LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Banks don't lend on online home value estimates
Re: 'New
home-valuation site rivals Zillow' (March 30)
Dear Editor:
I cannot believe the stupidity of seeing more home valuation
tools come online in the wake of Zillow's big flop.
Exercise: Take the Zillow Zestimate or take the new one
from ABC to your banker. Do they lend money on this? No they don't. This is the
point. Banks and lending firms do not lend on paper valuations generated by
these sites.
The bank or lender sends out a human body to have your home
appraised.
They use their own software combined with thousands of hours
of experience to draw on many home valuation models. This is the only accepted
form of appraisals and this is the only way banks and lending firms are going
to lend money for a home.
I attended a meeting the other day with more than 50 brokers
and some 500 homeowners. About 20 people stood up and asked about their
inaccurate Zestimates of their home values. We had three banks there telling people
why the Zestimates are figured wrong and why their homes are not worth the
extra 30 percent that the Web site estimated.
Depression quickly settled in because some of the them
clearly wanted to cash out some equity that they didn't really have in their
homes.
So while Zillow may be luring in homeowners like kids into a
candy store, the fact is the information they are providing the general public
is actually a disservice. It builds up hope and anticipation in the homeowner
and then Zillow leaves it up to us real estate professionals to pop their
bubbles of inflated home valuations.
Bart Wilson
Voyager 360
Santa Fe, N.M.
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