Lender Reviews and Ratings FAQ
Why do you allow customers to review lenders on Zillow?
Zillow empowers consumers with information and tools to make smart decisions about homes, real estate and mortgages. We believe reviews of real estate professionals – real estate agents, lenders and others - can be a useful tool to help consumers make a more informed choice about the real estate pro they want to use.
Why would I want a client to review me on Zillow?
Reviews are a great tool for building your online presence and earning new business. Customers regularly compare professionals online, and your ratings and reviews can help you stand out. A history of positive reviews can also help you build trust with potential borrowers by demonstrating your work style and level of customer service.
Additionally, reviews are an important part of your long-term success on Zillow Group Mortgages advertising platforms. For example, Long Form takes into account your total number of reviews and average rating. And in Custom Quotes, customers are able to sort results by customer ratings.
How can clients review me?
On the Reviews page in your Lender Hub, you’ll find a direct link that will allow your clients to review you. Share this link with your clients in a personal email asking them to write a review. Clients can also write a review by clicking on “Write a Review” from your Zillow profile page.
What should I do about a returned review?
If one of your customers has had a review returned, there are no steps for you to take. Our moderators work directly with customers in the event their review violates our Review Guidelines and we communicate via email to let them know what needs to be updated in order to have their review published. Our moderators do not discuss pending reviews with lenders.
What if I don't want to be reviewed on Zillow? Can I delete my profile?
You may disable your lender profile once it's created, however there will be times when data collected will be negative in nature (for example a negative review), but it is in the best interest of the consumer to not suppress the data or allow any mortgage professional to hide from those reviews. If you disable your profile, when you go to make a new profile your original reviews will be placed on that new profile. It is important to note that we do allow mortgage professionals to flag or respond to reviews. Your profile is hidden if your license(s) become(s) inactive. Your lender profile should reappear on Zillow when you have an active license in at least one state.
How does the review and rating system work?
Reviewers will be asked to rate whether they would recommend you on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being "very likely" and 1 "very unlikely." Then they’ll be asked write a summary of their experience with you, and answer specific questions about their transaction.
Reviewers will need to sign into their Zillow account before submitting their review. Before publishing, our moderators will then make sure the review meets our Review Guidelines. If it doesn’t, they will ask the reviewer to make changes. Once approved, the review will appear on your Zillow profile page.
Can anyone write a review?
Only clients who have communicated or worked with you on a personal transaction can write a review for you. Reviewers must register and create a profile on Zillow (or sign in to an existing account), then indicate the service you provided.
Please do not solicit reviews from other professionals that you have worked with. We will only accept reviews from other professionals if they worked with you on a personal transaction.
Are reviews moderated before they are posted?
Absolutely. A dedicated team of specially trained moderators evaluate all reviews before they are published. Reviews must adhere to Zillow's Good Neighbor Policy and Review Guidelines, which means all contributed content must be respectful and appropriate. Content that we feel is inappropriate, off-topic, or not useful will not be published.
Once a consumer submits a review for you, it can take up to 7 business days to moderate a review. However, moderation time can be longer if our moderation team has questions or concerns for the reviewer or if the review does not meet our Review Guidelines and is rejected.
Will I be alerted when someone reviews me?
Yes, as soon as a review is published on Zillow, you will receive an email notification. You then have the option to respond to the review. We encourage lenders to respond to all reviews. You can also see a list of your pending and approved reviews in the Reviews page in your Lender Hub.
Will I know who has reviewed me?
When you receive an email notifying you of a review, you can see the display name of the person who has reviewed you. We will not provide you with a consumers email address or any other information that is protected under our privacy policy.
What if I don't like my review? Can I delete my reviews?
Reviews cannot be individually deleted; however, you do have the opportunity to respond to any review published. If you feel a review does not meet our review guidelines or any of our other applicable policies, the review can be flagged for re-moderation.
How long will it take for my reviews to be approved?
It can take up to a week for a review to be moderated and approved. However, moderation time can be longer if our moderation team has questions or concerns for the reviewer or if the review does not meet our Review Guidelines and is rejected.
Can I dispute my review?
You can respond publicly on the site to any review you receive.You might find this article helpful as you formulate your response http://www.zillow.com/lender-resources/how-to-respond-to-negative-reviews/. Additionally, you can flag reviews for Zillow moderators to review if you believe they do not meet our Review Guidelines. Reviews will only be removed if they violate our guidelines.
What happens after I flag a review?
After you flag a review it is re-moderated by our customer service team, who may then contact you and/or the reviewer for more information. Reviews will only be removed if they violate our Review Guidelines.