According to a senior investigative reporter, Kevin Mooney, the First Street Foundation, a government-funded organization, is pushing “climate risk data” to online real estate platforms like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Homes.com to make the sale of certain properties “undesirable, undervalued, and uninsurable”
Stephanie Cross, a listing agent for United Country Real Estate/Tennessee Real Properties, was attempting to sell a beautiful $6.2 million 128-acre estate on behalf of an elderly couple who wanted to relocate to Georgia to be closer to their children, when they informed her that Zillow had linked “inaccurate and misleading” climate data to their property.
The climate data provided by First Street specifically stated there was a 9 out of 10 “flood risk” rating on the property and recommended potential buyers purchase flood insurance.
The Zillow listing immediately slowed any interest in the property and Zillow lowered the $6.2 million price down to $401,010. This immediately prompted a call to Cross from a man named David Windtrode inquiring about the property.
Cross researched Windtrode, who claimed he was an employee of Civilization Research Institute, which Cross says is an environmental activist group making the whole connection with Zillow suspect. Windtrode told Cross he wanted the property to be his headquarters for his company.
It appears as though First Street and online companies like Zillow are working together to diminish legitimate property values using “environmental” data.
Cross contacted Zillow via email to inform them that the estate was not in FEMA’s flood zone and they pulled the information from their site, but the damage had been done.
Cross is still trying to sell the property, but “she remains concerned about the machinations of climate activists who have burrowed into wildly read platforms that either motivate or discourage potential buyers.”
If you are listing your property for sale, check to see if there are any online real estate providers like Zillow who inappropriately attach “climate data” that results in the value of your property to plummet.
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