Why not Zillow?

Are Zillow and Trulia Amazing Tools?

Zillow and Trulia are amazing tools for home buyers when searching….or are they? Real Estate agents have a love / hate relationship with these real estate marketing giants. Why? Zillow and Trulia are marketing companies. Period. Advertising. That is what they do. The problem with that is they are not held accountable for the quality of their content. If they miss a home, oh well. If the information is incorrect, whoops! Who will notice? What is the consequence if they mess up or have a horse property listed as a single family home?

Who notices Zillows Mistakes?

The answers are simple. Real Estate Agents notice! Sellers notice! Sometimes, buyers even notice! It causes problems with our Mojo! REALTORS® are held to a much higher standard when we market. There are certain things we HAVE to do or we get fined. It’s a violation. With violations come penalties. Zillow doesn’t have penalties.

By Law, REALTORS® have Standards to Follow – Zillow Doesn’t

When you search in our MLS, you are using the same system we use. REALTORS® are required to update the information within 72 hours or they can get fined. If a home goes under contract it must be changed within 72 hours. Is that a long time? Maybe. It could be to some. The thing is, there is a standard set that must be followed. Zillow doesn’t have that.

Zillow Sells Us our Own Information – Yikes!

The other reason real estate agents dislike Zillow is they take our information and then SELL it back to us. That’s right, if we want to rank on the search engines, we need to be a preferred agent on Zillow so people, home buyers will find us. That is messed up!

What is Zillow’s Advertising Budget Compared to….say….Mine?

Zillow also has 75 Million to put into their marketing. Do I have that? No. I do my best to make my website user friendly and offer home buyers and home sellers in Arizona what they want to see. Homes. Marketing. Video. Education. Just like Zillow does. The difference with us is when we look at your home to give you an estimate of price, we actually LOOK at your home. It is not based on some computer generated sheet that gets spit out showing horse properties compared to single family homes and visa versa. This is not how the comparable system works in real estate.

So, if you want to search for a home in Arizona…go to the real system, the ARMLS. You will see information that is REAL and current (updated in minutes so you don’t miss anything). Why not start now?

About Michelle

Michelle Shelton

Michelle Shelton is the owner and Designated Broker of Life Real Estate. She is the 2020 Vice-Chair and 2019 Treasurer of the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) and serves on the Board of Directors with Arizona Association of REALTORS® as well as West and Southeast REALTORS® of the Valley. Michelle is also on the Rules Committee at ARMLS and serves on various task forces for ARMLS. As treasurer, she was the 2019 Chair of the Audit Committee. Michelle is active in raising the bar in the real estate industry as a whole. She has a passion for people and the rights of homeowners.

Michelle is a top producing REALTOR® in the state of Arizona.

As a Public Speaker and Writer, she has written for various magazine and trade publications and speaks Nationwide regarding the loss of her son, grief, and emotional health.

She is a Certified Negotiations Expert, Master Practitioner of NLP, and has attended Accredited Buyer classes and is a real estate instructor with Internal Dynamics Real Estate School.

Michelle enjoys time with her husband and family, Farm animals, writing, gardening, reading, and is a huge fan of personal growth.