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It didn't take long for Zillow executives to sell their giveaway 8.5 cent stock options. When they listed on Nasdaq in July they was a 90 day restriction on them selling any of their stock. Virtually all IPO's have a 180 day lock-in period but these guys insisted on the minimum 90 day period and within days of it expiring they were selling. Spencer Rascoff the CEO made $2.4m, Chad Cohen the CFO only a lousy $500k, and a bunch of other chiefs walked away with amounts up to $1m.
Just think of how the home owner victims who are saddled with garbage "zestimates" and can't sell their homes or refinance at lower rates feel when they realise how these guys profit from their misery. The sooner Zillow implements a process to correct such erroneous valuations the better. Currently their attitude is to laugh all the way to the bank at your expense as they draw advertising to their website my inflicting misery
By my way of thinking it is less than ethical for executives of a firm that shows a rather massive net loss to personally benefit from running such a poorly thought out business...
These execs provide a FREE service (whether it's of any value to buyers/sellers is another issue altogether) and make enough cash off advertising revenue & whatnot that they had a successful IPO. Good for them if they've figured out how to make a buck off their idea. No one's getting hurt (except possibly VOLUNTARY investors), so live & let live.
OP sounds like an angry employee/ex-employee of Zillow. All his posts on city-data have something to do with Zillow.....
Just think of how the home owner victims who are saddled with garbage "zestimates" and can't sell their homes or refinance at lower rates feel when they realise how these guys profit from their misery.
1. A "zestimate" is just that- an estimate. Not the home's market value, which is the actual cost to which buyer and seller agree upon.
2. How are the homeowners "victims" of Zillow? It sounds as if you think Zillow owes underwater homeowners something. When the market was going up and "zestimates" were increasing, did you believe homeowners owed Zillow a share of their selling profits? That would be the reverse of your "Zillow did them wrong" argument........
3. Buying a home is a major financial investment. As with any other investment, sometimes you make money and sometimes you get stuck with your pants down. When you make money, it's not due to anything other than a rising market and good timing. When you lose money, it's not due to anything expect a falling market and bad timing. In either situation, it is not the mortgage holder, county tax office, realtor, Zillow, or anyone else's "fault" if you make or lose money. Sorry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Surbiton
The sooner Zillow implements a process to correct such erroneous valuations the better. Currently their attitude is to laugh all the way to the bank at your expense as they draw advertising to their website my inflicting misery
I don't think the "Zestimates" are maliciously erroneous. In many parts of the country (Texas, for one), the actual sales price of a home IS NOT public record. Therefore, in my area Zestimates are bogus as far as real market value- they're either tied to tax appraisals (which again, tax office doesn't know how much you paid either) or a guestimate based on list prices & days on market.
In other states, so many loans (HELOC, 1st and 2nd mortgages, etc) are public record that it's hard to discern if it's a refi or sales price on record. Some states record the amount of mortgage taken out (which Zillow uses without knowing if 0% or 50% of the home price was paid via downpaykent, therefore reducing what appeared to be the sales price as far as the mortgage goes).
In other states, all is public record and the "Zestimate" is within +/- 5% of true market value.
...Just think of how the home owner victims who are saddled with garbage "zestimates" and can't sell their homes or refinance at lower rates ...
Since when have zestimates replaced formal home appraisals for loans?
I do agree that some buyers may put to much emphasis on zestimates when considering their offers, but have never heard of a lender giving zestimates any consideration for loan financing.
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Legal? Yes. Moral...
