I hate Zillow and they know nothing about my house. What can I do?

Dear Sunnyview,
We just bought our house about a year ago and I used Zillow to look at houses before that. When I went back to see what our new house looked like, I was furious to find that a lot of information was wrong. I know I can edit my house, but the sales price is wrong and the Zestimate it totally off. This is my house now, everything is wrong and I am so mad I could scream. What can I do?
-Ticked in Tulsa

Dear Ticked,
I can understand your frustration and your desire to correct your home information. Some of the issues you mentioned are definitely fixable by you as an owner. I think that it is important for owners to do what they can to make their home page as accurate as possible. First things first. You need to claim your house by using the yellow "Edit" pencil under the main house photo. Then you will be able to edit the facts with a link in that same "Edit" menu. Your home facts do get figured into the larger numbers like the Zestimate, so you want to make sure that they are totally correct to make the Zillow estimate as accurate as possible.

Owners can edit home facts on their home page, but they can also get other corrections made with Zillow's help. If the recorded sales price is wrong, you can use the small white flag next to the transaction to alert Zillow and ask them to update the information. It is helpful if you can include a link to your local recorder or assessor's office to make the process of checking faster. Your recorded sales price also is used in the larger numbers like the Zestimate so it is definitely worth getting that updated especially if it is low. The changes that you make in your home page will take time usually a couple weeks to start showing up in the larger Zestimate number. Not all changes you make will affect your Zestimate, but many like square footage and bed/bath count do have an effect. Incorrect information often leads to wonky Zestimates.

I think that owners need to take control of their home page as much as possible. Making sure all information is correct including the sales price is one way to do that. You also need to consider adding an owner's description and house photo that you choose yourself. The first thing that anyone looking at your house will key on is the photo even before the Zestimate. Adding your own adds personality to your home page and shows your pride of ownership. Nothing that an owner can do besides editing the home facts and providing the correct information will affect Zillow's opinion of value, but making your page accurate is something that you can do as an owner. Congratulations on your new house and I hope that you can at least make peace with your Zillow home page.

All the best,
Sunnyview

Celebrate Labor Day The American Way

Happy Labor Day! Even passionate real estate people need an occasional holiday. One of my kids recently asked me why we celebrate Labor Day. I proudly said that Labor Day was a joint celebration to remember the hard working people of America and the ancient rite of summer BBQing. Ok, so I may have stretched the truth a little, but Wikipedia was unavailable. Labor Day is the last hurrah of summer: A time for kids to think about going back to school, enjoy the last of the high summer sun and to talk real estate while gathering around the BBQ.

Labor Day is a great time to grill hamburgers. One of my favorites is stuffed cheeseburger with plenty of fresh lettuce, tomato and bacon. You can use any type of cheese inside. Cheddar, Blue Cheese or Swiss are all delicious, but if cheese isn't your thing, try stuffing burgers with sauteed mushrooms,  caramelized onions or roasted jalapenos. In this video, Guy Fieri shows you the basic technique for stuffing burgers with anything you like.

Labor Day is also a great time to pull out your favorite macaroni salad recipe for one last summer fling. I like this Classic Macaroni Salad recipe. I cut the amount of sugar and onion down and add 1 tablespoon of brown mustard for a little extra zing. Let it sit in the fridge overnight and in the morning...Voila! Delicious! The last time I this for a potluck, I went home with an empty bowl. A promising sign for any recipe.

Finally, nothing says summer like corn on the cob and even most picky veggie-phobes love it. You can cook corn inside the husk or out, but as long as you have that BBQ going, you might as well keep the house cool and throw them on the grill. Soaking the corn in the husk for 15 minutes before grilling steams them or you can try roasting them with husks off like Stephen Raichlen does for a new twist on an old favorite. 

Labor Day is a time to enjoy your friends, family and neighbors. The open houses are closed, the multiple listings won't be refreshed until Tuesday and even most agents are forwarding messages to voice mail, so preheat the grill, grab a nice cold drink and enjoy the day off!

Welcome to my first real estate blog!

This is my very first blog so I would like to take the time to say hello and introduce myself a little bit. My name is Sunnyview and I have been a regular poster on Zillow since 2007. Although Sunnyview is not the name that my parents gave me, it is the name I happily answer to when it comes to talking about real estate.

I first started posting online as a way to spare my friends and family from my passionate interest in all things real estate. I also felt that it was important to try to provide solid information based on my own experience and informative online resources to help people make better decisions about real estate. During the bubble, many people were lost and were relying on the real estate industry itself for guidance. I am proud to say that I feel that the conversations I have had with people both online and off have helped them to get the raw information they needed to make better decisions.

My interest in real estate is not a passing fancy. I have been involved in many aspects of the real estate business including appraisal, property management, raw land development, investment property and property rehabilitation.  Although I have been contacted many times by people on Zillow wanting more specific information than I could possibly offer in a post, I have shied away from allowing people to contact me directly due to the volume of questions and requests.

I feel now that I can take some time to answer selected questions and provide information in this longer blog format with more detail than would be possible in Zillow Advice. Although I can't promise that I will be able to reply to every question personally, my hope is to build a blog with detailed answers to common or interesting questions complete with any links that might be helpful. So ask away, the coffee it hot, the advice is friendly and Sunnyview's email box is open.... :)