By Scott Gaertner
Are you getting calls and letters offering to buy your home for cash and wondering if they are for real? Have you seen ads for iBuyers, such as Zillow, Opendoor, or Offerpad, and wonder what they are about?
The newest revolution in the Real Estate industry is iBuyers or instant buyers. They come in all sizes from one investor sitting in his den making calls, to Zillow, Offerpad, or Opendoor, to huge Wall Street REITS (Real Estate Investment Trusts) with $10 billion in assets. They are all different, but the big pitch is essentially built around trading some of your equity for what I call the 3 Cs:
• Certainty – You know the sale will close escrow on time
• Convenience – No buyer showings, and few to no repair requests
• Control – You choose what to do or not do, and select a closing date that fits your schedule
Are iBuyers for Real?
Yes and no… It is a mixed bag, but some of the iBuyers out there are absolutely for real. They will make an all-cash offer on your home, with few to no repairs and close when you are ready.
So What’s the Catch?
The catch is that the iBuyer model is not free. Your home will typically sell below market and the convenience will cost you somewhere between 7.5% – 14% in convenience fees.
Is it Worth It?
That depends on your situation. For example, if you found a heavily discounted spec home, or just have somewhere else you might want to put that money, it could make a lot of sense to sell your home this way. I will tell you that these guys are buying hundreds of homes every month and have been for quite a while. A lot of people felt it was worth it for them to go this route.
How Do You Decide if it Makes Sense for You?
Our group has decided to embrace this trend as an opportunity to help our clients move to their next lifestyle. We have systemized the process of presenting your home to these buyers for you, so you keep your anonymity. We package all the information they need, including your home’s best-selling features and the photos they need in the format they need them. We then aggregate all the offers – including what we can get you in a more traditional sale – and present them to you in a simple, side-by-side net sheet (shown below). Then we can help you decide which sales strategy is the best route for you and be there to represent you through the sales process.
This approach allows you to see the bottom line of real offers for your home and compare them to a more traditional way of selling in a side-by-sidecomparison before you put it on the market.
Compare. Decide. Move.
If you want to see how these programs can work for you, or get a no-obligation evaluation, give us a call at 480-634-5000 or go to our website: ShowMeMyOffers.com. You might be surprised. Or maybe not. Either way, we are here to help.
Scott Gaertner is an Associate Broker with Keller Williams Northeast Realty, who for the past 25+ years has helped more people to find their lifestyle niche in the Scottsdale North area than anyone else.
