With almost 12 million mortgages underwater, American homeowners are going to be needing some good real estate advice. Today we launched Zillow Advice to meet this challenge. Zillow visitors post 40,000 contributions to the site each day. Many of those are Home Q&A, Real Estate Guides and Discussions. These features now live under a new Advice tab and we are adding local Questions to the list of ways in which Zillow users can help each other.
How to get Advice.
1.2 million agents, lenders and other professionals use Zillow each month. Posting a question in Zillow Advice is the best way to ask them for help
STEP 1. Ask your question. Click on the new Advice tab on Zillow.com and type your question.
STEP 2. Add a category and a location. Indicate “what” and “where” your question is about (e.g. “Moving” or “Buying a Home in Seattle“) Correctly tagging your question ensures that it is routed to a local expert.
STEP 3. Get answers and give feedback. Sit back, wait for answers, and get to know more about the people who respond to your question by clicking through to their profiles. You may want to take note of other questions they’ve answered and whether they’re identified as a Local Expert. And lastly, when you’re satisfied that you have your answer, please indicate which expert provided the “best answer” to your question (ask a question – you’ll see what I mean.)
How to give Advice.
Whether you are simply helpful by nature or a real estate expert by profession, Zillow Advice offers the best opportunity yet to demonstrate your skills on Zillow.com. For buyers’ agents in particular, Advice is the answer to the question; “how do I compete with listing agents for the top spot in Zillow’s directory.”
For real estate professionals, Zillow Advice offers another free way to promote your services to local home buyers and sellers. If you read a few Discussions and Answer a few Questions you’ll get the hang of it quickly. My tip for real estate pro’s is to subscribe to e-mail or RSS alerts for topics and locations you specialize in. And be sure to fill out your profile page so people know how to reach you if they like your advice!