Into Real Estate?

[foxy]

Here's a fun website http://www.zillow.com

 

Type in an address and find out what it's worth. You get pictures from above too, which is a little scary. Who is taking these anyhow? Big Brother must be watching.

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

>pictures from above too, which is a little scary. Who is

>taking these anyhow? Big Brother must be watching.

 

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! Just when I was getting over the DETAILED information available on http://www.zabasearch.com/ you hit me with this one! I did my address. Nothing came up for my home. HOWEVER, a neighborhood sky shot came up WITH prices AND detailed information on many of the homes surrounding us. It seems this website compiles anything that has occurred in the last 20-30 years with realtors, getting homes appraised for various reasons, etc. The air shots are not uncommon as the government has pretty much mapped out the entire country and these images are available to everyone. BUT the detailed info on some of the homes in my neighborhood like when homes were updated, who has forced air, etc .... pretty interesting and disturbing all at the same time. Since the last time this house changed any hands was in the 1930s I am not surprised we weren't listed.

 

Thanks for passing this on!

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

>Here's a fun website http://www.zillow.com

 

 

And here is a related link on where they get their aerial photos.

 

http://imageatlas.globexplorer.com/

 

Apparently, a satellite or a plane zoomed over my neighborhood June 1, 2004 and snapped a few pics. I wasn't home.

[Epigonos]

Here in Southern California there has been a great deal of controversy surrounding this site. Their estimates have frequently been way above or way below what professional appraisers have indicated. It's a fun site but not one to take too seriously.

[+ deej]

>It seems this website compiles anything that has occurred in the

>last 20-30 years with realtors

 

It has nothing to do with Realtors. Real estate sales are public records and always have been. You can walk into any county courthouse and search them. (That's usually what you're paying for when you pay for a title search when you buy a home.)

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

>It has nothing to do with Realtors. Real estate sales are

>public records and always have been. You can walk into any

>county courthouse and search them. (That's usually what you're

>paying for when you pay for a title search when you buy a

>home.)

 

Thanks Deej for the info. How does this site get all of the other info though like when the home was updated, if it has forced air, etc. Since I know NOTHING about realtors I am curious how this site gets all this info.

 

EDIT ... never mind ... at the bottom of the Zillow site they share their secrets of info gathering.

[Epigonos]

I cannot speak for any part of the country other than Southern California. Here if somebody does some major remodeling on their home or condo they are required by law to pull a permit with their local governing agency ie. city or county. The work must be approved by a local inspector to make certain that it meets code regulations. All of this information becomes public record and available to anyone who wants to see it or use it.

[+ deej]

Data acquisition/aggregation is a HUGE business. The data comes from all sorts of sources.

 

One of the larger companies in that arena has a huge warehouse where they break apart and scan (for OCR) every white pages telephone book in the US every year. It's a 24/7 operation. They send the Yellow Pages to India for keying. (It's cheaper than purchasing the data from the source.)

 

Real estate records play heavily in it, as do credit card billing detail records. You also contribute whenever you fill out one of those warranty registration cards with a "survey" on it. That demographic data eventually goes into the mix. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of other sources.

 

All of that data goes in a huge blender for de-duping and combining and analysis.

 

Fortunately, the use of any "personally identifiable information" coming from this data is strictly and tightly regulated. So much so, in fact, that some of the usefulness of it is lost. It would be great for tracking down deadbeat dads, for instance, but that's forbidden because it's a privacy invasion.

 

I've been inside the belly of this beast and it's totally safe to you. You have more to fear from some idiot at the VA or hotels.com having data he shouldn't have on a laptop that gets stolen. (I'm in BOTH affected groups. Grrrrrrrr!)

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

>One of the larger companies in that arena has a huge warehouse

>where they break apart and scan (for OCR) every white pages

>telephone book in the US every year. It's a 24/7 operation.

>They send the Yellow Pages to India for keying. (It's cheaper

>than purchasing the data from the source.)

 

I have noticed that over the years I am not on as many websites and listings because I have purposely edited how my name appears in the local phone book. I don't have my full name and address listed. That little change with the phone company has cut down on mailers, phone calls, etc.

 

Since this is related to the topic at hand, here are some websites that help you get off some lists. I know very well that to be anonymous in this society is impossible. But these will help.

 

Some general info:

http://www.privacyrights.org/

 

Stop the crap mail! http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist/ and http://www.the-dma.org/

 

National Do Not Call https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx and http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/donotcall/index.html

 

And the mother of all privacy sites http://www.privacyrightsnow.com/

 

And I know the recommendation is once a year but twice a year I check my credit report.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

[+ deej]

The irony is that those "do not call" (etc.) lists only protect you from the honest marketers who abide by the lists. And those are the ones who will use the data aggregators to pre-qualify their call lists in the first place.

 

You'll still get calls from the shady telemarketers. <sigh>

 

And the thing that really twists my shorts about "do not call" lists is that the telcos are exempt! They routinely sell "new accounts" call lists.

 

You CAN remain anonymous in our society, but I don't know anyone willing to do it. You must close ALL credit card accounts, pay cash for everything, don't buy a car or property, and basically go financially inactive. (Hey, it worked for the UnaBomber! ;-)) Even the USPS change of address database is part of this, so don't tell them when you move!

 

At some point you have to give in to reality, and the resources you've posted are good ones for living with that reality.

 

(As an aside, I haven't had a telemarketing call since I cancelled my land line and went completely to Vonage for a home phone. Not one call.)

[OneFinger]

This site gives you a "ballpark" estimate but I certainly wouldn't rely on it. I've put in several homes for which I KNOW the fair market value. In each instance this site was about $15K to $20K higher than the current market will bear for a home in its present condition.

 

On my current home I would believe the lowest value listed in the range. I would also agree with the highest value for the most elite home in the neighborhood.

 

But, it appears to me that they take an average for homes in your zip code and determine value on square footage and lot size. For example, neighboring homes near my current residence were rated at the top end of the scale and I know are real dogs with serious neglect issues. Yet, they are shown at a higher value than an smaller home on a smaller lot that is in perfect order with a manicured lawn.

 

One of my former residences just sold and I know the condition of that home. The info on updates was accurate along with square footage and lot size. But, the price they indicated as value was $40K HIGHER than it sold for just 8 weeks ago.

 

 

It's an interesting site but I'm not going to use it to value my home when I sell it.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Welllll-this just shows you that"quiet"money is a good thing and cash is king.

The estate I live on is undervalued many hundred percent.And the stats on this site are all wrong.

But when I do mention a figure to a real estate agent(with my bosses permission)I now know why there is a gasp on the other end-and no more calls!

[dfw2sfo]

I think these figures have a lot to do with the property tax valuation which, in California, is often the last sale price which, if a house has been owned for several years, today's selling price would be far greater than what it sold for even 5 (possibly even 3) years ago.

 

For example, this house in Hillsborough, CA is 46,000 sf and may have sold for $7 million several years ago. Now, it must be worth much more.

 

http://www.zillow.com/HomeDetails.htm?city=HILLSBOROUGH%20&state=CA&zprop=15519243

[+ Charlie]

I tried this on my house, which I bought two years ago, and they had two listings for it, one of which was actually a neighbor's house, which sold last year. All the statistics for the two houses, which are rather different in size, no. of rooms, parking, etc., were hopelessly mixed up together.