When David Gibbons asked me to contribute to Mortgages Unzipped, I tried to squirm out of it. I don’t originate mortgages, lenderama hardly needs the link love, and my resume in the mortgage 2.0 world is already looking pretty good. There’s no upside for me to write for ANY retail mortgage blog.
But, I am Zillow’s biggest fan. Since day one, I’ve hardy ever had anything but great things to say about them. I realize that the Zestimate can be triped up. That they are almost as much competitors to real estate and mortgage professionals as they are partners. That the Mortgage Marketplace is far from the perfect solution.
But what solution is?
From day one, Zillow has looked for ways to open discussions about real estate and mortgages. They OWN transparency in our industry. More importantly they keep working to get better. The way every online marketer approaches real estate and mortgages is under pressure from what Zillow does. Am I saying they have the perfect solution? No. But they are the single greatest agent for change in our industry, and I’m rooting for them big time.
Some time after REBlogWorld is over, I’ll be contributing to Mortgages Unzipped. Fellow lenderama contributor, Mike Mueller is already there. As are several of the industries most forward thinking loan originators.
Maybe you should be contributing.
There’s no doubt that contributing to Mortgages Unzipped is going to drive some serious attention to you. In some respects, it’s a way to market yourself on Zillow without quoting a single interest rate. More importantly, success for this blog means a stronger Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. And in my opinion, that’s good for the whole industry.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Well said Todd.
See you there!
Tom
Todd,
We’re thrilled to have you over on Mortgages Unzipped. And there’s plenty to talk about in the world of mortgages right now!
- spencer from zillow
I like your take on Zillow. I never quite thought of it in the light that you just covered. I think I am going to look into becoming a contributor.
Thanks for the thoughts.
Chris
A very positive take on Zillow. I have been seeing them as more benign as of late, they don’t seem to be trying to dominate the local search terms with trickery like another national online real estate porthole has been doing. It also has not hurt that there estimates of home values are all over the map here in New Jersey as compaired to what things will really sell for.
Interesting, that is a great idea. just another way to leverage blogging to build your business. I still think thier info is way off half the time. especially I think it is useless in a lot of areas where all they have is tax info. but yes, it is a huge marketplace and something to be involved in.
Chad C.
they have been the best at their game, though ‘automated valuations’ are difficult to reach without human involvement… as evidenced by their wild-and-wacky zestimates half the time. they aren’t there yet, but may be the lead dog nonetheless.
Chris
Todd,
We're thrilled to have you over on Mortgages Unzipped. And there's plenty to talk about in the world of mortgages right now!
- spencer from zillow