Break Your Zillow Addiction

I love real estate. I better. It’s what I’ve done for nearly two decades now. 

I love looking at homes that are on the market and seeing what they offer -- all the little quirks and special touches that make one home different from another. The popular website Zillow has become an easy way in which people like me, as well as those looking to find a new home or peruse dream homes, can scratch that itch. But there are few things to know about Zillow that should make consumers wary and search for an alternative. 

I bristle a little when people call Zillow a real estate company. They’re not. Despite their ill-fated attempt to actually purchase homes using some algorithm that supposedly enabled them to detect house-flipping opportunities (an algorithm that failed and cost a quarter of its workforce their jobs), Zillow as a company doesn’t do anything with real estate. 

I know. That sounds crazy. After all, you can look for homes there, right? 

That’s true. But just because you can swim doesn’t make you a fish. 

Zillow is a data company, not a real estate company. The only thing they sell is information about you to advertisers who want to invade your phones, tablets, desktop computers and streaming TV services with products for you to buy. In other words, to Zillow, you’re not a client. You’re the product to sell. 

There is no one at Zillow who can tell you about the latest situation in the area housing market, no one at Zillow to call when you’re in the middle of your home-buying experience. There’s no person there with the education, experience and expertise to help you avoid the many, many pitfalls I’ve seen hurt people who think they can do this on their own or with a part-time agent. 

Zillow’s CEO is an engineer who wrote software and ran a travel website before landing his current gig. He doesn’t know what to look for in a real estate contract or a mortgage application that could cost a client tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary expenses. He doesn’t know how to negotiate the best deal or how to write a contract that a home seller is more likely to accept. 

We do.  

I’m all for looking for houses. I just can’t recommend to clients of The Allen Brake Team to do that on Zillow. 

That’s why I’ve had our marketing team develop a new, advanced website to provide an even better experience for people looking for homes in the St. Louis region. Allenbrake.com is now live with a fully functional home search engine so you can look for homes that meet the criteria you need. 

Looking for a three bedroom, two bathroom home with a minimum of 1,400 square feet on a lot at least a half-acre built after 1980 in Kirkwood? Allenbrake.com will instantaneously find you homes to meet your needs. 

But as the TV pitchmen say, “Wait! There’s more!” 

There are so many filters in the allenbrake.com search engine to customize your search. Community features, the type of heating and cooling system, the style of home, lot features and more. 

So if you want that same three bedroom, two bathroom home with a minimum of 1,400 square feet on a lot at least a half-acre built after 1980 in Kirkwood but also want to ensure it has central air, ceiling fans, is a ranch with a full basement, sunroom, mud room and vaulted ceilings on a cul-de-sac … yeah, allenbrake.com can do that too. 

And here’s the thing I think matters most: When you find the home that meets your needs, you’re right there with someone who can help you buy it, who knows what they’re doing when it comes to buying and selling real estate, who lives in the same community, who does his grocery shopping and goes to restaurants and whose kids play in the same sports leagues as you and your kids. 

In other words, me and my team ... we’re invested in this community, just like you are. We’re not here to collect your data and sell it to advertisers. We’re here to help you find a home and make sure the process goes as smoothly and calmly as possible. That’s something in which you can be confident.

So spread the word: allenbrake.com -- not Zillow -- is the place to go to search for the next place to hang your hat.