has anyone found their house via Zillow Make Me Move?

10 years ago

We've been looking a very short while but I checked out the MMM option mostly out of curiosity, and hey presto -- a house in our price range, right location, with everything we're looking for, and beautiful to boot. Like magic.

I did contact the owner through the provided email link at Zillow, emphasizing that although we're looking to make a cash offer, we're a family wanting a home, not investors.

Has anyone actually ended up "making someone move"? Do you think most of these homeowners are serious about it, and serious about their asking price? Was it worth the added hassle of buying a house with occupants in it (most of the houses we're looking at have been empty and I like it that way)?

It's hard not to get excited about a house that checks every box like this one does! At the same time I keep thinking why would someone not list their house, if they really wanted to sell?

Comments (9)

kirkhall
10 years ago
There is someone on the board who did sell by a zillow MMM... I hope he'll chime in for you.

The one caution would be that perhaps the MMM price they listed was an old one, and they never updated it to reflect today's prices.

But, hey, doesn't hurt to ask! I would keep my hopes in check until I at least saw the house in person though.
Zoe52
10 years ago
Most of the prices I have seen in my area are way over market price. I would get an appraiser to look it over before buying it.
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FmrQuahog
10 years ago
What is "market" price, really? Is it a number from 2005? Or maybe 2009?
Or is it what an educated buyer is willing to pay for a home he thinks offers a good combo of quality and value?
live_wire_oak
10 years ago
My experience with MMM is the the people have a severely inflated opinion about their home. It's their pie in the sky top of the market price 30% above their neighbors or in case some developer wants it as a teardown for the new municipal building or a billionaire's mansion. Not true market value.

Market value is what an appraiser for the bank says it is. These days, he can be a little behind what true market price might be, but that leaves the buyer bringing more cash to the table. No bank will lend for more than the appraisal.

I'd never pay cash for a price significantly above what a bank appraisal will assess the home to be worth. Unless there were some very unique property features, or the home had a sentimental type attachment like it was your grandparents. Even then, it would be foolish to pay so much more for a property than the open market would have it bring.
lazy_gardens
10 years ago
If the house has the right combo of location and features, offer something in line with recent sales in that area.

See what happens.
kellienoelle
10 years ago
One of my friends did this recently. And yes, the appraisal came in at 50K less than the negotiated purchase price. She was so frantic to get this particular house that she chalked the entire thing up to an appraisal error. So instead of asking the sellers to lower the price she ditched the appraisal and got a new one. This also involved finding an entire new lender who was more "creative" and bringing more money to the table. I guess she thought that if they pressed it would spook the sellers (even though they had already been transferred to a new state and needed the sale, and my friend hadn't even listed her house yet). Personally, I thought she was crazy.

Granted that is just one experience in probably many.
nosoccermom
10 years ago
Market value is not at what an appraiser will value a house, nor is the asking price. Market value is what a house sells for. In my area, many houses are now selling above asking price and below bank appraisal.
Nunyabiz1
10 years ago
well do not go by "Zillow" "Zestimate prices, they are usually pretty far off especially since they changed their method.

The MMM people probably are thinking of selling or they wouldn't have bothered to put it on there.
tkln
10 years ago
We had our house listed as a MMM for about 6 months before we actually listed it for sale (FSBO). We weren't in a rush but I figured it couldn't hurt to just post it. I actually got a number of inquiries, but most were from people who were also not in a rush to buy lol...I did price it slightly higher than market value, but then listed it for just 20K less when we were ready to sell.

Our area was very high demand for tear downs/cash buyers/etc and we had a prime location, so my thought process was that if someone really wanted the house they'd know we were open to offers. We did get several cash offers but from builders who obviously wanted to pay significantly less than we wanted.