Comments on: Zillow Will No Longer Let Strangers List Your Home For Sale http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/zillow/zillow-will-no-longer-let-strangers-list-your-home-for-sale/2009/03/10/ Sun, 21 Mar 2010 06:46:56 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: jfsellsius http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/zillow/zillow-will-no-longer-let-strangers-list-your-home-for-sale/2009/03/10/comment-page-1/#comment-264742 jfsellsius Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:03:41 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/?p=9709#comment-264742 That's interesting, Ken. I never considered that possibility. No, IMO you are not liable for misrepresentations of your client, but it does put you in an awkward position. Trust can be lost quite easily if a buyer senses someone is trying to pull the wool over their eyes. <br><br>Owners who are not selling should also consider that changing facts on their home to increase the zestimate may in fact increase their property taxes. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/csen4y" rel="nofollow">http://tinyurl.com/csen4y</a> That's interesting, Ken. I never considered that possibility. No, IMO you are not liable for misrepresentations of your client, but it does put you in an awkward position. Trust can be lost quite easily if a buyer senses someone is trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

Owners who are not selling should also consider that changing facts on their home to increase the zestimate may in fact increase their property taxes. http://tinyurl.com/csen4y

]]> By: Ken Montville http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/zillow/zillow-will-no-longer-let-strangers-list-your-home-for-sale/2009/03/10/comment-page-1/#comment-264738 Ken Montville Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:00:34 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/?p=9709#comment-264738 This is good news but, I might argue, not far enough. <br><br>I recently entered into a listing agreement and the home owner/seller went into Zillow to "claim" their home. They proceeded to add details about the home that were, er, not exactly 100% accurate. Some of this may be inadvertent because not everyone understands what all the various fields in Zillow mean. What it does mean is that regardless of the Realtor's responsibility to be bound to the Code of Ethics' charge to be honest and accurate in our advertising and marketing, the home owner/seller is not bound by the same Code and may veer away from the straight and narrow.<br><br>Normally, this doesn't matter much until you come across a potential buyer that begins grilling the Realtor about this, that and the other that the potential buyer found on Zillow.<br><br>This actually happened to me recently. I hadn't quite realized the home owner/seller had gone in and "claimed" their home and proceeded to add details.<br><br>I suppose I can't be help liable for misrepresentation (I hope) but it's still a mine field when either the home owner/seller <i>and</i> the listing agent can make changes. This is good news but, I might argue, not far enough.

I recently entered into a listing agreement and the home owner/seller went into Zillow to “claim” their home. They proceeded to add details about the home that were, er, not exactly 100% accurate. Some of this may be inadvertent because not everyone understands what all the various fields in Zillow mean. What it does mean is that regardless of the Realtor's responsibility to be bound to the Code of Ethics' charge to be honest and accurate in our advertising and marketing, the home owner/seller is not bound by the same Code and may veer away from the straight and narrow.

Normally, this doesn't matter much until you come across a potential buyer that begins grilling the Realtor about this, that and the other that the potential buyer found on Zillow.

This actually happened to me recently. I hadn't quite realized the home owner/seller had gone in and “claimed” their home and proceeded to add details.

I suppose I can't be help liable for misrepresentation (I hope) but it's still a mine field when either the home owner/seller and the listing agent can make changes.

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