“Real Estate Websites Have Just The Information You Want” Yeah, but is it accurate information and is there anything you should know?  This is a funny article. I will explain why.

Maybe you’re looking to pick up a bargain. Or maybe you want to know how market changes are affecting your home’s value. Real estate sites can help.

Ok…The first site they tell you to go to is Realtor.com to search for listings.  This is true, the site has most listings from around the country, but Realtor.com has come to be a real estate advertising billboard.  Pop-ups and banner ads galore.  This happens to be apart of the National Association of Realtors, which I am a member, so I am not a hater.  I have heard that when you register, you end up getting a fair amount of spam emails. 

If your city or county’s Web site doesn’t list foreclosures, there are alternatives. www.RealtyTrac.com, www.Foreclosures.com and www.BargainNetwork.com list foreclosures and other bargains.

Please see, Are Foreclosures Really A Good Buy.  The best type of foreclosure property to buy is a REO (Real Estate Owned) property.  The property has already gone to the auction block at the courthouse and either no one bought it, or more than likely the bank was the highest bidder to begin with. (This drives people nuts when they do all this preparation to buy the home and the lender doesn’t even give anyone a chance.)  Now the bank or mortgage company puts the property on the market for sale, listed with a Realtor and it is sold as any other home would be, with a standard contract, a due diligence period, and more importantly the ability to inspect it and get your money back due to your ability to back-out based on certain contingencies.  You can bet the bank is motivated to get that property off the books.

If you find a house you like, you’ll need to determine its value. www.Zillow.com’s  Zestimate is the site’s calculation of the value of a house. You can also compare the houses’ price per square foot. (Whoopy)

Ok…..Lets say we want to buy 3157 Kaunaoa St. which is right on the corner of Campbell and Kaunaoa St. in Kapahulu.  We are talking single-wall construction 3bd 2ba with 1,152 sq ft. on the busy road.  Now, I know this home is worth in the mid to high 600’s  without seeing it.  If you were a buyer and wanted to buy this home, you could go to zillow for your “Zestimate” and the value that zillow spits out would be $1.613 million.  Wow!  What a deal at $675,000!

If you plan on buying a home based on zillow or any other computer generated value, please call me.  I will gladly represent the seller in that transaction:)  I would love to look like the greatest agent ever with little effort, or you could call me to represent you and I could save you roughly $1.0 million on the sales price.  Either way my client is happy.

That property is not the only one that is way off for the Zillow “Zestimate”.  The entire neighborhood is valued between $1.45 and $2.5 million. I know of almost no homes in Kapahulu that are worth that much.

Of course, everything has a price. So check out Zillow’s “Make me move” feature. With it you list your home on the site. Then enter the price that you’re willing to accept for your house. Someone might make you an offer! You’re not obligated to accept an offer.

Don’t even get me started on FSBO’s.  I love to represent a Buyer who wants to purchase a FSBO.  I am in a transaction now with one, and lets just say my Buyer is very happy.

I will make it short and sweet for you.  If you decided to play Kobe Bryant in a little one-on-one basketball for a significant amount of money.  Let’s say between $300,000-$1.0 million, who do you think would win?  Probably the more appropriate question would be, “Would you even score a basket against him?”

The point being I am a professional.  I do this for a living.  I practice, practice, and practice, and most FSBO’s do one transaction every 5-7 years, and even if you got the price you wanted, I can guaranty you the rest of the contract would not be tailored in your favor.

The last line says it all:

When buying or selling a house, Web sites are a good starting point. However, no Web site can replace the expertise a real estate agent provides. A real estate agent can help you navigate the buying and selling process.

I just wanted to have a little fun with this one and make a point at the same time. The Internet isn’t the answer to everything, not in a high importance transaction like your biggest asset.