All Forum Posts by: Harrison Painter

I do short sales as an agent, but have never done the "Double Close" with transaction funding to make a spread.

Has anybody here done this, are they doing it now, and is it working?

Thanks for any help and/or advice that you can share with us.

Harrison

The Iphone guys stuff is beautiful!

The Etch-E-Sketch guys stuff is crazy!

Thanks for sharing those great links. The people with this kind of creativity never cease to amaze me, I wish I could just draw a stick man that looked good! LOL

All I can say is WOW.

I learn a lot more about real estate from the people that I do not agree with, and my main focus on heading over to Zillow was to get the consumer point of view of the market, and share my opinion with others as somebody who loves this business.

BP is the best website on the web, but we do not have a lot of members who are the average owner occupant consumer. That is just not our communities demographic.

My problem is not with the information and opinions presented over there, as many of the folks have some great points, and share some solid data.

My issue is in the fact that they have allowed a small group of people to take over, and no matter what Drew tries to say, the facts show that they allow people to be rude and disrespectful to others.

I had a chance to communicate with their COO, Spencer Rascoff, and he was generous enough to share with me his perspective. They have a much different mindset, and while I do not agree with the lax rules and personal attacks, there is enough room on the web for everybody.

In time, the numbers of people that stick around and provide quality content will eventually show if they are on the right path or not. I am not sold that what they are allowing is good for their brand, but that is for Zillow to ultimately decide.

Drew, if folks would not have attacked, and the moderators would have enforced the "Good Neighbor Policy", then my opinion about the market would have only lasted a couple of posts.

Here is a post from 24 minutes ago attacking me, and my wife: "total Armando Montelongo douche-ish wanna Bs."

Does this fit the Good Neighbor Policy?

The response back from David:

Sorry, Harrison, but there have been LOTS of better markets for both buyers and investors. "Never" is a very long time. It may be your opinion (or hope) but it's certainly not the fact you believe it to be. Sorry to be blunt but you have about as much credibility in chearing the housing market as I do when I rave about the new iPhone (full disclosure: I am long AAPL.) As both an investor and an agent you have more inherent bias in these discussions than just about anybody here. If you're going to have any credibility it's important to recognize that bias and not to overdo it. You may get away with chearing the markets your investments are in on BiggerPockets - but that's because everyone there is exactly the same as you are. Real life is a bit more diverse.

Wow...........I am talking to the COO now, so I will let you guys know if this is actually the corporate offices stance or not.

Stay tuned!

Here is my response back:

David,

It IS my opinion that this is the best time to buy, and i have bought 9 houses this year alone.

Why would I apologize for my opinion, especially when I stand behind it, and am following my own advice with success?

Really, that is the Zillow stance?

No wonder I offer so much content to BiggerPockets They do monitor 7 days a week, stand behind their brand, and treat every person with respect.

It is clear that you do not. Your company is only providing a disservice to the real estate community, and your advertisers.

Great job!

You guys are going to love this:

Here is Zillow response to me:

Harrison -

We do moderate this forum, thanks. Personal insults, SPAM, obscene language and off-topic posts are not allowed here and may be deleted. We rely on user flags to identify most of this stuff. We don't have anyone on staff at midnight to mediate your spats but we do have moderators in Zillow Advice 7 days a week. We run a bit thin on weekends so you may have to wait till Monday if you get into a big argument on a Sunday evening.

Some advice ... respect is earned and can't be demanded. Likewise, disrespect can be earned. Last week, when you said "There has NEVER been a better time to buy than in 2009!" you earned the dispespect of many of the folks here. My advice to you would be to take a more honest approach and consider apologizing for that error. You'll be surprised what a powerful impression you can make by simply being honest about the market and genuinely trying to help.

Drew,

I have no choice but to call you out on this one, if for anything else, doing an extremely poor job:

Lets me share a couple of links to prove my point.

http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/should-agents-be-required/217187/

http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Should-Zillow-management-start-enforcing-their-Good-Neighbor-Policy/217146/

http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Zillow-welcomes-Harrison-Painter/216013/

http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Five-Reasons-Not-to-Buy-a-Home-This-Year/198421/

You will see a trend of attacks. I am not going to give any company props that moderates 48 hours after personal attacks happen, and the Zillow brand should be ashamed of themsleves.

Nobody is against differing veiw points, but a moderator MUST keep the respect levels to an appropriate level.

Poll any real estate agent over there, and they will tell you that it is UNACCEPTABLE and OFFENSIVE.

I looked at your advertisers, and there is no way they should want their image to be associated with that kind of behavior.

BP is so great because it is moderated by passionate people who take great pride in what they do.

We have MANY discussions of differing opinions, and many folks here are from the gloom & doom mindset, as well as seeing opportunity in the challenges. We have a very diverse community made up of RESPECTFUL people.

If ANYBODY ever attacked a person, especially their family, they would be banned for life.

No, the Government is still the Godfather of drug cartels.

Just wrapped in a much different package than people are used to!

- Have you asked your doctor about (Fill in the blank) today?
- Does the U.S see any money from the poppy fields in Afghanistan?
- Seen the special on the "Cocaine Cowboys"?
- Money for Drugs for Guns for War?
- Just say no? Seems that the war "against" drugs can also be profitable.....

From what I see, money is being made from all sides! Maybe I am stretching it a bit, but I will let you folks decide.

Now Will, you have got to admit, that is funny!!!!

California is only a few Rictor Scale points away from needing scuba gear, and a lot of silicone/botox will be polluting our oceans if that happens!!!!! Maybe we need a new environmental campaign!!! LOL

On the other hand:

The problem with AZ is that it is so freaking hot!!

My parents live in Lake Havasu......and I think I have actually witnessed a couple of people spontaneously combust, or it was just an hallucination from heat exhaustion.....either way, it is hot in the summertime!!!

I love when people form the desert tell me it is "A Dry Heat". LOL