Realtors fight direct online home sales

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FORT MYERS, Fla. Realtors are warning about the dangers of fraud as a real estate website tests a service that lets people sell their homes directly to investors.

Zillow Instant Offers, a Zillow.com pilot program underway in Orlando and Las Vegas, allows sellers to bypass realtors and real estate agents and receive cash offers from private investors. But realtors nationwide are signing a petition to stop the practice.

Direct home selling is fraught with pitfalls for those on both sides of the deal, said Don Molloy, an accredited buyer’s representative for the Fort Myers-based Riverside Realty Group. He pointed to other online offers.

“We’ve seen homes that are sold on Craigslist that aren’t even that particular person’s property, so for one thing how do you know that’s actually that person selling that house?” Molloy said. “Or are you making a deal with somebody that is doing something that is inappropriate?”

Several people selling their homes directly online say they want to bypass realtors as a means of cutting costs. Molloy contends money spent on a middle man is worth it in the long run.

“As a realtor, we go through a code of ethics,” he said. “We go through training. We’re out there to protect the buyer as well as the seller, so in this instance, I think it’s got some issues.”

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