There is a new real estate venture coming to the Orlando region called Opendoor. Much like Zillow's Instant Offer and OfferPad, this service facilitates the ease of moving and choosing a home, both for realtors and buyers. This real estate service is a bit like the others out there: the potential seller enters the home information on the site, and within 24 hours, the seller will get a cash offer on the property. The benefits of using Opendoor are: 1) the seller does not have to list their home and get it ready to sell, 2) there will not be potential buyers coming through the home, and 3) the seller can choose a closing date between 14 and 60 days.
When the offer is provided, Opendoor will come back with the cash offer and a list of their fees. In David's test of Opendoor, the offer that was given did come in a market value, unlike the offer David was given by Offerpad. Since Opendoor does not claim to save the seller money, the list of fees will show right away, making the transaction as transparent as possible. One of the fees listed on the offer is the customer experience and risk-free fee. This is a fee that can range from 6%-8% of the buyer's purchase price. Another fee they give is 2% seller concession, which they say is about average in a typical Orlando real estate transaction. To compare, the traditional commission the seller pays to the real estate agents is 6%, and any real estate agent knowledgeable on the Orlando market can negotiate the seller concession.
Opendoor states that by using their service, there will not be a mortgage overlap when selling and then buying a property. This means that if the seller cannot sell their home and they buy another, they will have two mortgages. Often times, people get nervous about the chance they will either have to pay two mortgages or they could be homeless if their home sells quickly and they cannot find another one. By working with an experienced real estate agent the seller can avoid these situations. For example, The Miller Realty Group has helped over 40 Orlando clients in the past two years that are buying and selling homes at the same time, and mortgage overlap has not happened in a single case.
Additionally, Opendoor only provides one offer. An experienced real estate agent can provide the proper exposure for the property and create urgency to increase the chances of receiving multiple offers on the Orlando property. The seller then has the leverage to choose the offer that will be the best option for them. Moreover, while Opendoor has the option of inspections, which are critical tools for selling or buying a house in the real estate market, any experienced real estate agent could provide these too, saving their clients thousands of dollars.
While Opendoor, Offerpad, and Zillow's Instant offer all sound hassle-free in the commercials, they do have their downsides. For an Orlando seller looking for a convenient way to sell their property, this may be the way to go. However, by going the "quick and easy" route and not choosing to use an experienced real estate agent, the seller will most likely not net the money they could have if they had used an Orlando real estate agent to sell their home.
