Killa App.

As you already know, my blog is heavily focused on the real estate side of the economy, specifically, the housing market. People have asked me why I have unique forecasts and opinions that are different than other experts.(By the way, I take that as a compliment.) First of all, I admit that I do not have a Ph.D (it doesn't mean that you should not trust what I say) so the way I do my research is different, using more of the media and interviews with people who are working in the field. Also, I am not using the theories economists use when they forecast, but I use the freshest data I can find. Now that I have revealed all my research secrets, let me introduce a Web 2.0 tool that I use for my research. Warning: you will be surprised that I use this tool for my research (hint: you probably have used it).

Zillow is a tool that stole my heart the first time I used it. It is a real estate tool (as specified by seomoz.org which awarded Zillow the number one Web 2.0 real estate site award ) where people can check the value of their homes, list homes for sale, and much more. Out of curiosity, I found out the background of this tool. Zillow was founded by Rich Barton, who also founded Expedia.com, and Lloyd Frink in 2005. When Rich and Lloyd were looking for a new business venture, they came up with the idea of real estate. (Obviously, the real estate market was hot back then and many were looking to profit from it.) Barton says he loves real estate and he wanted to create a tool where people can get information about their homes and obtain valuable resources.

At Zillow, you can find out about how much your home is worth by typing in your home address or another home you want to know about. Then, you will get a detailed analysis of the home's worth along with other information such as the sales history of the home. From that analyzed report, I particularly like the market value change chart that shows price trends for your home, state, and even the nation. This data is now being used by the media to see the conditions of the housing market. For example, CNN recently reported the decline of home values using Zillow's value calculations. Also, sign up for an account and you will be able to claim your home and make corrections to the data, if you would like. The great aspect of Zillow is that you can ask questions to homeowners, for example, whether they like neighbors. Additionally, if you are looking for a home, this is a great place to start your research. It has homes for sale (yes, they have foreclosure data) and you can get information about the neighborhood, mortgage rates, and so on.

That is not all, because there are more tools and information at Zillow.Do you need to sell your home? Zillow can help you. They have a tool called Make Me Move: you set a price for your home and if someone is interested, you can sell it without the fat commission! In addition, Zillow has a database of recently sold homes that was once available only to real estate professionals. The list goes on and on and you should check it out yourself.

Zillow is popular among homeowners and sellers. Since the market downturn has started, worried homeowners are checking their home prices regularly, and sellers check out how much they can get for their homes. Actually, they are not the only groups who use Zillow. People like me who do research on the housing market use this site not only because it provides home sales data, but also because I and others can read people's behaviors such as how people react to falling prices or particular market. Last but not least, buyers jump into it to chat with local real estate professionals, check data on homes they are trying to buy, and shop for a mortgage.

Since Zillow has been very successful at attracting users, other websites that are similar to Zillow are appearing online. A strong competitor is realestateabc.com, but people who have been using Zillow will immediately notice that it has a long way to go since its graphics look like a Web 1.0 site. Another competitor is Cyberhomes. I understand that it has very cool graphics and a variety of data;however,I checked the accuracy of the valuation tool and their numbers are way off than the actual numbers. For example, I entered a few home data into its valuation tool, and the estimates were off more than 15% of those homes' actual values. That is why Zillow is still the number one home valuation site.

Now that you have heard what I have to say about Zillow, go ahead and check it out. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Let me tell you this: people have the misconception that Zillow is a widget for home buyers and sellers. That is not true, and Zillow is for anyone who is interested in real estate. For example, a person like me who researches the real estate market, I use Zillow to find out about home prices and sales activity trends. Not only that, I use it to forecast the market by examining the charts and the market reports. Basically, Zillow makes my research much easier by combining lots of information in one place.

That said, let me show you how to use Zillow as a real estate researcher. (No, you don't need a Ph.D to do the research.) First of all, let's pick a house that we want to do research on. Remember, even though we pick only one house, not thousands of houses, that particular house does have enough information about the market trends. So, let's go and type in the address, and as usual, click go. Wow, isn't this amazing? We are now seeing a group of houses from the sky. We can pick another house from this map, but let's stick to our first pick by clicking the address.

Look at the information Zillow has for this particular house. Basically, it has everything we want to know about this house. Then, let's click Zestimate & Charts. Do you see the Zestimate? That's the amount this house is worth. Not only that, Zestimate shows the price change in the past 30 days in addition to the value range this house may be valued at. Now that we look at the value of this house, let's get into the highlights of Zillow. Look at the diversity of this chart. Because it has price trends not only for this house, but for the city, county, state, and even for the nation, it's so easy to compare the price trends for the entire U.S. market here.

Don't forget: Zillow also has historical value trends. It shows the historical value trends of this home and other homes in the nation by showing the price changes in the past 30 days to 10 years. If you don't like the percentage change option, then switch to dollar comparison. This is absolutely my favorite tool. I mean, I don't have to look through a several websites to find the value trends, but just one place, Zillow. Now, based on the information we gather from Zillow, can you tell me where the market is heading? Exactly. You can tell the market is still going down. Congratulations for being a real estate researcher!

People like me who have experience in real estate would realize that even last year, Zestimate values were not accurate. I mean sometimes, it was off by a big number. Is that why users wrote all those negative comments on the discussion board? Now, check it out again. You will realize that the data is much more accurate now. How did Zillow do it? What it probably did was change the way it calculated the values, adding less value for additional square footage.

Before the era of Zillow, it was almost impossible to get nationwide data of homes and their values. Because of Zillow, now it is possible to search the price trends for a small town in Texas or anywhere in the U.S. So, say "thank you" to Zillow. If you have read about home price trends in the newspaper, you would realize that the zip code is the lowest unit newspapers or other sources break down the trends. How about the trends for your own home or your neighbor's? Zillow knows users' wish and it is now fulfilling our wish by breaking down the trends from the nation to even individual homes.

I know there are other home value comparison tools online. But use Zillow. Because it has the most up-to-date home sales data, those data provide accurate charts and value trends for research. If you don't trust me, try using other tools. You will realize that their sales data are not updated for at least 6 months. So, use Zillow which updates its data every week.

I am scared of those data compiled by economists who use all kinds of math formulas, and I don't understand what those data mean. Lucky you, because Zillow is designed for the general public. You don't really have to learn anything to use it. If you are not comfortable with it, simply take a tour. Then, just grab your glasses and look at the charts. Let me be honest: you need to learn the options on chart selection in order for you to get the right chart you want. That is why users should encourage Zillow to explain certain terms like annualized percertage. Other than that, it is a very user-friendly widget.

By now, you have probably noticed that I am not using Zillow as it was originally designed. Yes, Zillow is primarily intended for home buyers and sellers, and those charts that I use are for buyers and sellers to check their home values or homes they want to buy. Who cares? I am using it to measure the conditions of the housing market. And even CNN understands that the data on Zillow is valuable, and it is using those data to report the housing price trends.

I think Zillow will develop more widgets that are more interactive and personalized. For example, Zillow will probably create a widget that helps people where they can afford to buy homes based on the information they provide. Yes, Zillow has unlimited possibilities!

Zillow is a Web 2.0 real estate tool where home sellers and buyers can check home values and price trends from the street level to the national level. Also, economists and people who are interested in the housing market use it to measure the market conditions. Zillow was started in 2005 by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, and it has been growing ever since, reaching 8.8 million visitors each month. Zillow has many tools and information including a home selling tool called Make Me Move and information about neighborhoods.

Zillow's detailed property information is very useful since it offers the value of the home in a "Zestimate," and it has price trend charts that can show the price change in the past 30 days to 10 years. Also, the charts have the option of comparing homes' value trends with the city, state, and national home value trends. If charts are not enough, Zillow has real estate market reports and a historical value trends tool that can aid in the research or home buying process.

Take advantage of Zillow; it can even help with the property tax reduction application. All you have to do is click on other homes in your neighborhood and find out if there are any sales. If you see the sales prices, use two of sales prices to the application. Additionally, Zillow is the place to start the home buying search. Look through the neighborhood map you are interested in and click as many homes you would like. Check to see if most residents are long-term residents. Having long-term residents not only creates great relationships between neighbors, but these neighborhoods' home prices are stable.

Zillow is waiting for you. Use Zillow and simplify your life. You will thank Zillow for letting you enjoy the good life!!!

The Future & My Life

Now, the semester is almost over and I am ready to close a chapter of my life. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog posts. Without you, I probably didn't have any strength to write these posts.

As you can tell from my blog topics, ever since I was an eighth grader, I always wanted to work in the real estate industry. I guess I still have that dream, but that dream has gone through a major correction for the past year. I don't know if I tell you this or not, I forecast a depression since 2005. Since I have experience in both the real estate and business world, I have known what has been going on in this country. I am a firm believer that this depression is caused by ignorance of our financial affairs, and unless we educate ourselves now, the history will repeat itself.

It may sound weird to you, but I feel guilty for not educating people before all this has happened. Honestly, who would listen to this college student? But I could have done better. It's not too late to save others, and that is way my dream has gone through the correction. Instead of focusing my research solely on the real estate market, I am now focusing on the personal finance matters too.

In the future, I am not sure what I am going to be, but one thing I know for sure is that I want to be someone like Suze Orman or Robert Kiyosaki who have raised the financial awareness around the globe. As you may have already noticed, I have started my journey towards that path. I will still research on the real estate market, but who knows, one day, I will be researching on the economy in general (Sorry, I am actually researching on the economy.) But my future research on the economy will take more social approach, focusing heavily on the economy problems and their impacts on the society.

I hope my posts have enriched your knowledge. Yes, I will continue to write about the real estate market and personal finance, but I am not sure if I will write in blog format. But, I promise I will cover more personal finance topics that Suze doesn't cover or economic forecasts that economists hesitate to discuss. Remember, the American dream is there to achieve, not there to give up!

Literature Review for My Research Paper

During my research process, I reviewed many articles, scholarly journals, and data. From there, I found opinions that were against or support my thesis statement.

First of all, Simon Johnson, in his article, "The Quiet Coup," argues, "What we face now could, in fact, be worse than the Great Depression." I strongly agree with his argument since if we don't make fundamental changes to our politics, politicians will let the depression happen. Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Alan Greenspan mentioned that he couldn't prevent the downturn to happen because he knew that politicians wouldn't do anything about it. In addition to Johnson, Barry Eichengreen, in his journal, "A Tale of Two Depressions," claims, "To sum up, globally we are tracking or doing even worse than the Great Depression." Any research could show that Eichengreen is right because we have had the biggest failures in this depression, not during the Great Depression.

Then, I found these interesting writings about unemployment. Catey Hill, in her article, "Can we call it a Depression yet?" argues, "A depression has several definitions including: ... unemployment above 10 percent." I know we have not hit the 10 percent mark yet, but even optimistic economists predict that it is going to happen. Then, what does that mean? Great Depression II. In addition to Hill, one of the most famous economists of our time, Frederic S. Mishkin, states, "During Great Depression, unemployment rose to 25% of the labor force." Honestly, even the most pessimistic economist would not predict 25% unemployment rate during the current depression. There is reason behind that; there was almost no part-time employment during that time and not only that, discouraged workers were counted as unemployed, boosting the rate.

Finally, I found a great journal which clarified the impacts of government failures that burdened the economy and the housing market. The authors, Ansgar Belke and Marcel Wiedmann, criticize the US government for implementing monetary policy to control the housing market. They argue that instead of monetary policy, fiscal policy should be implemented. It is no wonder that the U.S. now has the powerless monetary policy, and having that policy will cause significant pain such as hyper inflation to the economy in the future.

The Consequences of Writing Investigative Research Paper

Did anyone read my controversial research paper? If you didn't, the conclusion is this: We are heading to the Great Depression II. I am glad that our country has the freedom of speech. If I were in some politically-controlled countries, I probably got arrested long time ago. I didn't want to shock anyone, but it was my conclusion based on the research, not just speculation.

I know my conclusion is going against what majority of economists and experts say. But remember, they also didn't predict the current depression. They don't even agree that we are in depression. Why am I taking the lonely road? I take stands on what I believe in, and I am not afraid of political oppression. So, I can basically offer the truth to people, and believe it or not, the truth is based on the research.

I have already created controversy among my acquaintances and family members. They argue that I am wrong and I am using biased research sources. Imagine my paper being published in the school newspaper. I think most professors and students want to throw rocks at me. I honestly wrote this paper knowing that it is a controversial topic. I guess it is my attempt to let people know that the worst has yet to hit the society. But people don't listen and I and other "Dr. Dooms" have to suffer more criticism. I remember that happy moment when people thought I and other "Dr. Dooms" were genius; however, no one really wanted to hear the bad news any longer.

My paper contains some contents that were shared by people whose name cannot be revealed to protect them. One of the tutors who helped me with this paper told me that why I was taking risk to write a research paper. He felt that my paper was similar to investigative journalism. I think this is the way I fulfill my past dream of becoming a journalist and I am pushing myself to it. Yes, I was so into the topic that I spent over 45 hours for this paper. I know it sounds crazy to spend that much time for a paper, but I was very passionate about what I was doing, and my paper hopefully has shown that. My favorite tutor, Katrina, told me that this paper looked like a dissertation, not a research paper. I studied and read many journals on the subject to attack the experts, and Katrina probably saw that in addition to the massive amounts of information that I was trying to fit into this short paper. I thank Katrina for not calling it a junk.

My paper brought negative consequences to the society and me. I am facing criticism every time I talk about this topic and the society is mourning on the news of the Great Depression II. I am proud of what I have done and I will do it again as long as it could save more people.

Zillow Presentation

Zillow is a Web 2.0 real estate tool where home sellers and buyers can check home values and price trends from the street level to the national level. Also, economists and people who are interested in the housing market use it to measure the market conditions. Zillow was started in 2005 by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, and it has been growing ever since, reaching 8.8 million visitors each month. Zillow has many tools and information including a home selling tool called Make Me Move and information about neighborhoods.

Zillow's detailed property information is very useful since it offers the value of the home in a "Zestimate," and it has price trend charts that can show the price change in the past 30 days to 10 years. Also, the charts have the option of comparing homes' value trends with the city, state, and national home value trends. If charts are not enough, Zillow has real estate market reports and a historical value trends tool that can aid in the research or home buying process.

Take advantage of Zillow; it can even help with the property tax reduction application. All you have to do is click on other homes in your neighborhood and find out if there are any sales. If you see the sales prices, use two of sales prices to the application. Additionally, Zillow is the place to start the home buying search. Look through the neighborhood map you are interested in and click as many homes you would like. Check to see if most residents are long-term residents. Having long-term residents not only creates great relationships between neighbors, but these neighborhoods' home prices are stable.

Zillow is waiting for you. Use Zillow and simplify your life. You will thank Zillow for letting you enjoy the good life!!!

Why You Need Zillow

Let me tell you this: people have the misconception that Zillow is a widget for home buyers and sellers. That is not true, and Zillow is for anyone who is interested in real estate. For example, a person like me who researches the real estate market, I use Zillow to find out about home prices and sales activity trends. Not only that, I use it to forecast the market by examining the charts and the market reports. Basically, Zillow makes my research much easier by combining lots of information in one place.

That said, let me show you how to use Zillow as a real estate researcher. (No, you don't need a Ph.D to do the research.) First of all, let's pick a house that we want to do research on. Remember, even though we pick only one house, not thousands of houses, that particular house does have enough information about the market trends. So, let's go and type in the address, and as usual, click go. Wow, isn't this amazing? We are now seeing a group of houses from the sky. We can pick another house from this map, but let's stick to our first pick by clicking the address.

Look at the information Zillow has for this particular house. Basically, it has everything we want to know about this house. Then, let's click Zestimate & Charts. Do you see the Zestimate? That's the amount this house is worth. Not only that, Zestimate shows the price change in the past 30 days in addition to the value range this house may be valued at. Now that we look at the value of this house, let's get into the highlights of Zillow. Look at the diversity of this chart. Because it has price trends not only for this house, but for the city, county, state, and even for the nation, it's so easy to compare the price trends for the entire U.S. market here.

Don't forget: Zillow also has historical value trends. It shows the historical value trends of this home and other homes in the nation by showing the price changes in the past 30 days to 10 years. If you don't like the percentage change option, then switch to dollar comparison. This is absolutely my favorite tool. I mean, I don't have to look through a several websites to find the value trends, but just one place, Zillow. Now, based on the information we gather from Zillow, can you tell me where the market is heading? Exactly. You can tell the market is still going down. Congratulations for being a real estate researcher!

People like me who have experience in real estate would realize that even last year, Zestimate values were not accurate. I mean sometimes, it was off by a big number. Is that why users wrote all those negative comments on the discussion board? Now, check it out again. You will realize that the data is much more accurate now. How did Zillow do it? What it probably did was change the way it calculated the values, adding less value for additional square footage.

Before the era of Zillow, it was almost impossible to get nationwide data of homes and their values. Because of Zillow, now it is possible to search the price trends for a small town in Texas or anywhere in the U.S. So, say "thank you" to Zillow. If you have read about home price trends in the newspaper, you would realize that the zip code is the lowest unit newspapers or other sources break down the trends. How about the trends for your own home or your neighbor's? Zillow knows users' wish and it is now fulfilling our wish by breaking down the trends from the nation to even individual homes.

I know there are other home value comparison tools online. But use Zillow. Because it has the most up-to-date home sales data, those data provide accurate charts and value trends for research. If you don't trust me, try using other tools. You will realize that their sales data are not updated for at least 6 months. So, use Zillow which updates its data every week.

I am scared of those data compiled by economists who use all kinds of math formulas, and I don't understand what those data mean. Lucky you, because Zillow is designed for the general public. You don't really have to learn anything to use it. If you are not comfortable with it, simply take a tour. Then, just grab your glasses and look at the charts. Let me be honest: you need to learn the options on chart selection in order for you to get the right chart you want. That is why users should encourage Zillow to explain certain terms like annualized percertage. Other than that, it is a very user-friendly widget.

By now, you have probably noticed that I am not using Zillow as it was originally designed. Yes, Zillow is primarily intended for home buyers and sellers, and those charts that I use are for buyers and sellers to check their home values or homes they want to buy. Who cares? I am using it to measure the conditions of the housing market. And even CNN understands that the data on Zillow is valuable, and it is using those data to report the housing price trends.

I think Zillow will develop more widgets that are more interactive and personalized. For example, Zillow will probably create a widget that helps people where they can afford to buy homes based on the information they provide. Yes, Zillow has unlimited possibilities!

What Would You Do?

My brother's friend just bought a car. His father, a prominent physicist, took out $19,000 from home equity line of credit (HELOC) to pay for the car. No, his father is not buying him the car. As a college graduation gift, he waived $4,000 from the $19,000 and asked his son to pay back $15,000 plus the interest.

If you were in that situation, what would you do? Would you also use HELOC to pay for the car? Let me give you a few minutes, so you can decide what to do. Do not read any further until you decide. (Tip: this college graduate has no credit history.)

Here is what his father did not see: I know many people use HELOC or home equity loans for major purchases since the Internal Revenue Service usually allows taxpayers to deduct interest on up to $100,000 of HELOC balance. Not only that, equity interest rates are lower than most loans. So, if the car was for himself, the father made a great decision for buying the car with HELOC. But, it was not for him; it was for his son.

If I were his father, this is what I would have done: I would purchase the car using HELOC AND an auto loan that has my son as the primary borrower and myself as a co-signor, and possibly paying $15,000 with HELOC and borrow $4,000 in auto loan. Now, you are probably thinking, "why would I take out an auto loan when the rates are much higher?" The son has no credit and not having credit will cost him much more than thousands of dollars. Yes, the son can build his credit by getting a credit card, but credit bureaus prefer auto loans over credit cards when calculating credit scores. Not only that, auto loans have positive impacts on credit even after paying them off.

The reason the father paid for the car using HELOC was to save money. So, if you want to maximize the savings in this case, take out a small auto loan and pay the rest with HELOC. Having a small auto loan compared to a bigger one does not make significant difference in credit scores.

Sometimes, you may have to forgo visible gains for big hidden gains.

Disclaimer: The information on this blog is general information only and may not apply to an individual's circumstances. Please consult a professional regarding your particular circumstances.