Shownotes
In this episode
Opendoor, Offerpad, and "We Buy Houses" companies promise speed, no showings, and a closing date you choose. But convenience has a price, and that price comes out of your equity. Nicole walks through two real Opendoor offers, line by line, and compares them to what sellers actually walk away with on the open market.
Key takeaways
- Opendoor's service fee used to be about 5%. Now it varies, and it isn't published. In these two offers it was 10% and about 22.6%.
- Repair fees are often a minimum and can grow after the iBuyer's inspection.
- The only number that matters is your net proceeds: what you actually walk away with.
- Some "We Buy Houses" companies are wholesalers who resell your contract, so there can be two middlemen.
- In St. Pete, 600 homes sold at or above list price in the last six months, with a median of 4 days on market (Stellar MLS).
- A pre-listing inspection lets you fix problems or get real quotes before buyers set the price.
- You can get convenience without giving up your equity: use the cash offer as a floor, a bridge loan or HELOC, fix-now-pay-at-closing, or a leaseback.
By the numbers
- Story 1: Opendoor take-home $264,900 vs. open market $295,195. That's $30,295 more, under contract in 2 days.
- Story 2: $82,032 in Opendoor fees on a $286,807 offer (28.6%). Even a $225,000 open-market offer would have netted nearly $1,000 more.
Memorable lines
- "Convenience has a cost, and that cost is your equity."
- "A service fee is still a fee. Read every line."
- "A buyer could offer you $62,000 less than Opendoor, and you'd still come out ahead."
- "You're negotiating with facts, not fear."
- "The headline isn't your home's story. Your home gets to write its own."
A note on commissions
The commissions in these examples are just examples. Commissions are not set by law and are always negotiable. Nicole offers discounts to clients who are buying and selling at the same time, or who have more than one transaction in the same calendar year.
- Blog post: Opendoor vs. Realtor: What a Cash Offer Really Costs St. Pete Sellers [paste blog link]
- Episode with Jill Quinn, Florida All Risk Insurance, on hurricane insurance: https://selling-st-pete-with-nicole-saunches.captivate.fm/episode/e081-hurricane-deductibles-storm-damage-flood-insurance-what-florida-condo-owners-get-wrong/
- Episode with Doug Wagner on bridge loans and seller buydowns: https://selling-st-pete-with-nicole-saunches.captivate.fm/episode/e072-navigating-the-real-estate-landscape-a-guide-for-uncertain-times/
- Episode 73 with Nora Simpson of AssumeList on assumable mortgages https://selling-st-pete-with-nicole-saunches.captivate.fm/episode/assumable-mortgage-explained/
- Opendoor's own explanation of its service fee: opendoor.com/articles/does-opendoor-lowball-you
Coming soon
Part 2 of The Cost of Convenience: creative ways to sell your house and keep more equity. Plus, an upcoming episode on how appraisals are changing, with appraisal expert John Barcelo.
Get a second opinion before you sign
Book your free real estate review: we'll look at your home's as-is market value, what you can do to increase it, and how your options compare side by side.
This episode is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Market data from Stellar MLS, deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
