part of the conversation "flag" the info to get it removed. I know some elderly folks who dont use the internet. It would be IMPOSSIBLE for them to flag a false comment---heck, they wouldn't even know it existed. Dont thinks that's fair to the owner.

    Lets say you have your house for sale--just a lawn sign and a listing in the newspaper and the local MLS. I know your home is for sale so I run over to zillow & say "hey people, T's home is for sale" People start asking questions and I supply the answers as best I know. You have no idea this Q&A; is going on. Is this fair to you? If you think so, then we have no problem if you don't. But we think other owners should have the right to say "I want to be the only one who says my house is for sale on Zillow becasue I don't want to be bothered policing the comments for false statements.

    We just think owners ought to have a choice in the matter.
  • T Russell
    It seems to me that in this day if you can't come to grips with people posting questions and reading answers (or lack thereof) regarding for-sale properties in on on-line forum you're in the wrong line of work. If Zillow wasn't doing this someone else would.
  • Kelly:

    Being online and documented for "anyone" to read makes it very different from an Open House. To get the same info and/or rumors from an Open House...you actually have to ATTEND the Open House. Most people who attend Open Houses are actually interested in the house already. They've either seen the flyer, read the ad, or heard from a reliable source about the nice house that is worth checking out. They come to the Open House with little or no bias (and what bias is present is usually favorable to the property, thus the reason they attend the open house).

    The difference with Zillow's Q&A is that those same potential Buyer's may never attend the Open House due to false or misleading information someone has posted about the property (and maybe unbeknown to the Seller or LA). The fact that a Buyer may "feel" comfortable or "at home" with this property is removed with online Open Houses. I can't tell you how many times a client told me that they bought the house because it "felt" right for them the first time they walked through it.

    Real estate is still sold with emotion. Regardless of how much "transparency" we create or how simple we make the process online...houses will always be sold because the "feel" like home.
  • "an online version of an open house"

    I do like the analogy. Thinking about actual interactions of neighbors and potential buyers at open houses: how accurate does the public expect the responses to be on the Q&A? Is this a rumor mill among the neighborhood or is this a professional setting with accurate and appropriate responses?

    Does Zillow have enough credibility so that the information presented in a Q&A has credibility as well?

    If I read it online, it must be true?

    Does an online Q&A hinder sales any more than a neighbor or tenant talking to a potential buyer at an open house, or does the scale of the Q&A make the difference?
  • You nailed it Brian---an owner HAS to claim it. But what if:

    1. an owner does not use the internet (they are still out there)
    2. an owner does not know about zillow (they exist too)
    3. they just don't want to give personal information in order to claim a home

    Besides claiming, how does owner 1 or 2 Flag anything?

    Result: Tough luck owner

    We do not raise fears, we raise questions, have doubts, based on our real estate experiences. Barton & Fink do not come from the real estate industry as you do. Remember how zillow came to be---Barton was a buyer. Zillow is buyer biased---any company that insists a zestimate, which they acknowledge is only a starting point, display next to a LA/seller's list price (arguably way past a starting point) does not seem concerned about listing agents/sellers/owners' right to market as they see fit. Q&A; is the same---buyer based. Now that's fine & dandy but what if the seller doesn't want to play in zillow's sandbox? Why must they claim anything?

    Jonathan,
    Absolutely. And who do you suppose will be doing the flagging? Certainly not the community or someone without a vested interest in the home. The LA & owner will have the flag burden. And some items ONLY an owner can flag. What if one of the above 3 items is in play. If an owner does not use a computer how do they flag? They can't.
  • "DO NOT LIST MY HOME FOR SALE ON ZILLOW—-that’s the opt-out right we advocate."

    They have that de facto right when they claim the listing, Joe. I think they could accomplish that opt-out goal by:

    a- Claiming (or having a listing agent claim)
    b- entering a comment in the Q&A that states "all questions can be submitted via e-mail to the LA for prompt answers"

    Zillow makes a strong case for professional real estate agents by its very features. I think the savvy Realtor will weave the very fears you discuss into their listing presentation.
  • I just see the potential for all types of unethical behavior here. What happens when an out of state buyer wants to know about the ethnic profile of a neighborhood or the crime rate or the socio-economic makeup of a particular area. I wouldn't even WANT to answer those questions, but somebody will if I don't right?
  • Good point Missy. Also, how you answer or what you don't say can be misinterpreted. We think buyers should "experience" a home. That experience can lead to love of the house and love overlooks flaws. Few homes are perfect. Q&A; by strangers may create obstacles to a home visit. Just our opinion. Realtors who try it (and owners) will give the ultimate verdict based on their experience with Q&A.;

    Interesting idea Steven.
  • Information is more important than influence - this so far being the center of this discussion, the main split of opinion : the quality of the information and who is offering it.

    We don't even have to go into why : content or an invitation to make or provide content-generates traffic-generates revenue.

    People will offer information for all the various human reasons, to be helpful, because they are proud (or vain) or out of spite.

    Let's make it REALLY onerous, and equitable, too - Zill-0W! has to proactively contact YOUif ANYONE puts ANY information about your home on Zill-0w! - and you reserve the right to sell that information to the lister and/or Zill-oW!

    Content is as content does.

    steven.stearns@obeo.com
  • Personally, as a Realtor for 13 years, I can't imagine any ( very few ) sellers answering those questions. I had a client moving from Maryland once, she wanted to know about the neighbors because they had a bad HOA before. Now how would even know that ? and even if you did, the liability would be tremendous. If you answered some but not all, wouldn't that be a red flag on the one's you left blank.
    Food for thought or scary ? I vote scary to have much information out there.
  • JD, yes, it does request it. But if the question is asked, are you compelled at all to answer? Can your refusal to respond to a request hurt you? In our opinion, if you invite questions, your questioner expects your answer. Don't you think?

    Brian,

    Interesting observations. Yes, we can see how rumor and unnuendo can tarnish the process---people love to gossip and talk the negatives. A buyer intent on getting a deal will use the opportunity to ask you questions to accomplish his goal--i.e get you to reveal flaws which can be used to get a better price---and no one can fault this. But what of rumor and innuendo and falsehoods? Who is motivated to flag these? No one except the owner or LA, not the community who is dying to hear the dirt. And before it gets flagged it sits out there for all to see in its ignoble falsity.
    And as you point out, the tough questions are answered one on one--if you do it on the public street corner, people may not come to see the home and be charmed. Q&A; can short circuit the process.

    How will the transparent online community take the response---call me? Do you think they may see it as unresponsive?
    What about this question: Are there any registered sex offenders in this neighborhood? If you answer--call me to discuss---will that suffice? In fact, if any question obviously requires a simple yes or no & you say call me---that won't fly with the online community and you may have shot yourself in the foot. What do you think?
    Besides, the person you speak to on the phone can take your answer and post it anyway.

    Ultimately, owners should decide if they want their home posted for sale in this type of listing environment. They should be able to have the right to say---DO NOT LIST MY HOME FOR SALE ON ZILLOW----that's the opt-out right we advocate.
  • Now I think this is a worthy discussion topic.

    I love Q&A but I'm not a Realtor. I don't think I'd like it if I did.

    Zillow Q&A brings rumor an innuendo to the forefront of the market (are they getting divorced? Did they have a pitbull in the home?)

    Good Realtors will answer these questions honestly...on the phone. I think the smart agent will dodge the bullets with this sort of an answer:

    "That's a great question that requires an in-depth answer. Please call me at 858-699-4590...etc...etc" Of course, it will drive all of us nuts but agents will always control the conversation.
  • It doesn't "require" written communication online. It "requests" it.
  • We wonder what a client would say if they knew we listed their home on Zillow without asking them first, since the Q&A; requires written communication online. We suspect they would want to be consulted beforehand.

    Any homeowners out there want to address this point?
  • Not really, because I don't really fear the Q&A component. These aren't new questions you're asking. The forum is different, certainly. But the questions aren't any different than what we hear all the time.

    I'm working on the language I'll use if and when a question comes up. It likely will be purposefully vague. Chalk it up to "Realtor tricks" as one of my sellers calls it. Some questions likely won't be worthy of a real answer - like the agent who called his weekend asking what my seller's bottom-line price is. "Gee, just since you asked, let me tell you what they'd really accept."

    Here's what I hope for from the Zillow side, boys. And if David's still tuning in, hopefully he'll address it. Or maybe I'll write my own post and work it there.

    In any event ... should the Q&A turn out to be a fiasco and should it prove destructive and not part of any sort of useful dialogue, I hope Zillow pulls the plug. And then it all just goes away. The Q&A is my least favorite of the new features - read Housing Panic to see what happens when the public's allowed to run amok.

    Short of that, I sincerely hope Zillow considers limiting answers on a home to the property owner and the listing agent. There's far too much liability waiting to bite someone in the ass otherwise. Zillow included. They may not be agents but if they provide the vehicle for the incorrect information, I'm hard pressed to believe they're not liable in some form.
  • "You misunderstand the post. Have you ever been a real estate agent?"

    Ouch. Hurt me.
  • Good points Brad.

    Jonathan---we see it pretty much as you do. We absolutely agree that owners and LA, with owners consent, can list ANYWHERE they wish, including zillow. But we think allowing others to list is contrary to the homeowner's right to market their home as they see fit. Z's Q&A; places burdens on the unwilling owner they ought not have to bear--policing the Q&A; & claiming the home.

    We also like your other can of worms and advise all buyers to ask these questions. This is further evidence that Q&A; is a buyer's tool.

    BTW, we think your posts on the Zillow features are probing and point out the obvious risks to anyone who sells real estate for a living.

    Also, this question if you dont mind JD--Do you think agents ought to get their client's consent for listing their home on Zillow, given the Q&A; component?
  • Great post and good comments about a very serious subject. I don't see how it can benefit sellers who have their listed without their knowledge or consent. We have all participated in forums online and we all know what can happen when bad information is shared or information with bad intent. It's great that transparency is coming to real estate, but we should all be cautious of what we are truly comfortable revealing in a very personal and very large investment decision.

    Remember, all these Buyer's who use the Zillow Q&A to analyze a house publicly for the best price will eventually be Seller's of that same house. Be careful Buyer's!
  • Trust me, I'm not confusing Q&A with transparency. I think the idea of transparency in many ways is throughly overrated. I've asked before who shoulders the liability for incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate answers to questions about a home.

    Ideally, the Q&A response should be locked down to only the agent and the owner. I see multiple possible abuses of the system if anyone can jump in and start answering questions without any repercussions. The idea of voting an answer "helpful" or "not helpful" is thoroughly inadequate to prevent abuse, especially when those "not helpful" and possible inaccurate answers remain posted.

    Does an unanswered question mean the home's worth less? I think not. It simply means the owner and/or agent don't use Zillow.

    I'll throw you another can of worms to play with ... many exclusive buyers' agents argue it is their responsibility to disclose issues the sellers aren't required to disclose (presence of sex offenders, felonies on the property.) What happens when a diligent buyers agent or nosy neighbor decides to disclose items that don't necessarily need to be disclosed but proactively researched by the buyer.

    I have less issue with the idea of a home for sale being posted on Zillow, particularly if it's listed through a brokerage. If you're trying to sell a home, keeping it secret seems an odd strategy.
  • Jonathan,

    No need to play devil's advocate---yes, of course he (she) should be prepared to answer all questions truthfully & make all required disclosures to a potential buyer but.... should it be done in a public forum? Should questions be answered by those who are not the owner or LA? The fact that there is flagging means Q&A; can be abused. How quickly will a flagged item be dealt with, and how? This can have huge adverse effects on a potential sale. Also, some info can only be flagged by owners and owners who do not know their home is on zillow, and being listed, CANNOT flag it. Is this fair to the owner? Also, for those owners who do use the internet or zillow it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to flag or claim the home. What about that?

    Bottom line: Will this type Q&A; help sell homes? Don't rely on the word transparency and assume it works in every situation. This is a buyer's tool, no doubt about it. But does it help the seller sell his home for the best price? Let's not assume all the comments and questions are going to be positive.

    Questions are asked of agents every day, but one on one. Zillow's Q&A; is not one on one.


    It also invites bait and switch & anyone can list and answer questions.

    Final question: Should agents get their clients consent before listing on zillow, because of the Q&A; component? This is not a normal listing environment. It may have unintended adverse consequences detrimental to the homeowner. If you do so without their consent, you may not be following their wishes and your fidcuiary duty to represent their best interests. We believe the homeowner MUST decide if they want to list where there is a Q&A.; Shouldn't the homeowner have the right to decide whether you as LA list on Zillow?
  • David,

    You misunderstand the post. Have you ever been a real estate agent?

    The question is whether the Q&A; feature will facilitate or hinder sales. Do you have evidence either way? We don't, but based on our experience, we think online Q&A; may hinder sales for the reasons stated above.

    It is a question which relies on practical reality for an answer. Until the evidence is in you can't say it will help sell homes, can you?

    The post has NOTHING to do with being progressive or exchanging info on the web. It is about selling homes. Does answering questions online help sell homes, especially if the person answering questions does not own the home, or have the right to represent the home? We don't think so.

    The Q&A; also enlists the owner and seller to provide the due diligence for those buyers who may not have asked probing questions.
    Example: Buyer A is savvy and asks probing questions which reveal flaws or negatives in the property (lets use the example of an underground oil tank that is over 50 years old. This is beyond the useful life and may lead to leaks and remediation/replacement costing thousands & thousands of dollars. Buyer A gets this info via Q&A;). Buyer B had not even dreamed of asking this question and may have put an offer on the home. BUt now, since Buyer A alerted buyer B of the underground tank age, buyer B decides to pass (and possibly buyers C,D, & E). In essence Buyer A's question provided Buyer B with a reason to pass, which Buyer B would otheriwse not have had. Get the picture?
  • One other thought ... shouldn't the agent and/or owner be prepared for the tough questions anyway?

    Playing the devil's advocate for the sake of fun to some degree, but still.
  • A lot of those questions would generate rather vague responses. I live 1/4-mile from the nearest major road and still get traffic noise, more often at night. What level would the buyer consider a problem? They've got to judge for themselves.

    I can see some liability issues if a question is answered incorrectly, or if an incorrect answer is provided by someone other than the listing agent or the owner. If I reported a home for sale, I wouldn't plan on answering questions online but I'd answer them as part of my normal work when I work with a buyer.
  • Ah -- so now information about homes for sale has no place on the internet? Very progressive -- if this is your criticism of home Q&A, we're doing well.

    I was also interested to see how our visitors would use Home Q&A. So we reviewed and categorized a bucket of questions and the results were encouraging -- most questions are about a house's for-sale posting details. This is good news for agents on Zillow because, as Teresa points out, answering buyers' questions about a listing is expected by your sellers. Now those sellers can get to see you in action on Zillow.

    When a listing agent traditionally answered a buyers' question, very little value was created (unless the buyer made an offer). But when a listing agent answers a question on Zillow, they're answering it for many more prospective buyers and they are also demonstrating their expertise and their effort to the seller - so, you could also easily argue that a listing agents who answers buyers' questions on Zillow are more productive than those that don't.
  • Leaving aside liability (who needs claims even if you have E&O;?), will Q&A; help or hinder sales of homes?
  • ...this whole situation with Zillow reminds me of kids telling ghost stories around the campfire, and everybody screaming bloody murder at the end of the tale. Of course , it could also remind you of "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

    Reliability and liability - this is why Realtors have E&O coverage.

    This is also why Zillow goes out of their way to state they are not "Realtors" - to shed the liability back onto the parties doing business. And to have Realtors work harder, of course - at being local experts and working with their sellers and buyers - which is n't a bad thing at all.

    Remember, Zillow was founded to flatten the market, make agreggation easy by having volunteers give up their information for whatever motivation and - just like Expedia - raise the question of why somebody is getting paid to do something you think you can do yourself.

    Obeoman
    steven.stearns@obeo.com
  • When I list a home my sellers get a list of instructions. I find that they unkowingly do things that can sabatoge the sale of their home. I guess I'll have to add some zillow instructions. Most sellers would prefer that I answer buyer questions anyway. That is part of the reason that they hired me. The seller does have exposure on some of these questions. If they say the home does not need any repairs that might be an implied wanrranty.
  • Questions that violate fair housing law are likely to arise too. At least we can come up with a standard "I am not allowed to answer that" for those.

    Frankly, I am really quite glad that in my market with MANY homes for sale, there are very few on zillow. All would be listed above the zestimate because zillow's data here in MI falls way short of the mark. I found just a handful listed by agents, including one of my own listings.

    I noticed some listed homes where the homeowner has entered the data on zillow. As a listing agent I would be concerned that my client might post a home without me knowing and actively answer questions that they should not be answering for the reasons you stated above. Scary.
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