The question I get most, by a wide margin, is some version of "what is my house worth?" Usually the person already has a number in their head from Zillow or Redfin, and usually they want to know if it's right. Here is how I actually answer it, so you can judge whether the number you have is one you can list at.
Why the portal estimate misses
A portal estimate is a formula run on public data. It knows your square footage, your lot, your tax record, and what the county thinks your house is. It cannot see the kitchen you redid in 2023, the road noise, the neighbor's RV, or the house two doors down that closed off market in June. In Texas, a non-disclosure state, it usually cannot see the real sold prices either, so it is guessing at the one input that matters most.
That's why the same house can show a spread of $80,000 or more between two portals. Neither is wrong on purpose. They're just not looking at your house.
What I look at instead
I start with the live MLS: every closed sale, pending contract and active listing within your comp set for the last 90 days, with the actual sold prices agents can see. Then I look at what those houses had that yours doesn't, and what yours has that they didn't. Condition, layout, lot, light, and the things buyers actually react to in the first two minutes of a showing.
Then I look at the direction of the street, not just the average. Three price cuts on your block tell me something a median can't. So does a house that went pending in four days.
Last, I run your net. List price is not what you walk away with. Commission, title, the buyer's requests after inspection, any concessions the market is asking for right now. You should see that number before you decide anything.
What you get from me
A number you can list at, a range if the market is moving, the two or three prep items that would actually move the price, and your estimated net. Usually the same day, within 48 hours at the outside, and it comes from me, not an assistant or an auto-reply. If I need to see the house to give you a real number, I'll say so.
There's no obligation and no follow-up campaign. Plenty of people use it to decide whether to sell at all, to refinance, or to plan a remodel. If you do sell, I'd like to be the one you call, and the number I gave you is the number I'll defend.
Start here: get my home value. Address, name and phone is all I need.