Don't Let Your Spouse Rob You!

I'm going to share an interesting story regarding a divorcee client who nearly got ripped off from her ex-partner. In the summer of 2025, a lady hired me to get an appraisal as she was planning to buy her husband out. This gentleman was very adamite to use Zillow and Redfin estimates in lei of paying for a full home appraisal. Perhaps, this spouse was quietly aware that Zillow and Redfin typically inflate home estimations. The thing about Zillow and the like, is that these companies are simply using automated calculations based upon algorithms amongst broad data and analysis. Nobody from these companies performs onsite inspections; they never go out to neighborhoods to walk inside homes.

This is a huge problem needless to say. What if a homeowner just spent $250,000 on a major renovation. Or in contrast, a homeowner has not maintained their home and never remodeled since original construction. Zillow is left in the dark about these key elements that contribute or hinder value.

We're talking about a lot of money on the line. Don't skip an appraisal if you're going through a divorce and planning taxes after someone has passed away. There are certain things in life, we all can cut costs on, like purchasing grocery store brand products over major name brand. But real estate asset allocation is a different story, a lack of a professional appraisal by a bureau certified appraiser can lose someone tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The final appraised market value resulted significantly lower than Zillow and Redfin estimations. The main reason for this was due to zoning classification differences. The subject property was located within an R1 single family zoning which was unusual for this area. This particular marketplace was primarily zoned R2 multi-family residential. Both Zillow and Redfin missed this crucial factor. So many attributes contribute to value and must be considered, and these public platforms like Zillow do no check all of these.

Because this Los Angeles property was located within R1 single family, a moderate adverse effect to its marketability and value resulted.

In conclusion, thank goodness this client hired an appraiser. This full appraisal saved her about $50,000.

Don't get ripped off! Hire a professional state licensed real estate appraiser!

By,

EFK Appraisal Services, Inc