Home : Blogs : Kristal Kraft ~Denver Real Estate~303-589-2022 : Denver Real Estate & Relocation

Is it spooky or cool?

HouseFront The age of information has brought us a deluge of facts, figures and convenience. Sometimes I'm not sure if we are heading in the right direction. It seems we can get information faster than we can decipher it.

My clients come to me with a fistful of listings, county records and virtual comps from Zillow. I end up spending more time explaining the reality of the situation, taking each fact, figure and comp, examining and explaining it. When we are done, we wonder who is ahead, the gatherer of the info or the explainer of the facts.

THE COOL PART... DON'T MISS THIS NEW FREE SERVICE!

The latest new whiz bang wow tool has been developed in the land one mile above the sea, Denver. This service is easy, free and guaranteed to open eyes wide with amazement.

Send a text message with your cell phone to the number 46873 (if you can't remember that, it also spells HOUSE on the keypad). Enter an address, any address will do, I tried my own. Within seconds you will have a response back telling you the estimated value, sq. ft., number of bedrooms/baths, year built, lot size, owners names, last sold price and date, plus the 1 year area trends.

Oh my!

The service is brought to you by HouseFront. The developers took nine months to create a data base that combines County Records with the MLS info. Their website claims they cover 77 MILLION properties. Chances are yours is among them.

THE SPOOKY PART...Should it be let loose?

As I've said, I've used it and it is really cool. But with that said, I also worry about such a tool in the hands of the general public. The transparency of information is not what bothers me, it's the accessibility to information that can be used in unscrupulous ways.

My mind wonders how my 86 year old, mother-in-law who believes everything anyone tells her, even telemarketers who call to collect a past due bill (that doesn't exist) could be at risk. Someone could show up at her door, spew out a few facts to prove their credibility and she would give away the farm.

Of course the information is available, but now with this service it is delivered to one's finger tips while they are standing on your doorstep. Does this bother anyone else, or am I just a wimp?

BACK TO THE COOL PART ...

I love technology and have a passion for finding the best ways to use it. This service is a handy way to provide speedy information on the fly. Overall I believe the positive (convenience) will out weight the negative (spooky) part.

The people at HouseFront have blogged here on Active Rain before, but didn't get much milage. Maybe by me sharing this new tool again, it will get more exposure. Try it out and let me know if you think it is Cool or Spooky?

Here are some media links:

Rocky Mountain News ~ Real Estate info at one's finger tips

Techlife ~ How much is the house on aisle 4?

Lifehacker ~ Research home prices on your phone with HouseFront

House TXTR on AR ~ Text HOUSE

Our own Roberta Murphy ~ Disruptive technology Alert: Home Values via Cell Phone

NOTE: I have no connection to this company (other than via text messaging that is!).

Posted by Kristal Kraft ~Denver Real Estate~303-589-2022 on 04/22/2007 09:48 PM

Comments (42)

housefront, real estate technology

Originally posted at: Denver Real Estate & Relocation: Is it spooky or cool?

42 Comments on Is it spooky or cool?

APR

2007

KK, I love technology too but what happens if the house you call on has been altered? What if they put an addition on? What if a subdivision was cut in right behind them or even next to them? Couldn't that effect the Zillow Guesstimate? Too many variables for the public to rely on.

Great info!! I have not tried it, yet but I will. This will greatly help me for future reference. It is scary how easy this information is at the tips of our fingers.

Oh my he!!. I just trid it on my own house. I too feel some invasion of privacy. I love the technology, the speed. But there is just soooo much information that just anybody can get. Mine came back as split messages. Showed an 18% likely increase in the next 1n months. But, it just feels creepy to see my name there for anyone to get emailed to themself.

Like it or not....here it comes. Thanks for the heads up KK.

Kristal, like you I worry about how this information is used - for example Keith saw it say he should expect an 18% increase - how will that impact potential sellers who in my opinion are just starting to "get real" about the market. In addition, we've got lots of homes what were worth more last year - refinanced and now can't be sold for what they owe. I know it's coming - I guess the good news is that in some ways with all this info - I'm finding people are now turning to me as "their consultant" to help them make sense of it all - so maybe the unintended consequence is people may actually rely on us more - what do you think?

Hi KK~ This kind of stuff will be more of the spooky factor me. But I can see where it might be cool..after all we're only a couple mouse clicks away from giving up all that info anyway~

I find it more spooky, I wonder if they are opening themselves up to potential lawsuits.

I will try it out. Most clients cannot figure out numbers. They figure of course to their benefit and miss the small things that make up the numbers. It pays to know what is out there. Thanks for bringing it up. Nice to see you blogging again. eric

Kristal....I think "You are spooky with how smart you are!" LOL I like you embrace technology but this kind of technology, like Zillow I don't take serious. My point is this: Property values are increasing in Seattle 3-10% per year depending on the area. Property values are depreciating the same percentage or more in diferrent parts of Detriot. This is just two cities out of thousands in our country Kristal. How can ANY company keep up with all the constantly changing markets and give accurate information? In my book, the only accurate valuation for a seller is still a good Realtor doing a good CMA. Have a good one and thanks for all the information you unselfishly share.

Like most everybody else I love all the techie stuff we get to use, but there is still something to be said about hands on, see it for myself, tangible knowledge. It's not just your mother in laws issue. Remember Y2K? It 'crash' never happened but if it ever does I want to be able to do it myself and have the knowledge to know it's correct. JMO

Thanks for the heads up! Just like Zillow, it's great to know what consuemrs are seeing and soemtimes relying on. I believe we will be doing more and more interpretation and analysis with people to validate or tear down what information they discover prior to our arrival. Thanks again.

Kristal: The service is cool! I started playing with it a week or so ago and blogged about it here on Active Rain. I interviewed James Eberhard, Housefront's CEO, and they appear to pull from more valuation sources than Zillow--including various elements of MLS systems in 37 states. From what I have been able to see, their reports are more on-target than Zillow's and have tighter ranges. Agents will also be able to advertise on micro-levels.

I too am addicted to finding the newest tools for our industry but we all have to keep in mind that whatever information is out there, it's not guaranteed to be accurate. We all know that, problem is the general public tend to believe whatever they see in print or online. Thanks for sharing!

Kristal - You know I LOVE THIS STUFF! I'm going to have to go check it out now...Thanks for the great info, I promise I will not mis-use it in any way. I have always felt that public record information was too easily accessed as well. Thanks again... :-)

APR

2007

Jay ~ you raise some valid points. As far as using the information as totally reliable, I don't think it is. A gauge perhaps... We will have to keep our eyes on it.

Open Home Mort ~ Yes, I agree with the scary part. It is joining an ever-growing long list of scary things that are too easy to obtain.

Keith ~ It is creepy and powerful at the same time. Guess it depends on who or what you are using it for...

Cyndee ~ I do believe the power is in having the "deep smarts" to translate the information. Getting it it easy, deciphering it is another story.

Laura ~ Your comment on the "couple a clicks away" is why I figure we might as well use it to our advantage. Going with the flow and helping it grow (properly) is easier. We just need to make people aware that it is there and can be used for the wrong reasons.

Jennifer ~ For the most part the information is of public record. It's the method of speedy delivery that's in question. Easy. Almost too easy.

Eric ~ Ah yes, selective acceptance of the positive while turning a blind eye to the negative...we all learned that early on! Thanks, I appreciate your comment, it's good to be able to blog again. :)

George ~ You are right about doing a proper CMA. I tell people the most important part of the CMA is the FORECASTING. Appraisers will tell you what has been, we must tell it like it will be. Knowing market trends, seasonal influences and the rest are all too important. They certainly can't be done on a large scale. Thanks for your kind words!

Dena ~ Good point. Using this info as a guide only. It's up to us to know how to do it by hand. If we have a crash, I hope it doesn't effect Active Rain. That would bum too many of us out! :)

Robin & Kay ~ "analysis and tear down" wears thin after awhile. It's nice to know the information is out there, it would be even nicer to know it is all correct. :)

Roberta ~ I know you blogged about it. I did a search to see who else if anyone had talked about it and your name came up. It's worthy enough technology, I figured I would give it some legs. Interesting. Your interview reviewed the "why." Having agents advertise on micro-levels is the answer.

Ryan ~ Information on the internet does not come with a guarantee that's for certain! :)

Brad ~ Thanks for your public testimony of proper use! I didn't actually think the AR folks would misuse it. But I have heard there are a few freaks and weirdos on the internet...we are all clear here though! :)

Thanks for the information Kristal. For now, it's cool...the question is, at what point does it go too far?

Melody ~ "at what point does it go too far?" When you can Google a picture of what your kids have in their backpacks, perhaps?

I don't know what to think sometimes of how accessable information is becoming. I'm like you being a technology person the geeky part of me loves it, but another side of me gets pretty scared of where things are going, not to mention to complete data overload that we have in society today.

Kristal,

Cool techno tool. I guess since it's here, and it isn't likely to go away, we better embrace it and figure out how to use it to our advantage and in assisting our clients.

Fran

I echo those above so I won't repeat it. What I find interesting is how FREE all this new cool technology is. A new agent has lots of tools available to them that do not require any investment except in time.

I looked at this last week and I am impressed. i like the idea of being able to get the info immediately by phone. I think a lot of things are going to move that way. Instant info. Now if they could just set up a high tech way so that I could find my car keys I would be very happy. :)

I've seen this a few months ago. It sounds really neat but is there really a need for such instant information? What are you going to do with it? I'm not a big fan of text messaging. I hate keying things in on a telephone. If I'm in front of a home and I have questions, I'd rather just key in the agent's phone number and ask my questions to the agent. Or I might just go and knock on the door and talk to the seller. I like to have hard copy printouts that I can mark up and sort on a desktop. Like Zillow, I think that it's a neat sounding novelty but they are more like a toys than real tools.

With my laptop and its air card in the car, I can get all that info now via the county Auditor's web site. The only thing missing is the trends. Plus, with the auditor's site, I can find out if they're delinquent on their taxes, who they bought the home from, when and for how much, view a plat map, and get their neighbor's names. Our auditor's also have taken photos of all the properties, so we can also see photos and satellite maps.

Therefore, I doubt that I would bother with this system.

Thanks, KK. Seems like a cool idea but I doubt I will use it. I get more and better info in other ways. Guess I see the same problems as with sitting down and looking up a Zestimate - the info is off, in more cases than not, and for a variety of reasons. But there will be folks who find this intriguing and will likely use it. But I don't really see the need to have this at your fingertips. What is the value add? How will the information be used and for what purpose?

Jeff

Ok so everyone immediately types in there address, right. I did and I'm not there. No information.

We have lived here for 14 years !!

Interesting. I received an e-mail the other day saying you could do this but it didn't go into detail so I thought it was a viral mail. I found it amazing how they get do it with a cell phone. Where do they make money? What do they get out of it?

You hit on a good point. There are too many dishonest ways that information that accessible could be used.

What a great post! I think the technolgy of it is very cool. My idea - have realtors send this info to their sellers to get price reductions. This kind of information is coming at us very fast - we need to find a clever way to introduce it and use it to our advantage. Thanks again for a new fun tech toy!

I'm trying to think who besides real estate agents might want such instant access to this info. And wouldn't a tech-savvy agent just pull up the same info and more on their Treo or tablet?

APR

2007

Cool new tool, thanks for sharing!

APR

2007

KK... wow, this is cool. But as you stated, cool, yet scary. And yes, information is traveling at such a quick rate.... that you bring up a great point in regards to your mother-in-law. That she believes everything that people tell her. I seem to deal with many of these clients that tell me the same thing. Gee... it's sales. Throw it up against the wall, hoping that it sticks.

Anyhow.... thanks for sharing this.

jeff belonger

Krystal...Sorry for showing up late to the party...My 2 cents are that I think it is cool if you are out shopping for homes, but may be a little bit too much info if someone wants to use the info for the wrong reasons.

APR

2007

Kristal,

I'd be more worried about what HouseFront is going to do with all those moble phone numbers rather than what anyone will do with the info....or I am being the wimp?

RKB

KK... I agree with Rob. Just as Lenn Harley mentioned in another blog about Zillow. Why do you think these companies start these types of platforms? Just one big data base after the fact.

APR

2007

Kristal, Too COOL! Need to check this one out. But like you said too much information in the wrong hands can be extremely dangerous! Rob has an excellent point above as well. Give out my cell # to thousands of businesses for new text SPAM!? YIKES!

APR

2007

Plan on talking about this while at the square table in Albuquerque?

APR

2007

Kristal has succeeded in creating quite the colorful discussion with her recent post on our service. I have really enjoyed watching how the overall opinion of HouseFront has evolved. There are a few comments I would like to address:

Jay~ Soon we'll have an option for the homeowner to be able to correct data on their home if our data is off slightly, or the owners' have made additions and improvements.

Beth~ "We need a clever way to introduce it and use it to our advantage." Don't worry, HouseFront was created by people doing business in real estate. We created the tool to act as an on the go assistant to Realtors. We have tried to build ourselves as a Realtor centric company, keeping you in mind with every decision. In the future we hope to be able to pair inquisitive buyers and sellers with the local real estate professionals who service their markets.

John~ Since our service launched it has become clear to us that there are many people besides the real estate professional who find value in attaining such instant data.

Rob~ Have no fear, HouseFront does not resell any of the mobile phone numbers that come through our system for marketing purposes. We think that would destroy the user experience!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR FEEDBACK, WE ARE ALWAYS LISTENING AND OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.

Ryan Boykin

CEO/Co-Founder

HouseFront

Ryan ~ Thank you for your comments and clarifications. I really appreciate you logging on to clear things up.

On an added note, I was at the Shore this past week (N.J. Exit 100 for those in the know.) Anyway my sister and I were walking the boardwalk and admiring all the new construction there. I asked her what homes were selling for in this area. She didn't know, so I pulled out the TREO and text messaged HouseFront. Talk about "WOW! Factor." My untechie sister was so impressed. Of course I didn't tell her she could do it herself.... I must keep some mystery about what I do and how I do it!

Ed ~ You betcha! See you in AlbuQ!

Philip ~ Good shall win over evil...we must believe!

Jeff B ~ I think the future of real estate is changing, just like many other things we know. Sometimes you just have t let go and go with the flow. See where it takes you...hopefully that will be in a better place.

Rob ~ Ryan the founder of HouseFront said not...guess we should give him the benefit of the doubt.

Robert ~ home shopping or in my case just being nosy. Or should I say trying to know the real estate market.

Daniel Gates ~ You are welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

John ~ I did pull it up on my TREO. Of course you can use the Tablet PC and pull county records. But if you were doing that and I was texting the addy, I know I would win. (Assuming the addy was part of their data base.) Try it, it is very efficient and cool.

Matt ~ I fear misunderstanding the data more than making it available.

Fran ~ Yes, I agree. Let's go with the flo and see where it takes us.

Linda ~ New agents will need to find the new gadgets AND trust that they work. They might be more apt to do so than some of the more experienced and skeptical types.

Teresa ~ Perhaps you need a keeper. I've heard some people have them. :)

Tim ~ I think you are wearing your Realtor hat. Think outside of the hat. This is a tool for anyone. It will help us, but not just us.

Elaine ~ Ah you are so right. But tell me, can you put your laptop in your breast pocket? That's where I had my TREO this weekend. Nosey me used the service to learn about N.J. real estate. Otherwise our questions of values would have dissipated in the wind.

Jeff ~ Instant info can be used on a whim for WOW! factor, curiosity and facts. You choose.

Missy ~ I have no answer for you. When I have used it, there has been data. Are you sure you exist? :) (just kidding!) My GPS does that with streets that have been around forever, it ticks me off!

George ~ Yes, I got an email too. Funny I already knew about it. The viral mail thing needs work, it looks way too much like spam. I understand agents will be able to buy and "area" so perhaps that's the point behind the tool. $$$

Randy ~ As spooky as it is, there are many other ways to get the same info. We just have to believe the good will win.

Beth ~ Hey you are welcome. I enjoy tech toys with the most of them, it's good to share the news and spread the wealth of knowledge.

MAY

2007

Sounds like something I would try.

JUL

2007

@Kristal - Thanks for the link to the Techlife article. I appreciate it. From what I read here the real estate business could be a bit scared, but as a writer and business consultant, I have found that those that embrace technological changes and realize the benefits, can easily show clients and earn more trust.

Email used to be novel and unique, now it is taken for granted. When you actually send a real birthday card you are flaunting technology. But certainly greeting card companies and postal service could have originally thought, "We're screwed."

I look forward to the people who realize that Housefront can help their clients become more informed at a basic level so that the agent can really begin to show their value.

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