Quite different from traditional brokerages, Opendoor actually makes offers to purchase your home. It’s one of several new, well-funded companies all doing the same thing. The real estate industry refers to this type of service as an “iBuyer.” If you’re looking to save money by skipping REALTOR® commissions, this probably isn’t the solution for you. OpenDoor – along with other iBuyer services – do charge fees, and it’s typically around 6%. It seems Opendoor is only available in areas it deems investible, and its difficult to find unbiased reviews on OpenDoor.
The Pros:
Offer on your home within 24 hours
You don’t have to deal with showings
Streamlined process
The Cons:
Not available in all areas
Offer price is not necessarily the most your home will sell for, or market price
Fees are involved, sometimes higher than what an agent would charge
Now that we have a general idea of what OpenDoor does at a high-level, let’s review a few comparisons. These may not all be direct OpenDoor competitors, but these are other alternatives to help you sell you home quickly.
Transactly
Transactly is a technology company used by real estate agents, transaction coordinators, and homebuyers and sellers nationwide. Its technology delivers offers in real-time, and manages all the details from the time an offer is made, all the way to closing. Its mission is to simplify the process of buying and selling homes, and its technology is used by top-selling real estate agents across the US. If your goal is to sell your home quickly and for top dollar, you can find highly-rated agents using the platform, who will compete for your business. Many of the agents are selling homes in less than one week. You can use the platform if you’re looking for a buyer agent, too – most compete by offering a buyer agent commission rebate.
The Pros:
Reduced commissions, when agents compete
Available in all 50 states
True market, or above market, home sales
The Cons:
Some showings may be involved
It will take longer than 24 hours to receive an offer
Your home sale is not guaranteed
RedfinNow
Redfin, as a company, isn’t much different from most traditional real estate models. Like many of Redfin’s competitors, it is a real estate brokerage with local agents, and you pay the company a commission at closing. However, to compete with growing iBuyer trend, the company has rolled out a program to buy homes directly form home sellers, called RedfinNow. The company has historically differentiated itself through better online search tools and discount commissions for full service real estate. It is difficult to tell whether this RedfinNow program will truly compete by purchasing homes from sellers, or if it is a new way to get Redfin agents into the homes of sellers, in an effort to list the home traditionally if the offer they make isn’t accepted.
The Pros:
Offer on your home within 24 hours
You don’t have to deal with showings
Agents available to sell your home if you don’t like the offer
The Cons:
Not available in all areas
Offer price is not always the most your home will sell for, or market price
A lot of fine print
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OfferPad is another iBuyer program recently launched to make offers as an attempt to buy homes directly from home sellers. It doesn’t appear to be much different than OpenDoor except that it is competing in several of the markets OpenDoor competitors are not. OfferPad was started by a former real estate agent, and claims its service is better because of the founder’s background in the industry. Only time will tell. And much like OpenDoor, it is difficult to find third-party reviews on the iBuyer service.
The Pros:
Streamlined process
Fast offers on your home
Founder has a real estate background
The Cons:
Not available in all markets
Fees are involved
Price is not tested in the open market
What Type of Services Makes the Most Sense for You?
There are a lot of options you can now use to sell your house fast, and for less hassle. The downside to most of these programs is that you could be leaving thousands of dollars at the closing table by not putting your open on the open market.
We’re obviously a little biased, but there are reasons to check out Transactly above all these iBuyer services. Transactly is an unbiased platform that provides you with the resources and tools you need to sell – and buy – a home. If you’re looking for an agent, have top real estate agents compete for your business on the platform. Then, track the entire process, from offer to close, using its technology. Or, if you’re the DIY type, you can use the same tools top real estate agents do save thousands in commissions.