Two Things Zillow Won't Tell You
Zillow, and now competitor Movoto, are lisitng "coming soon" or "pre-foreclosure" or "off market" properties on their websites. This is a deceptive marketing ploy to lure you to register in the hopes of beating the market. You will be contacted by an agent who is paying Zillow or Movoto for your contact information. You can't buy a coming soon, pre-foreclosure, or off market property on Zillow, Movoto, etc. Zillow won't tell you: You can't purchase a pre-foreclosure or "off market" property until it's listed for sale with a Realtor. The banks have no reason to withhold a property for sale from the public market to set the price; FSBO and "pocket listings" that are not widely advertised on the public market cannot be used by a mortgage appraiser for comparable sale prices. These usually sell at lower prices than properties offered for sale to the public on the MLS. When searching for homes for sale, Zil...