“Zillow says Value is $260,000, Appraisal says $180,000”

Three similar situations in one week, but I will share the worst one. Client wanted to refinance her existing 1st mortgage and pay off 2 credit card obligations. The refinance would have saved her over $700 per month. 

She indicated that she did some homework on values in her area, but primarily went by the value that Zillow had for her home. I explained that I don’t trust any data that comes from Zillow or any other online valuation company. 

The application completed and the appraisal was ordered and sure enough the value came in at $180,000 which was $80,000 less than what Zillow showed for a value. She told me that a Realtor friend told her the value should be in the mid 200’s.

I feel bad for my client, the expense of the appraisal and the desire to save $700 per month were both a tough pill to swallow. 

I am not a proponent of sites like Zillow when it comes to estimates for value and should never be used for that purpose.