Sending Listing Agents Q's through Zillow

[Max James]

As I'm searching for another 2-4 MF in Cincinnati, I typically utilize all the free sources which I'm assuming most people do.  Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, etc.  I also work with an agent, but I am not currently actively working with him since I'm not in a huge rush to buy the next place.

However, when I see a place pop up on Zillow, I want to send a direct message to the listing agent and ask them various questions about the place... How many units are there?  What is rent?  Why did the sale go pending and then not close?  Is the seller willing to go as low as $XXX,XXX.XX ?

Do you guys think this is bad practice and would cause bad blood with my current realtor?  I want to ask a ton of questions to realtors, but don't want to ruin my relationship with my current realtor.

[Russell Brazil]

When you send an email through Zillow it is not going to the listing agent. That email is sold off as a lead to a brokerage who forwards the emails to one of their own agents, who will have no information about the property other than what is in the MLS.