By John Morrel, Street.com

Admit it, you’ve Zillowed your house. And if you haven’t, odds are a friend or relative has but you don’t know about it.

Launched in 2006, Zillow.com has become a must-visit Internet site for anyone interested in real estate. It’s not so much information on financing, discussion boards or its blog on real estate news that draw millions of views each month. It’s the Zestimate, which is what the Seattle-based company calls its estimated appraisal of a piece of property.

Just punch in an address and Zillow’s hard drives dig through comparisons and public records to give you an estimated selling price in seconds. Just take that to your Realtor and say, “I want that price.” Right?

“Wrong,” says Gregg Swan, a Phoenix, Arizona-based Realtor who created DebunkingZillow.com not long after the original site was started. “Their information is coming from public records, which can be notoriously inaccurate, and comps which may not be anything like the house you’re trying to price.”

Web sites like Zillow and Trulia.com, which gives detailed neighborhood information, depend on the reliability of county record offices and census bureau statistics. If a house or street is a little different than average, there can be differences in price.

Swan says the average Zestimate is often too low or too high because the company doesn’t take into account essentials that give a house that extra “oomph.” Say, for instance, you own an older home on a large lot in an upscale area surrounded by some very nice houses around the same size on your street. The Zestimate could show that your home is on a par with your neighbors’, even though you haven’t painted it since the Carter administration, the roof is ready to collapse and the landscaping needs a bulldozer to correct it.

Zillow’s staff continues to tinker with software, trying to come up with the most accurate real estimates this side of an appraiser. The most recent overhaul took place early this year when Zillow allowed people to make their own changes to the data points that make up a Zestimate.

“If your Zestimate says your home has three bedrooms and you actually have four, you can change that information, which will help make the system more accurate,” says Spencer Rascoff, CFO and vice president of marketing for Zillow. “Nearly 1.3 million homes have had data points changed this year and we’re expecting many more next year.”

Where Zillow shines is in areas of tract homes, where you’ll find lots of similar-sized and appointed properties. In that case, there are plenty of comps to choose from and property records are fairly new, which helps create accurate Zestimates. Things get murky when you’re trying to value a one-of-a-kind beachfront home or a historic property with unusual features.

The site claims its Zestimates get within 5% to 20% of a home’s selling price about 90 percent of the time, nationwide. In some communities, like San Jose, California, the rate is higher, at 94.3%, but in others, like Pittsburgh, the accuracy rate drops below 85%.

“Web sites like these are fun, but they’re just for general information. I wouldn’t bet my house on what they tell me,” says Elizabeth Blakeslee, a vice president with the National Association of Realtors. “If you want a deeper look at how much your home is worth, you’ll need a formal appraisal.”

Truckee Home Staging & Redesign
Professional Home Staging and Redesign

In today’s difficult real estate market, sellers need an edge over the competition. It’s not enough to be priced right – the home has to make an emotional connection with the buyer. Subconsciously, buyers form an opinion of your home in the first 60 seconds from the time they park in the driveway. You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

At Truckee Home Staging & Redesign we accentuate the finest features of your home and maximize your space by carefully arranging furniture and combining artwork and accessories. We can help overcome a challenging room, while revealing the most ideal vision of your home. We create a warm inviting atmosphere with comfort, beauty and style — capturing the emotions of prospective buyers. They begin to imagine their life in your home.

Buyers begin the house-hunting process with a logical list of criteria, but the home they buy is chosen largely for “emotional” reasons. At Truckee Home Staging & Redesign, we build emotional connection points into each room which leave a lasting impression on prospective buyers. We partner with both the home owner and realtor to identify areas of your home that can be affordably improved so that potential buyers walk into your home and have that “WOW – this is the one” feeling.

Increase the marketability of your home – staging your home will move it up in the ranks of desirability among the potential buyers.

Before you list your home call Truckee Home Staging & Redesign for a consultation.

Call 530-414-4680 today!

A home inspection is a visual inspection of the structure and components of a home. The objective is to record items that are not performing correctly or that are unsafe. The home inspector will include a description of the item in a written report and may recommend further evaluation.

Why is a home inspection important?

Home Buyers: A home inspection will help find problems or potential problems with the home before moving in.

Home Sellers: Altough not mandatory, more sellers are choosing to have a home inspection before they sell their home. This supports full disclosure by demonstrating that the seller openly tried to reveal any problems with the home. Also, it is valuable to know what your repair liabilities are before negotiating a sale price. Finally, the seller has time to consider various repair alternatives before the start of negotiations with the buyer.

What does a home inspection include?
The inspection will review the condition of the home’s heating and/or air conditioning system, plumbing and electrical systems, roof, attic, and visible insulation, walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors. Also the foundation, basement, and visible structure. Additional services not included in a typical home inspection, but possible are mold, radon and water testing.

What may not be covered during a home inspection?

* A home inspection tells you the condition of the home at the time of inspection. For protection from future failure you may want to consider a home warranty.
* A home inspection is not for determining the value of or recommendation to buy a home.
* A home inspection is not a code inspection, which verifies past or “revised” local building code compliance. A home inspector considers safety and not building code compliance.

Alpine Home Inspection – click here for their website.

Northern Sierra Nevada residential home inspections serving Nevada, Placer, Washoe (Truckee Meadows/Reno), Sierra, Plumas and Lassen counties from Lake Almanor to North Lake Tahoe and the greater Reno area.

Phil Kaznowski (Owner/Inspector) offers professional and prompt home inspection service. Reports are available same day. Your satisfaction is our number one priority. For questions or to arrange an inspection call 530-836-1850.

Another one is American Home Inspections.

American Home Inspections
Contact: Jim and DebbieWebster
Ph: 530-587-0615
Email: americanhome@prodigy.net

What is a Home Warranty?

A home warranty protects against components that fail in the future. If you have a home inspection and you know the furnace or other major components are questionable a warranty policy should be considered .