Please review my new website (1 Viewer)

[Steeler]

I have added a new website to my "online empire" ( http://customcompsreport.com/ ) and I'm looking for feedback. I know the site still needs some work... most notably adding the ability to print a comps report after you select your comps.. but early feedback is always a good idea.

I also made a minor change to the Slider Game so that you can tweet your score/time after you solve each puzzle - check that out too!

 

[mphtrilogy]

What does this site do that zillow cannot do? I like what I see so far, nice job.

 

[mphtrilogy]

What's the difference between the Zvalue and the estimated value, there seems to be a wide difference in some cases I tried...

 

[dozer]

I like the concept, and I would use the site since I'm in the real estate/house flipping business. However, since it relies on Zillow data I would question all the results.

More than half of the addresses I entered came back with an error.

 

[[icon]]

I like the concept, and I would use the site since I'm in the real estate/house flipping business. However, since it relies on Zillow data I would question all the results.

More than half of the addresses I entered came back with an error.

Yep I got errors on several addresses too.

Curious what the benefit of using a site that pulls data from zillow when I can just use zillow?

 

[Steeler]

What error message(s) did you receive when you entered the addresses? What zip code did you use? Would you be willing to tell me which addresses you used when you received the errors? I can certainly cleanup the error message verbiage or whatever.

Zillow clearly has more functionality than this site will ever have, but I don't think you can print an actual comps report at Zillow. Also, everything at Zillow is based on their Zestimate which is basically their own formula for calculating the estimated value of each property. Custom Comps Report pulls only recently sold data from Zillow and displays up to 25 properties sorted by the "zillow comp score" which is zillows metric to determine how closely each comp compares to the subject property. The top 5 matches are auto-selected and an estimated value is calculated for the subject property. From here, you can select/deselect properties, sort the 25 comps and pick as many or as few as you want to include in your custom comps report. I plan to add the ability to print a comps report based on the custom selections you make.

So in short, this site offers something that zillow doesn't - you can include/exclude properties to build the comps report based on your own criteria... bypassing the reliance on the Zestimate if you want.

However, since it relies on Zillow data I would question all the results.

Does the fact that I am only using recently sold properties diminish your concerns about Zillow? I know many people don't trust Zillow or whatever, but I assumed the recently sold data would be valid since the sale price / date / etc. is factual data. I thought people questioned Zillow based on the Zestime, which I am basically ignoring.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I guess I haven't gotten too in-depth with Zillow, because honestly, I like this a lot more in the 2 seconds that I did one search. I like tables better than visuals and I like this list a lot.

Only thing is that I need you to add a multiplier for my house to make the value seem greater.

 

[Freelove]

Why is this functionally a two-page website instead of just having the little intro sentence and the app just below it all on one page? Seems like it would be a little lossy.

 

[Mr. Ected]

First 'errors' I noticed are on the home page is with the last sentence. 'go' after Zillow.com should be capitalized if it is a new sentence. Also there needs to be spaces on both sides of the 'Customizable Comp Report' link.

Not sure if you are looking for picks like that.

On Comps Report page, is 'street' just for the street, or the actual address? I put in the street and got an error. - gotta think like an idiot!

Put a dot or something between the 'Terms of Use' and the 'What is a Zestimate' links, they look like one long link.

Have the 'What is a Zestimate' and 'Terms of Use' links open up a new pages or tabs.

 

[Steeler]

Why is this functionally a two-page website instead of just having the little intro sentence and the app just below it all on one page? Seems like it would be a little lossy.

Good suggestion - thanks!

First 'errors' I noticed are on the home page is with the last sentence. 'go' after Zillow.com should be capitalized if it is a new sentence. Also there needs to be spaces on both sides of the 'Customizable Comp Report' link.

Not sure if you are looking for picks like that.

On Comps Report page, is 'street' just for the street, or the actual address? I put in the street and got an error. - gotta think like an idiot!

Put a dot or something between the 'Terms of Use' and the 'What is a Zestimate' links, they look like one long link.

Have the 'What is a Zestimate' and 'Terms of Use' links open up a new pages or tabs.

Yes,definitely looking for things like this -- when you build something like this you stare at it so much you gloss over little nits like this... thanks for pointing them out.

 

[Jack White]

You have no mechanism to capture your visitor's email address.

 

[Steeler]

You have no mechanism to capture your visitor's email address.

Maybe it's a mistake, but I'm not going to force people to provide contact information - they can just use the site with no obligation. This is different from nearly every other comps report site I saw. Typically, these types of sites force you to add contact information and it's a way for realtors to get customers. Nothing wrong with that practice, but I'm not going that route.

I do have a contact form if someone chooses to send something to me, and then they can provide the email address.

 

[KiddLattimer]

To be honest it's very plain and dated looking... I think you would have trouble gaining your reader's trust.

If it were me I would set it up in wordpress, buy a theme like Studiopress Altitude or Paralax then fill it with relevant stock photos and/or font-awesome icons.

After that I would reduce the text significantly in favor of bullet point lists and short summaries. No matter how well written your content is 90% of readers fall in to the TL;DR group and will click away from big blocks of text.

The email suggestion is also very good, you'll make a lot more that way.

 

[Steeler]

Bump for weekday crowd. Looking for more feedback about any aspect of the sight, but specifically on any error messages you get when searching for addresses - and the specific addresses that caused the errors so I can troubleshoot on my own.

Also, the goal of the site is to give people the ability to generate a comps report based on the properties of their choosing from the list of properties returned after the initial search. I'm not trying to build a list of clients, capture email addresses, etc. One of the benefits of this site from the user's POV is that I am not capturing that information. The goal is to make money from the ads displayed on the sight. Future enhancements could include showing specific ads from real estate agents, home inspection companies, whatever. For now, I'm just trying to get the traffic to the site. I'm not arguing with the couple guys who said I should capture emails, I'm trying to clarify my thoughts on the site.

Thanks for taking a look!

 

[Cjw_55106]

It doesnt seem very intuitive IMO. After clicking on the Customizable Comps Report link, it doesnt tell you what the fields should be. In fact, it doesnt even tell you that you should be putting in an address.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

It doesnt seem very intuitive IMO. After clicking on the Customizable Comps Report link, it doesnt tell you what the fields should be. In fact, it doesnt even tell you that you should be putting in an address.

yep, same thing for me.

 

[Steeler]

It doesnt seem very intuitive IMO. After clicking on the Customizable Comps Report link, it doesnt tell you what the fields should be. In fact, it doesnt even tell you that you should be putting in an address.

yep, same thing for me.

Thanks. What browser are you guys using?

 

[Cjw_55106]

It doesnt seem very intuitive IMO. After clicking on the Customizable Comps Report link, it doesnt tell you what the fields should be. In fact, it doesnt even tell you that you should be putting in an address.

yep, same thing for me.

Thanks. What browser are you guys using?

Looks like Firefox and Chrome are good. IE9 is not.

 

[Jack White]

You have no mechanism to capture your visitor's email address.

Maybe it's a mistake, but I'm not going to force people to provide contact information - they can just use the site with no obligation. This is different from nearly every other comps report site I saw. Typically, these types of sites force you to add contact information and it's a way for realtors to get customers. Nothing wrong with that practice, but I'm not going that route.

I do have a contact form if someone chooses to send something to me, and then they can provide the email address.

It's not a mistake . . . it's THE mistake.

You don't have to have a squeeze page, but why not offer something of real value that would help your visitors in exchange for their email address?

Examples includes a FREE report, video, audio, checklist, cheat sheet, e-course, etc. The possibilities are endless. As long as it's something that's truly valuable that people might benefit from.

Then you can keep in touch periodically, offering even more value and information in the future.

I'm not sure what you're selling, if anything.

But you'll have a much better chance to sell something that will help your target market if you keep in touch and develop a relationship.

And if someone visits one time . . . and never returns . . . you have no chance to do that.

 

[elbowrm]

Caught 4 typos on the About page - (fixes)

I created this site because I couldnt find any other site that was completely free to use. Sure, most sites dont charge any money to generate a Comps Report that doesnt mean the information is free. Im sure youve seen some of the other Comps Report sites that make you enter an email address, or ever worse a ton of other question(s) about you desire/timeframe/whatever for buying/selling your home.

So lets say you go through all those unnecessary question to get a Comps Report some sites dont even display the Comps Report immediately! When they eventually contact you, you are barraged with additional marketing material all of this in an attempt to gain you as a client. All that is fine if you are truly looking for a Real Estate agent, but many time(s) you might want to just get the information for yourself before committing to a specific agent.

This sight (site) is completely free to use, no BS, no need to provide any information simply use the sight (site) with no strings attached.

 

[-fish-]

why isn't zillow going to sue you for using its proprietary information?

 

[elbowrm]

They have the zestimate,we have the zistimate...

 

[Ned]

I get an API error when putting in an address (using Chrome).

 

[Jaysus]

add some stock art or a splash page or something... I got bored real quick

 

[Ron Swanson]

"Cannot connect to the Zillow API"

 

[Steeler]

why isn't zillow going to sue you for using its proprietary information?

I'm not screen scraping from Zillow - that would be a problem. Zillow has an API that is open for anyone to use as long as you follow their Terms of Use. So worst case is that they would make me stop using the API if I wont/don't comply.

 

[Steeler]

Caught 4 typos on the About page - (fixes)

Thanks!

-----

For anyone who received an error when entering an address, can you PM me the address you were using? Or at least the zip code so I can try to find other addresses in the area that might be a problem? Most of the addresses in my area work without issue so I haven't really been able to test options for when an address is missing or an exception happens. I need to come up with better error messages but I need to understand better what the various errors are -- any help on this would be appreciated.

 

[Steeler]

I think I figured out why the "no exact match" errors are occurring - the Zillow API does not scrub the addresses before trying to find a match in their system (seems like something an API dealing with addresses would attempt to do, but whatever). For example, when I enter an address like "123 Forest Circle West" I get the "no exact match" error. However, if I enter "123 Forest Cir W" (which is in the correct US postal format) the address is found. So it looks like I will have to scrub the addresses myself before sending it to the Zillow API.

For those who received this error in the past, can you please try it again with the correctly formatted/scrubbed address? Before I implement this fix I'd like a little more data to support that it will work. This site can provide the scrubbed address if you need it: SmartyStreets

 

[Mr. Ected]

I think I figured out why the "no exact match" errors are occurring - the Zillow API does not scrub the addresses before trying to find a match in their system (seems like something an API dealing with addresses would attempt to do, but whatever). For example, when I enter an address like "123 Forest Circle West" I get the "no exact match" error. However, if I enter "123 Forest Cir W" (which is in the correct US postal format) the address is found. So it looks like I will have to scrub the addresses myself before sending it to the Zillow API.

For those who received this error in the past, can you please try it again with the correctly formatted/scrubbed address? Before I implement this fix I'd like a little more data to support that it will work. This site can provide the scrubbed address if you need it: SmartyStreets

I had no problems before with my address. I just tried it with both NE and Northeast and it worked fine with both. With Northeast, it truncated the address and removed the Northeast. In my town, the direction is only truly needed if your street exists on more than one quadrant. Mine is only in NE, so that may have something to do with it.

If you want a sample where the direction is required, try DC; the city is broken into 'quadrants' with the U.S. Capitol as the center point. This makes NW significantly larger than the others, but with the layout of the streets (1st, 2nd, 3rd, A, B,C and their reset at the quadrant lines) the directions are important.

 

[Juxtatarot]

I like it and can use this daily. Zillow can be annoying to navigate and, as another poster mentioned, it's nice to see data in chart format.

Will revenues just be ads?

 

[Steeler]

I like it and can use this daily. Zillow can be annoying to navigate and, as another poster mentioned, it's nice to see data in chart format.

Will revenues just be ads?

Yes, the plan for now is to just use the ads for revenue and try to drive as much traffic to the site as possible. I was also thinking of having ads on the printed version of the Comps Report when/if that functionality is built. Those ads could be targeted by zip code or something specific to a geographic region.

 

[Abraham]

You have no mechanism to capture your visitor's email address.

Maybe it's a mistake, but I'm not going to force people to provide contact information - they can just use the site with no obligation. This is different from nearly every other comps report site I saw. Typically, these types of sites force you to add contact information and it's a way for realtors to get customers. Nothing wrong with that practice, but I'm not going that route.

I do have a contact form if someone chooses to send something to me, and then they can provide the email address.

It's not a mistake . . . it's THE mistake.

You don't have to have a squeeze page, but why not offer something of real value that would help your visitors in exchange for their email address?

Examples includes a FREE report, video, audio, checklist, cheat sheet, e-course, etc. The possibilities are endless. As long as it's something that's truly valuable that people might benefit from.

Then you can keep in touch periodically, offering even more value and information in the future.

I'm not sure what you're selling, if anything.

But you'll have a much better chance to sell something that will help your target market if you keep in touch and develop a relationship.

And if someone visits one time . . . and never returns . . . you have no chance to do that.

 

[Juxtatarot]

If I had to enter my email address, I wouldn't even try out the site.

 

[Steeler]

If I had to enter my email address, I wouldn't even try out the site.

I understand what they are saying, but I'm just not trying to build that type of site. In fact, I'm trying to build an alternative to those types of sites if anything and hopefully I can earn passive income from the ads.

 

[comfortably numb]

Found a huge mistake.

Says my house is worth 350.

Pretty sure it's closer to 2M.

 

[captain_amazing]

Like the idea, but hire a web developer.

 

[Steeler]

Like the idea, but hire a web developer.

I'm not a web/UI developer obviously but I am a software developer so I like to do this stuff myself. Do you have any specific feedback about the look and feel? Or a template you would recommend?

 

[captain_amazing]

Like the idea, but hire a web developer.

I'm not a web/UI developer obviously but I am a software developer so I like to do this stuff myself. Do you have any specific feedback about the look and feel? Or a template you would recommend?

It needs a a better responsive design, more visuals, more compelling reason in to use the website than a competitor right when you visit the homepage in 6 words or less, and just more branding overall. I like it, but as a web developer/designer, there's a lot that needs to be done to make your product more visual and marketable.

 

[Jack White]

If I had to enter my email address, I wouldn't even try out the site.

I didn't say to force visitors to enter an email address.

I said to offer something of value in exchange for the email address.

Building a list of interested prospects is one of the smartest things you can do in any business, online or offline.