Opendoor

I'm an investor in the Atlanta area and decided to test the Opendoor process. I submitted a completely renovated 2660 sq. ft. ranch on a basement single-family home. Comps in the area for this type of home were going for $400K+. The advantage I had was this was a true ranch. All other comps were two-story or split level homes. I submitted all the information, pictures and updated records. The offer...$367K minus $30K in Opendoor fees for a total offer of $337K. I listed the home for over $100K more and made a profit of $70K, whereas if I foolishly accepted Opendoor's offer I would have been in the red.

Long story short, I do not see this replacing traditional real estate sales processes any time soon. Real estate agents, maybe, but not the process. This will only work for people who are still upside down in their mortgage, or need cash fast and will sell their home for below market.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I attempted to sell my home to Opendoor and it ended up being a huge waste of time. The inspector they send out to check my home was not a certified home inspector, and he worked directly for Opendoor, which was the first red flag. It then took them 7 days to tell me they are going back out of the deal because they smelt "mildew." It was easily explainable as a wet carpet tile I just finished cleaning and placed back in the house to show that day, unfortunately wasn't dry or clean enough. Opendoor would hear none of it and refused to work with me any further even though the perceived issue was non-existent after I replaced the carpet tile. I also have a moisture mitigation system for under the house and they assumed it was for some kind of Radon Gas prevention which is entirely off base.

Clearly Opendoor knows absolutely nothing and completely wasted my time by making me wait 7 days to end up backing out. I had to actually call them to track down an answer the 7th day to any info at all.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

It seems neat to go view a house whenever you want. However, if you want information about the house, forget about it. There is no easy or expedient way to contact someone who is not part of the giant 800 number representing Opendoor. The house we viewed had significant water damage and mold in the garage. It appeared it also affected the upstairs bedroom window. There was also water damage at the room line. Not a mention of it in the listing.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

We are in the process of selling our house and we had our personal realtor over to evaluate our home to prepare for listing. He showed us the comps and we agreed it was fair. Naturally, you think your home is worth more and I did as well, but I said ok to what our realtor said was a fair offer.

We began to also look at other houses to move to as we are downsizing now that 2 of our 4 kids are grown and moved out. We found the perfect house and fell in love with it, so the realtor for that property told us about Opendoor. We gave it a shot and submitted our request for an offer, they got back to us 2 days later with an offer that was 45,000 less then what our realtor said it was worth and they wanted to charge us 25,000 in fees. We were highly insulted by the offer and immediately passed.

I now understand the way this company operates. They offer to buy houses and the people who are extremely desperate for whatever reason will take the offer which guarantee is less than if they went traditionally. We were not desperate to sell despite loving the new house. We are sticking with our realtor.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Opendoor starts by saying they can offer a fair market price. Their offer to us was 83% of our home value based on recent sales per square foot in our immediate community. That was okay with us since they were allowed to make a profit reselling. Then they added their own 7% administrative fee.

Then they deducted for "updates" they way overcharged. For instance, we had replaced the air conditioner 12 years ago (30-year expected life) but they deducted for a whole new air conditioner without allowing for a trade in. The kitchen cabinets and counters had been replaced 10 years ago, but they deducted for a whole new kitchen without regard to a deduction they would receive even if they donated the existing cabinets to something like Habitat for Humanity. The deductions went on and on even though their own home inspector said our home was in incredible shape for its age of 30 years.

We went to closing and the closer told us to expect our proceeds to be deposited in our account by that afternoon. We only we got a call at the end of the day asking why we hadn't paid Opendoor $6,050 for "buying" our house?! Yes, their closing documents were THAT "devious" that even the professional closer thought we were being paid money than Opendoor CHARGING us money to "buy our house!"

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I received an offer below FMV, however, I had my eyes on another house and didn’t want to wait. I included all what I thought was issues, trying to be as transparent as possible. The assessment came back with no worries about the items I mentioned, however, with bogus items. "We think you have mold." What? I had a prior inspection report indicating no mold. "Your retainer wall may need repairs." No discussion of reductions - just denied. A complete waste of time.

Note: they were past the due diligence period, and now they have to give me earnest money. Well deserved after wasting my time.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Opendoor had us sign a late checkout addendum and held $1,000 in escrow. We were fine with that. The addendum we signed stated the money would be sent within 5 days. It has been 3 weeks and no money. No right to withhold it. Zero right. The home is the same as it was when they made the offer to purchase it. I would NOT recommend this company to anyone. Now we have to hire an attorney just to get our money back that was promised to us within 5 days. Do NOT use this company to sell or buy!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Warning, this company is very shady. The sales person tried to say I had to use them as a realtor and lender if I liked one of their homes. The home was listed for a maximum value, but the roof and A/C looked outdated. So I contacted a realtor to see if they will represent me to make sure I was getting value. My realtor tried to contact the listing agent for that house, but instead, she was channeled thru an automated system. After numerous attempts, she finally got hold of someone. When she asked for a document that should be available or given to me when I requested information, they told her to get them herself and hung up on her...and then called me and yelled at me for getting a realtor. Told me whatever offer they gave me was off the table.

My realtor emailed Texas Real Estate Association to inform them of her treatment, and how they treated me, and they helped her locate the actual listing agent...

We thought we fanned out the attitude with their agents, found out they are private investors so they don't have to follow the same laws the real estate agents have to follow, so the only interests they have is their own.

They claim they will negotiate repairs. WRONG. They buy distressed properties. Slap lipstick on a pig and sell it for top dollar. They don't want you to get a realtor because they look out for the buyer's interests. Not only do they not guarantee their work like it says on their website, but they won't give you a home warranty, and when you move in, you are stuck having to buy a new roof and air conditioner, that's about $23,000. I'm glad I had gone with my gut because these people are used car salesmen. You're better off finding a home where a seller will repair the home or give you a home warranty because people like this could care less about your home falling apart after you close. If you got approved for this place, you can get a home anywhere!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Opendoor presented an offer to my house with 8% fees for them. They won't negotiate and won't let you use your own title company. When inspectors came to the house, they found nothing wrong, nothing to fix. Then I received an email from the broker saying "Not Satisfied," and they also demand that I sign to agree in returning the earnest money. My house is like new. Only two years with plentiful upgrades. If they have decided not to pursue on, they should take the courtesy to call me and explain the reasons. The title company blocked my number immediately and won't take calls. I have never seen the earnest money in the first place. The OS Nation Title Company never called nor spoke to me, which Opendoor said they would. Suddenly Opendoor SHUTS their doors without replies. BEWARE of SCAMS!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Ok, so I'm going to give you all the details of my interaction. First off, I will say everyone I talked to was extremely professional and courteous. The home I'm selling is at 15514 e Jojoba Lane Fountain Hills, AZ 85268. If you Zillow it, it'll show a value of $503,229. Opendoor made me an offer of $455,000. That was extremely low I thought, but hey, after 6% realtor fee, it's not too far off the mark. I say ok, then read the fine print at the bottom, saying I'd walk away with $402,000. I asked why and they said, "oh, it's our 10.5% admin fee!" So not only do they make an almost insulting low offer on the house, they take almost double the average realtor fee out of it!

Then looking at online reviews, they send a team out to your property and zap you for everything they deem wrong. I read one review that said that his A/C units were 20 years old, and that they only last 25 on average, so they nicked him $2k for that! So I decided to go the realtor route, sold my house in 2 hours, and am walking away with $446,500. That's $46K MORE, AND it sold in TWO HOURS.

One of their pros on the website is not having to show your house to people - for $46k I'll show the house morning, noon and night! Not that you'd have to in this market. I honestly believe I'll have the money in the pocket going this route FASTER than Opendoor. The takeaway is this - unless you're in a HORRIBLE market, get a realtor.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Opendoor assessment took over 3 hours. They took pictures on every little corner and requested for repairs to be a brand new home, new roof, new HVAC, new windows. Their offer is fair market. Their commission is higher than traditional buyer's agent 3%. There will be a loss of $20K+ for us to sell to Opendoor comparing to a traditional sale.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend