Selling house to Opendoor or any I-buyer

[retire202052]

We are considering selling our house while the market is still good. We did the online survey with Opendoor and the offer was not bad. We are considering doing the next steps.

Has anyone sold their home with Opendoor or any other I buyer?

 

[Sunset]

Since the market has changed so much in the past year. How do you know Opendoor gave a good offer ?


Have you had a few real estate agents give you some selling estimate ?

 

[Another Reader]

Read the offer carefully. There are lots of adjustments/deductions. You will lose a LOT of money if you sell to them.

Get three knowledgeable agents that sell in your neighborhood to tour your property and prepare CMA's - competitive market analyses. Also "net sheets." These are estimates of your net proceeds after commission, etc. They should also provide a list of inexpensive fixes that will maximize your selling price.

 

[38Chevy454]

Read the offer carefully. There are lots of adjustments/deductions. You will lose a LOT of money if you sell to them.

Get three knowledgeable agents that sell in your neighborhood to tour your property and prepare CMA's - competitive market analyses. Also "net sheets." These are estimates of your net proceeds after commission, etc. They should also provide a list of inexpensive fixes that will maximize your selling price.

This above. Talk to local real estate agents that know the current market in your local area. Do you see a theme here with the word local? Not with an internet based out of area low-baller? The only advantage of the low-baller is a quick closing and not having to show your house; both of which come at a reduction in your net proceeds.

 

[karen1972]

Open door has a bad rap for offering one price but then thru fees/etc it dropping to significantly less.

Zillow was great for our neighborhood while it lasted, they way overpaid (as proven by the fact they actually ended up selling for less than they paid). Whoever was doing their comps was way off.

The services certainly have their place as you get to pick your move date and you don't have the hassle of showings which to some people is more important than price. However, with the current market and the bidding wars, many areas you will be better off with an agent (who can deal with navigating the multiple offers, etc). It can be a lot easier if you find a really good one as they will have a list of dependable companies to do anything you need done. Either way it never hurts to get a second opinion by calling up a realtor or two or a different service.

 

[Teacher Terry]

What you agreed to will be very different from the actual paperwork. Had this experience a number of years ago and then put my house on the market.

 

[gabrewer]

We actually had a pretty good experience. Opendoor was the buyer, but we dealt with a realtor, not directly with Opendoor. Our intent was to put our 30+ year old home on the market, as is, and just see what happens. At the first meeting with the realtor, he came with a proposal in hand from Opendoor. What we netted -- after fees, etc. -- exceeded what I felt was the market value of our home at the time. This was in December, 2021 -- NE suburban Atlanta. The numbers we were quoted is what we got. I don't know if dealing with a Realtor -- having certain codes of ethics, etc. -- made a difference, but I have to say we were overall pleased.


That house has been on the market for awhile now at a price only a chump would pay, in my opinion. I saw this week there was a contract on it; it will be interesting to look at the county tax records to see what it actually sells for.

 

[Aerides]

In today's market I would look at my neighborhood zillow listings, price 5-10% above the sales completed in the past 60 days, and expect an offer 5% or more above that.

Third party insta-buy services are good in a down-market, not today.

 

[Bamaman]

Those house buying companies are purchasing homes at wholesale prices.

You want to sell at a retail price.

I hope you're in a really hot housing market. You might want to talk to a real estate professional.

 

[retire202052]

Those house buying companies are purchasing homes at wholesale prices.

You want to sell at a retail price.

I hope you're in a really hot housing market. You might want to talk to a real estate professional.

Yes...BTW I should have mentioned I live in San Antonio, TX....one of the hottest markets.....I might do the next steps just to see what the final offer is.

 

[RobbieB]

It isn't going to be hard to get a realtor in there at all. That's what they do.

 

[ScoopKona]

I just sold a rental property to Opendoor -- a couple months ago. The experience a qualified "yes."

1) They offered $40K more than the house comped out at. (I had a Real Estate license for 10 years. And I know my neighborhood market inside and out. I own a dozen properties all within a mile of each other.)

2) They deducted $7K for "repairs." I jumped on that just as fast as I could. It included a clause "no further action after closing -- as is." $7K is a BARGAIN compared to fixing 10 years of tenant wear-and-tear.

3) The house closed in a matter of days.

4) The only problem is that after closing, they wanted the house COMPLETELY DEVOID OF ALL DEBRIS. They wouldn't tell escrow "we're good" until we hired a "clean up after your tenants" company to haul 10 years of rental flotsom away.


Executive summary: $40K better offer; $10K less fees compared to traditional sale; no buyers bothering me or tenants; no financing woes; fast cash transaction. $400K rental house in the Las Vegas market (flaming hot right now).

My primary residence in Las Vegas is another story. It's got a million-dollar view of the Strip and is 5,000 sqft, with high-end everything. I'll be doing that one more traditionally. But for my rental properties? I'll sell all of them with Opendoor if it's going to be that easy.

 

[catii]

Housing out here, on Oahu, is crazy hot! I get monthly reports on our rental property from Zillow & Redfin, with very similar numbers, which are going up $50,000 each month! I get at least one letter, post card, or mailer each day from realtors who want to sell it. Check around before you commit.

 

[teej1985]

Read the offer carefully. There are lots of adjustments/deductions. You will lose a LOT of money if you sell to them.

Get three knowledgeable agents that sell in your neighborhood to tour your property and prepare CMA's - competitive market analyses. Also "net sheets." These are estimates of your net proceeds after commission, etc. They should also provide a list of inexpensive fixes that will maximize your selling price.

What kinds of adjustments deductions? I Would have thought selling to one of those i buyers avoids having to eat commissions.

 

[retire202052]

Just an update....we went through the process with Opendoor. They offered us a fair price on our home......and because we just started building a new home, we were able to push back our closing date up to 9 months, so we don't have to move twice. We went ahead and signed.

 

[ScoopKona]

Just an update....we went through the process with Opendoor. They offered us a fair price on our home......and because we just started building a new home, we were able to push back our closing date up to 9 months, so we don't have to move twice. We went ahead and signed.

Congratulations.



The "shoot every room process" you went through with the Opendoor video walk through happens again at closing. They have some hoops to jump through before they'll clear escrow to release funds.

(Odd that they don't care about damage. But heaven help you if there's a dustpan visible in the middle of the master bedroom. Since we sold them a rental, we ended up hiring a "clean up after your tenants" service for a minor amount of money.)

 

[Texas Proud]

From what is in the news there are a number of companies that are paying a bit above market rate for starter homes and just above... they do not care that much about the interior as they are going to redo the house in their method... they then rent it out at 120 to 140% over what it had been before...


Lots of younger adults are being priced out of a home... they have no chance of winning the bid as they are all cash and will close in days.. and they do not require an inspection...

 

[ScoopKona]

From what is in the news there are a number of companies that are paying a bit above market rate for starter homes and just above... they do not care that much about the interior as they are going to redo the house in their method... they then rent it out at 120 to 140% over what it had been before...


Lots of younger adults are being priced out of a home... they have no chance of winning the bid as they are all cash and will close in days.. and they do not require an inspection...

You have just described my experience using such a company.

They offered more. Their fees were less. They closed in days. We ended up with considerably more money in our pocket as a result.

 

[jazz4cash]

Just an update....we went through the process with Opendoor. They offered us a fair price on our home......and because we just started building a new home, we were able to push back our closing date up to 9 months, so we don't have to move twice. We went ahead and signed.

Do I understand this correctly? They have agreed to a price for a closingvthat is 9 montjs away?

 

[retire202052]

Do I understand this correctly? They have agreed to a price for a closingvthat is 9 montjs away?

Yes...you can close from like 10 days to 90 days out or if you are building a house, 9 months out. We just happen to be building a house and had planned to move in 90 days and just rent until our house is completed, until we were told about this offer. After doing some research, Opendoor has had this home builder 9 month deal since 2018.

So far this experience has been really easy and user friendly. If I was a real estate agent, I'd be worried. This may be the way of the future for buying and selling a house.

 

[ScoopKona]

If I was a real estate agent, I'd be worried.

I've been predicting for years that eventually something will break the Realtor stranglehold.

I don't know if Opendoor will end up wrecking the industry (much like Craigslist wrecked newspapers). But at least people are open to options which aren't "give six percent of your home value away for no good reason."

 

[retire202052]

I've been predicting for years that eventually something will break the Realtor stranglehold.

I don't know if Opendoor will end up wrecking the industry (much like Craigslist wrecked newspapers). But at least people are open to options which aren't "give six percent of your home value away for no good reason."

Same with Car salesmen......the online car buying and selling experience has already started.

 

[Another Reader]

In the years since Open Door moved into the Phoenix market, I have seen a number of Open Door offers, as have some agents I know. Not one has been anywhere near fair market value, once all the BS fees are removed. I do know an agent that represents some smaller funds and corporate buyers. Their offers have been at or close to market, and she skims 4 percent as her commission. You pay that, even though she is really representing the buyer.

Right now, everything is going well over the most recent sales comps, so it would be foolish not to participate in the open market auction process. How much longer will the desperation buyer tactics last? Hard to say, with climbing interest rates.

 

[Philliefan33]

In the years since Open Door moved into the Phoenix market, I have seen a number of Open Door offers, as have some agents I know. Not one has been anywhere near fair market value, once all the BS fees are removed. I do know an agent that represents some smaller funds and corporate buyers. Their offers have been at or close to market, and she skims 4 percent as her commission. You pay that, even though she is really representing the buyer.

Right now, everything is going well over the most recent sales comps, so it would be foolish not to participate in the open market auction process. How much longer will the desperation buyer tactics last? Hard to say, with climbing interest rates.

Hopefully the seller’s market lasts at least another month in our location. DH and I are busy getting our home ready to go on the market in three weeks. Our new home won’t be ready until January, but we want to sell now in hopes of getting a high price.

 

[Dreamer]

My DD and her family are moving back home. They will be 8 minutes walking time from our house. So happy. Anyway, they have an open house at their home on Saturday from 2-4pm. She told me yesterday, that there was 16 showings for their house in addition to the open house. They live in Matthews NC which is a suburb of Charlotte.

They are closing on their new house in WV in early April.