30 Ridiculous, Creepy Or Nasty Home Features That People Found (New Pics)

Zillow may now be gaining worldwide popularity for the absurdity of some of the listings, but it has grown into an immensely successful website since it’s conception in 2004. Started in Seattle, Washington by Rich Barton, Zillow now has 6,400 employees. In 2020, Zillow reported having 201 million monthly users, 9.6 billion visits yearly and $3.3 billion in yearly revenue. At the time, there were also 135 million homes listed in their database. Their corporate website states their mission is to give people the power to unlock life’s next chapter” and notes that they’ve also expanded their business into affiliates and subsidiaries including HotPads, Inc. Trulia, StreetEasy and more.

Zillow has dominated the housing market in the United States, and they credit becoming a household name to the success of their “Zestimate” feature. This is their “proprietary valuation algorithm” that provides each listing with an estimated property value, estimated rental value and the history of the property’s value in the past.  

There are certainly pros and cons to using an online real estate service like Zillow, so Union Street Media broke some of them down for buyers. We live in a digital age, so it makes sense for people to want to buy everything, including homes, online. The first pro listed for using Zillow is the sheer exposure. It provides buyers with seemingly endless options, meaning sellers’ homes are also seen by wide audiences. It also eliminates the need for many buyers to hire real estate agents, saving them some money. And for agents selling homes, it can take little effort to get listings seen by a broad audience. Zillow even has a “Premier Agent” feature, where agents can pay to get more traffic to their listings. 

On the other hand, Zillow is not a perfect site. The first con Union Street Media mentions of using Zillow is the inaccuracy of their famous “Zestimate” feature. Apparently, the estimates are often incorrect, misleading buyers and making agents’ jobs harder. The website also tends to promote “non listing agents alongside listings that aren’t theirs” which causes confusion for buyers seeking more information. Being a Zillow Premier Agent also comes at a high price, ranging between $300-$1000 a month depending on the location of the realtor. Agents also have to spend a pretty penny to get their own listing leads.

We were lucky enough to get to talk to Samir Mezrahi, the creator of Zillow Gone Wild, and hear from him what it's been like to see this page become so popular. "It's been so much fun," he told us. "I never imagined the reception would be this well received and across platforms. It's regularly picked up by local news when a home goes viral and it's really cool to see that people are actually buying these fun homes." We also asked Samir to talk a little about his favorite parts of running the page. "My favorite part is checking my inbox. I get like 50-100+ DMs a day of homes, and I never know what I am going to get and what I haven't seen before. One of my favorite homes was this one recently that was a Jetsons meets mid century modern vibe."

We also asked Samir if he'd be interested in any of these homes. "I'd live in almost all of these homes! They all have such unique and fun characteristics." He didn't always feel that way, though. "I have to admit, before I started the account I wasn't so into some of these styles like mid-century modern, but it radicalized me and now I love them." Lastly, he reiterated how much fun running the page is and added that he feels like "we've only begun seeing some of the coolest homes out there". We love Samir's enthusiasm and greatly appreciate his page. Don't forget to give Zillow Gone Wild a follow right here!

We reached out to realtor and "neighborhood guru" Jennifer LeBow to hear her thoughts on Zillow and whether or not buyers should steer clear of the site. "I would not necessarily avoid using it," Jennifer told us. "I would just be very clear on what to use it for. It will provide for sale by owner properties as well as MLS listed properties, which is good. However for any kind of estimate of value, it’s terrible. Additionally, a lot of its information is outdated as far as what is still available. Furthermore, one of the worst things is that Zillow is designed to make money by charging agents for showing up on a listing as though they were the listing agent. So consumers contact the agent who pops up, assuming that that agent will be knowledgeable about the neighborhood and the house. Most of the time, that is not the case and the buyer ends up with an agent who cannot properly represent them."

If you are interested in avoiding Zillow, Jennifer recommends using a buyer's agent. "There is no cost to the buyer and not only does the agent have access to more listings than just one Zillow shows, if the agent is part of a brokerage that has private exclusives or quiet listings. Even more important, then a buyer is represented by someone who is knowledgeable about the entire buying process as well as the buyer's area of interest."

We asked Jennifer if she had any advice for first time home buyers trying to navigate the competitive online market, and she said to first "make sure you have all of your finances in order and that you truly understand the costs of the purchase". "Not only the purchase price of the house, but the closing costs and any kind of appraisal gap coverage you might need to offer to be competitive," Jennifer explained. "Be sure to talk to a lender first thing. Also, expect that you will have to go over asking price, cover at least some appraisal gap and possibly wave or absorb certain amount of issues on a home inspection."

Lastly, Jennifer wanted to add that a Zillow estimate can be "completely useless". "It has some merit if it is being used to look at a house in a very large community where all of the houses are the same, built relatively recently, in the same condition, with the same acreage, in the same school district, etc. It is particularly useless in areas where the housing stock is old because it does not account for updating and condition so it can be wildly in accurate."