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Category Archives: honesty

Christmas with a Capitol C…

I just thought I would add in a little video to say something about Christmas.

While I am not vicious about it,I MUCH prefer hearing “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings”…  And the reason is very simple.  This ISN’T a random “Holiday” upon which to be “Happy” or just another “Season” we are “Greeting”.  THE holiday… THE season is Christmas.

I will gladly admit that there are some other people celebrating other holidays this time of year.  Kwanzaa and Hanukkah are also being celebrated.  And if someone is choosing to celebrate one of those holidays (or Winter Solstice… or anything else), I would take NO offense at them greeting me with glad tidings for THEIR holiday.

Estimates range from 92%-96% of people in the United States celebrate Christmas.  We NEED to be respectful of the other 4%-8% of the population… but they also need to be respectful of those that are celebrating their most important holiday of the year.  Tolerance is a two way street.

My goal is not to offend those that are not celebrating Christmas.  Actually, I would fight just as hard to get people to respect any holiday that you celebrate.

Disruption… Tables Turned

Screen shot of estate agency software program ...
Image via Wikipedia

I was at a real estate conference last week, and one of the things the presenter said REALLY struck a chord with me.

Ten years ago, WE used to tell our clients which houses we were going to look at that day.  Now, THEY come in and tell us which houses we are going to see.

Obviously, this is a giant change in the way real estate agents do business.  Since my entry into the real estate business, it has always been the way I’ve done business.

In the “Old School” world of real estate, agents were the gatekeepers.  We controlled the access to the information.  We had the listing information, and it wasn’t available to the public.  Some agents still wish that the old order ruled the day.

Technology has turned the tables… and it is for the better.  Buyers have never had as many choices, nor as much access to information.  That is something to be applauded.

Feel free to tell me which houses interest YOU…  I’ll be happy to make suggestions, but they are just that, suggestions.

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Zestimate Accuracy in the Atlanta GA Area…

Representation of high accuracy and low precision.
Image via Wikipedia

Ever since they were first introduced, Zillow’s ‘Zestimates’ have created a stir.  Some herald them, while other decry them.  But, Zillow’s Zestimates are a great tool for homeowners and those looking at buying, whether they are familiar with the area or not.

But the Zestimates DO have a limit.  They aren’t terribly accurate.  On the good side, though, Zillow is nice enough to tell us how accurate they are for some areas.  But, even the accuracy may need to be interpreted.

Let’s see if we can shed some light on Zestimate accuracy for the Atlanta, GA, area. For the sake of this example let’s assume that the Zestimate is exactly $200,000.  This is a nice, round number that makes calculations easier.

  • Median error for the Atlanta area is 15.3%.  That means that half of the homes have an error of less than 15.3%, while half have an error higher than 15.3%.  In other words, half of the homes that would be valued at $200,000 are worth between $169,400 and $230,600.  the other half are worth more than $230,600 or less than $164,900 (should be around 25% too high, 25% too low).
  • About 58% are actually worth between $160,000 and $240,000.
  • About 36% are worth between $180,000 and $220,000.
  • Only 19% are worth between $190,000 and $210,000.

The bottom line is that Zestimates, in the Atlanta area, are pretty rough.  There is only a 1 in 5 chance of the home’s value being within 5% of the Zestimate.  In other words, it is not a precision tool…

In my experience, most sellers are sure that the Zestimate is too low, and most buyers are convinced it is too high.  It is just as likely to be one as the other…

But Zestimates ARE still useful…

Like any tool, they need to be used the right way.  My Zillow contacts (and I have met and enjoyed talking with several of the fine folks at Zillow) have stated that the distribution of Zestimate error is just as likely to be high as low.  Look at the target in the graphic.  None of the shots hit the center of the target… but the AVERAGE of them is quite close.  And the same holds true of Zestimates.

Taken as a whole, when looking at larger areas (the larger, the better), they provide a very accurate look at the broader market.  But, as we narrow down to more specific areas, they get cloudier and cloudier.

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Flashback Friday… Get Out of Your Mortgage for FREE?

Caution, On the Grid, on the Net:  Free Tibet!
Image by cobalt123 via Flickr

Don’t expect it to actually happen…  I wrote about this phenomena a year ago, and there are still lots of practitioners claiming it can be done.  They all say that they have done it, but I have been able to find no verified cases where the mortgage was set aside by one of these operations…  Delayed, perhaps… but not set aside.

The bottom line is that it could happen… could.  BUT, it is WAY more likely that you will spend thousands of dollars on legal fees, and be strung along for months and months… or even years, and then end up in worse straights than when you started.

The line sounds great, and to  a non-legally trained mind like mine, it seems logical.  But, my industry friends tell me that it just isn’t realistic in the real world.

Take a read…

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Wayback Wednesday… It’s a no-brainer…

Classic radio receiver dial
Image via Wikipedia

… or maybe not so much.

Have you ever listened to the radio and heard the tagline, “the biggest no-brainer in the history of Earth”?  I sure have… over and over.  About half of the time I am saying things my kids shouldn’t hear by the time the commercial is over.

The ‘announcer’ starts by proclaiming something obvious, then he tries to connect it to his business model…  But, it isn’t always a good connection, and certainly seldom as slam-dunk as it should be to be the biggest no-brainer in the history of Earth.”

Take a look at the original post and let me know what you think…

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