Arizona Board of Appraisal Tells Zillow to Cease and Desist

17 Responses

1. Jonathan Greene

   April 14th, 2007 at 11:47 am

   1

   Like the new theme. Looks nice. Did you do it yourself?

2. Jay - The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

   April 14th, 2007 at 12:22 pm

   2

   Thanks Jonathan! I keep getting comments on it so I’ll throw up a short post.

   That way I can stop typing the same stuff and give a little public credit to the guy that did the header graphic (I did the rest).

3. jf.sellsius

   April 14th, 2007 at 7:25 pm

   3

   Agree with you Jay. I think Arizona is wrong on this one. A zestimate is not an appraisal and Zillow does say that. It all boils down to the adequacy of the disclaimer. Agents who provide CMA (also not an appraisal) are required in some states (NY, PA, MD) to add a “non-appraisal” disclaimer in the largest typeface used on the CMA. We did a post on the CMA legal requirements in these states. Don’t know if Arizona has a similar diclaimer requirement. I think that is zillow’s only exposure.
   http://tinyurl.com/3ypt8z

4. jf.sellsius

   April 14th, 2007 at 7:27 pm

   4

   PS: I like your new template—very open and light. But I miss the color a little.

5. Arizona Mortgage Guru » Real Estate and the Internet

   April 16th, 2007 at 2:09 pm

   5

   [...] destruction” has been somewhat painful to watch quite honestly. A case in point is the Zillow “cease and desist” order The Phoenix Real Estate Guy talked about over the [...]

6. Arizona Mortgage Guru » Real Estate and the Internet

   April 16th, 2007 at 2:17 pm

   6

   [...] destruction” has been somewhat painful to watch quite honestly. A case in point is the Zillow “cease and desist” order The Phoenix Real Estate Guy talked about over the [...]

7. Dave Marham

   April 16th, 2007 at 4:52 pm

   7

   So if my home is for sale and I have had a professional appraisal, why would I want this “toy” called Zillow messing up my potential buyers with their stupid Zestimate that shows my home value 50k below market value.

   Right on Arizona. Zillow is a joke

8. Arizona Tax Liens

   April 17th, 2007 at 2:29 pm

   8

   Zillow does not offer appraisals on their website. Plain and simple. They only offer estimated values based on comps in the area. They don’t claim to offer appraisals and clearly state that on their website.

   Zillow is a nice tool that offers one data point on property values. That’s all it is. Just one of 10 data points a certified appraiser would use in estimating the true value of a property. No where on their website does Zillow claim to be the authority on property prices.

   Keep in mind that the data in Zillow can be up to 6 months old, as that is how long it can take for purchase/sale data to be registered by the state (of which Zillow taps into and places on their website).

   With that in mind, the Arizona Board of Appraisal has obviously come under pressure from Arizona appraisers and wanted to show a “symbolic” gesture to support them.

   In reality though, any lawyer will tell you that their cease and desist letter holds no legal ground.

   After all, I could send my own cease and desist letter to the Arizona Board of Appraisal, telling them to stop hassling Zillow. It would result in the same response as Zillow will give the Arizona Board of Appraisal, ZILCH!

9. Why Do So Many Agents Fear Zillow? at The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

   April 19th, 2007 at 9:06 pm

   9

   [...] posted here last week that the Arizona Board of Appraisal (AZBoA) had issued two cease and desist letters to Zillow, [...]

10. In the Eyes of the Arizona Board of Appraisal, Zillow Stands Alone at The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

    April 22nd, 2007 at 12:30 am

    10

    [...] mentioned here and elsewhere, the Arizona Board of Appraisal (AZBoA) has issued cease and desist letters to [...]

11. Rudolf_Mine

    May 1st, 2007 at 7:03 pm

    11

    Great site. So many useful info.
    Really perfect!!! I’ll bookmark!

12. Arizona SB1291 passes - Zillow Blog - Real Estate News and Analysis

    July 5th, 2007 at 11:36 am

    12

    [...] by Rep. Michele Reagan and Sen. Barbara Leff in response to actions by the Board of Appraisal, not to mention the citizens of Arizona who insisted their legislature do the right thing.  We’d also like to [...]

13. SB1291 Finally Signed by the Governor at The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

    July 5th, 2007 at 12:42 pm

    13

    [...] Napolitano signed SB1291 as ammended into law. This was the bill that caused much discussion here and elsewhere that, in a nutshell, originally attempted to force automated valuation model [...]

14. Jim Lippard

    October 25th, 2007 at 6:25 pm

    14

    Dave Marham: I think you mean $50K above market, and climbing (or rather, standing still as property values drop).

    Looks like Zillow stopped updating for Arizona on 9/11.

15. Paul

    November 21st, 2007 at 1:13 pm

    15

    What right does any court have to refuse someone (or a website) from expressing an OPINION? ESPECIALLY when a disclaimer is present stating that it is only an opinion! Let’s review what “Market Value” means. Isn’t that actually a compliation of OPINIONS that someone makes into FACT? So let’s try and keep an open mind when it comes to opinions and ESTIMATES. And there’s no use crying about how ONE OPINION says your home isn’t worth as much as ANOTHER OPINION. Actually…go ahead and cry.

16. Scarlet

    May 7th, 2008 at 4:33 pm

    16

    MY dad just got served with a cease and desist and I found this site in google

17. George B.

    May 17th, 2008 at 5:39 am

    17

    I know for a fact that many business entrepreneurs - plumbers, housepainters, marriage and travel planners, many more - who, before quoting a price, will first check zillow home values to see how much a potential client’s home is worth!! I’m sure this practice is much more widespread than anyone cares to admit.