Zillow Gone Wild

Everyone enjoys browsing listings on Zillow or RedFin. I do it when I travel to new cities, so I get it! And it seems innocent enough to ask an agent to show you their listing when you don't consider yourself a serious buyer. You don't want to bother your agent if you aren't planning to buy, so you see a house you like online and you click the "Contact Agent" button...

You have officially entered the danger zone (cue the Top Gun theme song). The "Contact Agent" button on Zillow is a deceptive marketing tool and not at all what you think! You would absolutely assume you were contacting the listing agent, right? WRONG! 

1. That button does NOT connect you to the listing agent. It connects you with a random agent who is paying for buyer leads and may or may not even be familiar with the property. 

2. In order to see the property, you'll have to sign a Buyer Agency Agreement, which means that random agent will be the one representing you if you purchase it. 

3. We aren't able to represent you if you sign an agreement with another agent. 

4. Even if you were to contact the listing agent, it's still a danger zone! We can't insert ourselves into the process after the fact, so you'll be stuck without representation. Remember, the listing agent represents the SELLER. 

"But I don't want to bother you" - there's literally NO SUCH THING! We are always looking for reasons to connect with our clients and prospects. Showing you a house is a better use of our time than meeting for coffee or catching up over the phone. Our job isn't transactional, it's relational, which means we want to show you houses even when you aren't serious. 

Moral of the Story: CALL US! We promise you aren't bothering us. We are here to advise you on all things real estate whether you're in the market or not. You never know when the right house is going to make an honest buyer out of you, and we want to be there to guide you when that happens.