Comments on: Zillow Disrupts Lending Market With Mortgage Marketplace

By: Zillow Disrupts Lending Market With Mortgage Marketplace

Zillow Disrupts Lending Market With Mortgage Marketplace — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:15:54 +0000

[...] Jonathan J. Miller wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptZillow, the site where you can find pricing estimates and other info about houses around the United States, aims to disrupt the online lending market with the launch of its Mortgage Marketplace. The marketplace is a free service that … [...]

By: Michael Stars Supima 3 4 Sleeve Scoop Neck Top White

Michael Stars Supima 3 4 Sleeve Scoop Neck Top White — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:15:50 +0000

Michael Stars Supima 3 4 Sleeve Scoop Neck Top White…

Michael Stars Supima 3 4 Sleeve Scoop Neck Top White…

By: David G from Zillow.com

David G from Zillow.com — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:02:11 +0000

Bob,

Please, check out the loan request form on Zillow. If you think we’re not asking something that would be required for an initial quote, please let us know - but note that we’ve covered more than just the borrower’s credit (for example, the property type.)

Quote form: https://www.zillow.com/mortgage/CreateMortgageLoanRequest.htm

By: coffeeforclosers.org » Blog Archive » Zillow Mortgage Marketplace – The future of mortgage leads?

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:43:12 +0000

[...] a very interesting model and one that has the potential to cause a mini-revolution in the mortgage lead industry. Why? Primarily because they are handing out free leads to almost [...]

By: Bob DeCecco

Bob DeCecco — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:23:36 +0000

Spencer - With all due respect, if you think the ‘ebay’ approach solves the bait and switch problem, you are living in never-never land. Fact is, it’s not really a ‘bait/switch’ issue (although many who don’t understand how the mortgage business works may see it that way). The issue of rate-quoting is one of ‘qualification’ - due to the complexity of mortgage guidelines these days (even post meltdown) what you (a borrower) get for a rate is dependent on so many factors that in some cases have nothing to do with the borrower or their credit (e.g., sometimes rate is governed by the property type and the MI company’s risk factors).

By: Louis Cammarosano

Louis Cammarosano — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:47:14 +0000

Zillow takes another page from the HomeGain play book…
http://blog.homegain.com/homeg.....ery-zillow

By: 11.5 Reasons Why the Zillow Mortgage MarketPlace Will Not Work in its Current Form and Will Likely Move to Exclude Most Lenders in the Future | BrokerScience.com

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:53:23 +0000

[...] (via Todd Carpenter & TechCrunch) [...]

By: Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:05:30 +0000

Aiming to disrupt a market and disrupting a market are two entirely different things. . .

By: Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is Lead Generator for Mortgage Lenders

Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is Lead Generator for Mortgage Lenders — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:01:54 +0000

[...] 3Oceans;TransparentRE; Lenderama; RCG (Rhoda Porter); SeattlePI (John Cook); Blown Mortgage; TechCrunch; 4realz.net; Lenderama (again); HomeGain [...]

By: George Favvas

George Favvas — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:36:55 +0000

@Michael @John DeMayo,

I agree this is a great step forward, but doesn’t fully address the bait and switch problem.

You may also want to check out SmartHippo. We’re the first and only completely transparent comparison shopping site where you can use the power of the community to find the best rates and keep lenders in check.

We launched in the DemoPitt at TechCrunch40 last year.

By: Spencer Rascoff

Spencer Rascoff — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Spencer from Zillow here. Thank you for the comments on our new product. Let me clarify a few things.

First, this new product is great for borrowers. It is a HUGE improvement versus the status quo. With Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, borrowers are in control and don’t have to offer up their phone #, and avoid being inundated by lender phone calls. Instead, the borrower gets to see customized loan quotes and then decides which lender to reach out to.

For lenders, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is also a big step forward. Instead of paying a lead generation company $50-$100 for a phone number (which has been sold to 3 or more of your competitors), Zillow is offering these leads to lenders for free. Lenders fill out Loan Quotes, which are responses to each of the borrower’s Loan Requests. The quid pro quo is that lenders allow themselves to be rated (like ebay sellers), which reduces the likelihood of lenders using bait-and-switch tactics just to get that phone call from a borrower.

By: chuck

chuck — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:03:39 +0000

Zillow’s only exit is to get acquired. They clearly have no real plan to make money and this latest attempt to justify their large wad of gambling cash simply will not gain traction.

You’re no longer under the MS umbrella Barton.

By: Zillow launches Mortgage Marketplace at ProBargainHunter.com

Zillow launches Mortgage Marketplace at ProBargainHunter.com — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:53:53 +0000

[...] Source: Opening Bell for the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace (via Techcrunch) [...]

By: Comparing Zillow and….Nextag? Really? « Internet Marketing Observations

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:50:27 +0000

[...] http://www.techcrunch.com/2008.....rketplace/ [...]

By: John DeMayo

John DeMayo — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:26:45 +0000

It will be interesting to see which lenders are best able to bait-and-switch consumers! This platform should truly take bait-and-switch tactics to the next level!

By: carhug

carhug — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:43:09 +0000

Robert commented that he thinks lenders should be able to contact the individual to make the lead that much more valuable. Well that’s being too one-sided. I think the majority of consumers are going to want to control their personal information and decide who they are going to give it to and allow in-bound telephone calls. After all, who wants annoying tele-sales people randomly calling and pitching loans. Just my two cents.

By: EH

EH — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:11:23 +0000

“Zestimates,” that’s the word I was looking for! I saw the headline and started reading the article, saying to myself, “Isn’t this the site that told you what a piece of property was worth in ‘Zollars’ or ‘Zalue’ or something like that?”

By: Bob DeCecco

Bob DeCecco — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:48:25 +0000

As a former owner of a Mortgage Lending company (’former’ being the operative term which should prove I have no ax to grind and I can take a completely objective viewpoint), this new service is ripe for challenges and fraud. Due to the complexities of lending today, there is no way a lender can quote a factual rate based on such basic preliminary information unless the borrower is putting >20% down payment and has PERFECT credit (>740) which is RARELY the case; and even then, there are always other circumstances to consider when quoting a rate - Sadly, the only folks that will be hurt due to this type of service are potential borrowers and honest lenders. What a shame…

By: acedanger

acedanger — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:22:16 +0000

@Chris (#8) I agree with your comment about Zillow’s estimates. when I sold my house in Memphis about 18 months ago, I used Zillow to show me the comps in the neighborhood and then spoke to my realtor about the huge discrepancy in her projected sales price of my house vs. what I came to expect when I checked Zillow; Zillow’s estimate was about $30,000 higher than the actual comps in my neighborhood at the time. Zillow is a very cool idea but I find it to be very misleading.

By: Zillow goes after mortgages « The Equity Kicker

Zillow goes after mortgages « The Equity Kicker — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 09:49:37 +0000

[...] Techrunch: Zillow, the site where you can find pricing estimates and other info about houses around the [...]

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:32:37 +0000

Afterthought…I’d like to see Redfin and Zillow combine at some point. They could become a real estate superpower in the technology world!!!

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:31:52 +0000

Finally, finally, finally!!! Somebody attempts to level the playing field in the mortgage industry!!!

I can’t wait to see how this goes, and to potentially use it in a couple of months, if their is “smooth” sailing!

By: Sundar Krishnamurthy

Sundar Krishnamurthy — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 06:56:59 +0000

This is yet another lead-gen for mortgage brokers with the exception of withholding the borrower’s information until he/she is ready.

Not all that disruptive.

Zillow even has the following ad for brokers on the Mortgage page which pretty much says so:

Are You a Lender?
Get FREE, unlimited leads

* Build your reputation by providing reliable quotes
* Promote your customer service strengths
* Get e-mailed when leads match your criteria

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 06:50:30 +0000

Zillow’s zestimates are a total waste of time. After checking a bunch of houses of friends and family in my area, I found they were tens of thousands of dollars off the mark. So I looked up the houses of people I know in other states. (ten states in all). Same thing. Tens of thousands of dollars off the mark. I think they just link to the county appraisal offices around the country. Collectively, that information is worthless.

The mortgage marketplace could be a great service. But as people have already said, anonymity doesn’t get you the greatest or quickest service. And how do you deal with people who are just testing the waters? That could turn out to be a whole lot of work for nothing.

By: Bill Rice

Bill Rice — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 06:10:39 +0000

I think I am in the Robert Hurley skeptic camp. A lead that requires time and resource from a loan officer with zero commitment from the random, anonymous, researcher very low on the value chain. Double that up with the low, if any expectation that can be created for the customer that we will ever get an offer makes it a low value proposition for them as well.

Net result: a moderately interesting PPC strategy for Zillow. Certainly doesn’t feel disruptive.