Does Every Owner Have a Price?

I took the plunge and claimed my home on Zillow, as the company calls the process. I had mixed feelings about contributing more info to Zillow's massive database, figuring that it's intrusive enough to have photos of the neighborhood plus the nitty-gritty of our tax assessment. Does everyone really have to know how many toilets my house has? (And what if one doesn't work so well?) I added some information about remodeling, plus details about the neighborhood and school district. My Make Me Move price is sky-high, $950,000, because I really don't want to move. The tax value is listed as $668,300.

Claiming my home was disturbingly easy. I entered the address, and Zillow supplied several names of homeowners in the neighborhood. All I had to do was to click on my own name -- and then promise repeatedly, cross my heart and hope to die, that I am the owner. Then I was free to post comments and even pictures. An owner, or the owner's real estate agent, can post the home as up for sale, without charge, which flags the home differently on Zillow's maps.

If you should change your mind, a few mouse clicks will put things as they were.

I'm afraid, though, that it would be easy to falsely claim the home of someone you wanted to annoy. Zillow has a button to click if you need to dispute someone else's claim to your home.

Mann says Zillow has not seen much of a problem with impostors, and that legitimate owners can get someone else's info removed if they supply proof that they own the place, such as a copy of their deed.

The site allows anyone to send a question by e-mail. Zillow shields the homeowner's e-mail address, at least until he or she replies. An owner can always see the questioner's e-mail address.

Real estate agents don't need to worry about being replaced by Zillow, at least not yet. There's lots of information there, but there's no one to advise you on the nuances of your neighborhood market, or to guide you through the contracts and paperwork. But the database is growing constantly, helped along by owners themselves, and is therefore becoming more and more valuable to everyone, even if it is a little unnerving at times.

I would love to hear from readers about the real estate Web sites you use most, the paces you put them through and any problems you have found. I'll share your insights here, in a future column.

E-mail Elizabeth Razzi atrazzie@washpost.com.