Don’t rely too much on that home-value site

Who doesn’t log onto Zillow.com or Cyberhomes.com occasionally? These sites, which try to tell you how much a particular home is worth, are great time-wasters.

And for those preparing to sell their homes, the sites can provide a rough estimate of what price tag they should should attach to their properties.

Just be careful, though. A new report from the Associated Press says that sites such as Zillow.com often come up with value estimates that are way off.

The sites rely on computer-generated automated models to estimate the value of homes. Problem is, these models don’t account for the condition of homes and any improvements their owners might have made.

So the message here is to be careful. Just because Zillow is telling you your home is worth $350,000, that doesn’t mean it’s actually worth $310,000.