Zero days on the market, no showings, no open houses and an instant cash offer….. and heck you don’t have to prepare your house or interview agents. Sign me up!!
This is the promise of iBuyers making an offer on your home.
What a great selling proposition. Ease speed, certainty and convenience!!
What Is An iBuyer?
An iBuyer is a fairly new business model that has popped up over the past 10 years. Their goal is to simplify the home selling process.
They will make an instant cash offer on your home, sight unseen, and schedule a condition walkthrough. And if both parties agree you can close in a matter of several days to a few weeks.
Two very prevalent players in the iBuying space are Opendoor and Offerpad.
Opendoor just started doing business in the greater Boston area in 2022. Offerpad is not doing business in Boston currently. But you may run into some other national and regional iBuyers willing to make an offer on your home.
How Does iBuying Work?
If you want to explore an Opendoor offer or any other iBuying company, just visit their website.
You will enter your address and a few questions about you and your home. Upon submitting your information, you should get an all-cash, instant offer within 24-48 hours.
If you accept, sign a purchase contract and schedule a virtual walkthrough so they can assess any needed repairs.
Within 5-7 days of the assessment, they will agree to move forward as is or make a new offer based on needed repairs. You can accept the new offer or move on.
Once you accept the offer you can close in a matter of days if need be.
Sounds Great, Doesn’t It?
It certainly does sound great, but it certainly comes at a cost. You are going to pay to have the convenience of selling your homes so quickly and easily.
iBuyers typically charge a service fee of 5-7% and you will be responsible for closing costs. But beyond that, realize they are not going to offer you full market value for your home.
Opendoor in Boston completed one full transaction on a condo in Bridgewater. *They bought the condo for $240,300 in August and resold it in December for $294,000. The seller would have paid a $12,150 selling fee. They also left $53,700 on the table for Opendoor, leaving 18% of the home’s value on the table.
*information is directly from the Massachusets Multiple Listing Service
Who Might Consider Selling Their House To An iBuyer?
Many sellers want to maximize every dollar out of the sale of their home.
But that may not be the case for everyone who decides to sell a home.
Opendoor provides an all-cash offer with the promise to close quickly and easily. And for some home sellers, this may be exactly what they need.
What type of seller might consider an offer from an iBuyer?
Emotionally distressed buyers may not be in the emotional state to immerse themselves in a traditional home sale with a local REALTOR. Owners of estate property or people going through a divorce might fall into this category.
Financially distressed buyers may need to cash out quickly for a variety of reasons. A quick sale could potentially stave off foreclosure after months of not paying their mortgage. Allowing them to move on without the burden of a mortgage.
A relocation buyer who needs to be at a new job and doesn’t have the time to prepare and sell their home might find a quick all-cash sale a convenient solution.
A buyer who has a new home under agreement and needs the cash to close on their new home could consider an offer from an iBuyer. With inventory so low and have found the perfect home they may not want to lose the opportunity.
Owners of a physically distressed home might find a iBuyer offer attractive. Some homes require too much work an offer with a mortgage contingency wouldn’t work. And, the seller may not have the funds or the energy to get their home into the needed condition.
A seller who doesn’t want to spend time on selling their home could be a perfect iBuyer candidate. The thought of spending time preparing their home, interviewing agents, make their house available for showings and open houese could avoid the hassle with an iBuyer.
There are just circumstances in life where a homeowner doesn’t, have the time, energy or emotional fortitude to sell their home in a traditional manner with a local listing agent. With an iBuyer you will know how much you will get for your house and be able to close in a matter of weeks.
It is for a seller who needs, speed, certainty and convenience.
The ease, speed and certainty are exactly what you need at that time.
Final Thoughts
If you decide selling your house to an iBuyer might be right for you, do yourself one favor.
Meet with a local REALTOR to get an understanding of what the full market value of your home is with an agent-assisted sale. This will allow you to know how much the convenience of an iBuyer sale is costing you and if it is the right decision for you.
For the right home seller selling to an iBuyer could be a great solution.
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