LLOF use Zillow to learn more about properties

Landlords On Fire (LLOF) can find out more than just the price of a property - they can see details of how it's heated, whether it has air conditioning, how long it's been since a major refurbish, estimated monthly rental value, the property tax history, AND the sale history.

Sometimes the Rental 'Zestimate' doesn't show up - especially for homes actively on the market, but the other details show up regularly.  Using the example from the prior post - 66 North Ritter Ave Indianapolis, IN 46219 - let's see what Zillow has to say about the property?

NOTE:  I'm trusting LLOF's will respect the privacy of the new owners of this property, and not bother them.  They own a lovely house, and bought it fair and square after the house was listed for 1-DAY on Zillow. We're only using this address to show the publicly available photos as an example of a great cute little bungalow, and what one CAN sell a house for if care is taken with the presentation prior to sale.

The mobile-phone version of Zillow is sometimes better, sometimes less detailed, than the laptop web-browser view, but we'll use the old fashioned irritating view for these examples.  FIRST... click the mouse somewhere in the TEXT of the description so the 'focus' will be on the pop-up window showing the house details.  If you try to click the UP/DOWN scroll bar, the pop-up window annoyingly DISAPPEARS, so you''re better off scrolling using the UP/DOWN keyboard arrows (or mouse wheel). 

Scroll down a little and get the following details:
Sold on 6/19/2019 for $275K, 4bed 2bath, 2,950 sq ft, Built 1890, forced air heat, central AC, Unfinished basement, Detached Garage, est value $298K, est rental value $1,795/mth.

WHOA!!!  Where did you find all THAT?  Most is in plain view - only the rental estimate is hidden in the 'Zestimate' details (under the "zestimate history and details" down-arrow).

The other area to pay attention to is PRICE / TAX HISTORY.  Expand this area, and compare the headers for "Price History", and "Tax History". 

In TIME TRAVEL with Street View, careful time travelers may have noticed the street sign in the Nov 2016 image... and HERE IT IS - Listed for sale 10/27/2016 for $185K!  It sold for $176.5K in Jan 2017.  

But LOOK at May 2019:  Listed for Sale 5/2, Pending 5/4 for $275K!!  This place must have been prepared PERFECTLY for Indy's cute Irvington neighborhood(indeed it was - I wanted to see the property on Saturday 5/4/2020, but it had ALREADY GONE PENDING after only being on Zillow for a little over 1 DAY!!!). Notice the way the property was STAGED in the photos.  It's perfect for a first-time home buyer who wants a high-walk-score home near parks and bus lines.

Tax History shows not only the annual tax bill for the property, but hidden there is a LINK to the Marion County Tax Assessor Property Cards - the county's way of tracking a property for tax purposes. Very useful link to know.

Of course it's often helpful to compare the display on Redfin.com, and the bellwether site Realtor.com, so as a bonus... find the same data on those sites, and others.

County property records next...