Is an Online “Free Appraisal” Or Automated Valuation Model Really Free?
The internet is amazing isn’t it? It has put Joe Consumer in the driver’s seat when purchasing products or services. We can easily find information about almost any company in the world online; getting an idea whether our hard earned money will be well spent with that company or not. Relatively new is the service of providing home value estimates in just a few seconds. The websites that offer this use an automated valuation model, where recent closed sales in a home’s neighborhood are entered into a program that quickly spits out a number that hopefully is close to what the true value of the home is. Naturally this free service has attracted a lot of traffic to the websites that offer it; after all who can resist free? It’s important to understand that the real purpose of the online instant home value service is simply to allow the websites to offer other services that offer real value and get the the company paid. Examples of paid services offered are leads for mortgage brokers, adver
