Most common misconceptions about Opendoor | Opendoor (2024)

Table of contents

• Opendoor is too good to be true, what’s the catch?
• Opendoor is a home flipper or wholesaler.
• Opendoor is conspiring against realtors.
• Opendoor is just an algorithm.
• Opendoor is more expensive than a traditional sale.
• Opendoor inflates repair costs.
• Final thoughts

We’re often credited with creating a new category within real estate. We’ve built a new way to buy, sell, or trade in a home that dramatically simplifies the process and adds a sense of certainty to the biggest financial transaction most people make in their lives. We’ve expanded to 16 markets, and there’s more on the horizon.

Creating something new is exciting, but at the same time, we understand why people may feel skeptical, threatened, or just don’t know what to think, especially in an industry that’s operated the same way for decades.

The internet is a crazy place so we wanted to address some of the biggest misconceptions we’ve seen about who we are, what we do, and how we operate.

Misconception 1: Opendoor is too good to be true, what’s the catch?

We hear this from people who are unfamiliar with our business model, and it’s a totally natural concern: “How can you give me a competitive offer on my home and still make enough money to operate? There must be a catch.”

Our vision is a seamless home-selling and home-buying experience, where you have control of the timeline. We’ve simplified a lot of the processes from receiving an offer to the inspection and repairs to closing and moving in.

When you sell to us, we charge a service fee often similar to the amount of agent commissions in a traditional sale. Our fee may vary, including based on how long we predict it will take to sell your home. We take on the risk and holding costs of owning the home so our customers have the certainty of an all-cash offer and the flexibility to move when they’re ready.

We’ve helped over 25,000 people sell their home or find their next home. Don’t want to hear it from us? Here’s John Hutchens of Dallas, TX:

“When we decided to try [Opendoor], it was with low expectations. They would never make a fair market value offer. Wrong. Their offer was completely fair. They would charge us a gazillion dollars on repairs. Wrong. They didn’t nickel and dime us, and they made it easy to know exactly what to fix. They would charge us too much to buy it. Wrong…

I kept waiting for the “gotcha” moment where the deal fell apart due to some unforeseen thing where they finally came clean about a hidden fee or charge. It never came. I’m very impressed by the experience. This was great.”

Stories like this mother in Phoenix who used our trade-in service to put her entire immediate family under one roof during challenging circ*mstances are what keep us reimagining what’s possible in real estate. Or this story about a young family with a 4-year-old, two cats, one dog, and a baby on the way. They were able to quickly move out of their “bachelor pad” townhome in time to make an offer on their first family home. Their realtor backed their decision.

“We didn’t want to keep our house in order and endure showings with two small kids. It was physically impossible… Our last house was his house. Opendoor gave us our forever home.” –Cassie and Brandon Hamilton Phoenix, AZ

Every person’s situation is unique, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. We want to give people more options and provide more flexibility, certainty, and less stress when having to make what can be an extremely complex, emotional decision.

Learn more about howbuying,selling, ortrading in works and howselling to Opendoor differs from a traditional real estate sale.

Misconception 2: Opendoor is a home flipper or wholesaler, making ‘low-ball’ offers and profiting from distressed homes.

This is one of the most common misconceptions about our business. Home flippers target distressed or undervalued properties typically sold in desperate circ*mstances. They then rehab them, aiming to maximize the return on investment—their goal is to buy low and sell high. Companies that do this range from smaller mom and pop investors to companies with taglines like “Cash for Homes” and “Fast Home Offer” that advertise that they will buy homes “in any condition and all price ranges.”

We do not purchase older, distressed properties. In fact, we are very specific about the types of homes we purchase because we are confident that our valuation model works well for homes that fit certain criteria. We focus on homes that are in good condition, and we offer a competitive price. You can read more aboutthe types of homes we buy andthe markets we’re in.

Many real estate investors want to profit from fixing and flipping homes. We want to profit from making a competitive offer and providing a valuable service to our customers.

Unlike a buy-low, sell-high investment strategy that relies on price appreciation, our business model is fee-based. We charge a service fee similar to the realtor commissions in a traditional sale. The service we provide is the certainty of a competitive offer and the ability to move on your own timeline; we’re also dramatically simplifying the process for a better customer experience overall.

The main distinction here is that where many real estate investors want to profit from fixing and flipping homes for maximum price appreciation, we want to profit from making a competitive offer and providing a valuable service. We empower people to move easily, on their terms.

Learn more aboutour pricing and how we calculate the value of your home.Or if you’re curious,check out our home value estimator.

Misconception 3: Opendoor is conspiring against realtors.

Even though we’ve been operating since 2014, we’re still the new kid in town, and we’re still expanding to new markets; most recently Sacramento, Portland, and Denver. The internet is full of different reactions to our services from more level-headed reviews like this real estate agent in Phoenix to emotionally charged rants, some entertaining and others unfair.

Another common misconception we see is this idea that we exist to upend the traditional home sale process, and by extension, replace all real estate agents. Not only do we work with both buyer and seller agents, but we refer prospective buyers to local agents at their request. Our goal is to give people more options, not reduce them.

Jill Scott, a Phoenix-based real estate agent who’s been in the business for over 13 years, had some nice things to say about working with us:

“This was my first sale with Opendoor and [they] exceeded my expectations more then words can describe… I try to show through my actions and not just words that I’ll do whatever it takes, and to have the listing broker make the same effort is shocking! They worked with my buyers and my team like we were all part of their family.” –Jill Scott Realtor Phoenix, Arizona

We are laser focused on our customers and the pain points they’ve experienced throughout the traditional process. Real estate transactions can be incredibly stressful—months of showings, repairs and other unanticipated costs, tedious negotiations, offers that fall through, and the uncertainty of when and where you’ll be next.

Not to mention, the process itself isn’t always transparent. As an exercise, ask your friends to explain how title and escrow services work or how their list price was calculated. Yeah, real estate is hard.

We provide home buyers and sellers an alternative way to move that emphasizes convenience, certainty, and simplicity. For example, you can trade-in your home just as you would a car and move seamlessly into any new place you choose. You can request a free, no-obligation offer on your home right now, and move when you’re ready, whether that’s a week or months.

Ask your friends to explain how title and escrow services work or how their list price was calculated. Yeah, real estate is hard.

Or you can visit any Opendoor home between 6am-9pm, no appointment needed, and make an offer through our mobile app. You can also do all of these things through Opendoor while working with an agent.

We pay the commission to agents representing a buyer, and we buy from represented sellers all the time. When a direct seller is referred to us by a licensed realtor, we pay a 1% referral, enabling agents to maximize seller proceeds. Many agents choose to work with us regularly because our service is a good fit for their clients’ specific needs. And when homeowners have really great experiences, they refer their friends and loved ones to their real estate agent.

Are you an agent?Get in touch with us.

Misconception 4: Opendoor is just an algorithm. I’d rather work with someone local.

We are a company of over 1,000 people, and about one-third of our staff are dedicated exclusively to home operations. That means 300 people are directly helping our customers buy, sell, and trade-in homes every day, and we’re hiring.

We currently have local offices on the ground in every market we’re in. Every person who accepts an offer from us is assigned a dedicated Home Advisor and a Closing Manager. If you’re a buyer, you can choose to work with one of our Home Advisors or we’ll refer you to a local real estate agent at your request. We also work with local vendors for things like repairs, inspections, and other services. And we have a customer experience team of over 200 people. That’s a lot of people doing one thing: supporting our customers.

The core focus of Opendoor: serving our customers.

When it comes to actually calculating home values, another common misconception is that we rely exclusively on an algorithm. Yes, we have a robust algorithm that’s able to process hundreds of comparable homes and thousands of data points to value each individual feature of your home. But this is only one piece of the puzzle. We also make it easy for homeowners to upload information about their home like recent renovations, upgrades, and any other useful details. Then our local pricing associates—actual human experts—act as a final check on the process.

Each round of valuations acts as a check on the others so we can remove as much subjectivity from the process as possible. We do this because we know most people use the proceeds from their sale to buy their next house–accuracy matters.

While the technology that powers our services is robust, we’re creating a simpler, more convenient experience with the help of a lot of people. If you’re curious about the value of your home, check out our home estimator tool orrequest a free, no-obligation offer from us. This in-depth guide also breaks down how we calculate home values.

Misconception 5: Opendoor charges hidden fees and is more expensive than a traditional sale.

When you sell your home to Opendoor, you pay a service charge. When comparing our service charge to the costs you’d pay in a traditional sale, it’s natural to anchor on the5 to 6% people typically pay in realtor commissions.

The truth is that selling your home on the market actually costs more than this—it can add up to about 10% of the sale price. There are additional costs that come into play later like seller concessions, staging costs, closing costs, and housing overlap costs. It’s also important to keep in mind that 37% of homes listed on the market for 3-4 weeksdrop their asking price. Also, what is the value of your time and sanity? We break down all of these costs in our in-depth guide onhow much it costs to sell your home.

The truth is that selling your home on the market actually costs more than the realtor commission. What is the value of your time and sanity?

The point is it’s hard to estimate the total cost of selling until you close, which is why we simplify the process. Our average service fee typically falls between 5-8% but it can be lower or higher based on the home and where you live (it’s never higher than 14%). This service charge helps us pay for costs normally found in a listing realtor’s commission, like marketing costs and the roughly 3% that we pay to the buyer’s agent (the vast majority of our buyers have agents).

But, unlike your realtor, we have to cover holding costs associated with owning your home. To do this, we forecast the amount of time it will take to sell your home using market trend data. We assume all the risk of the home’s holding costs so you can have the certainty of a competitive offer and move on your own timeline.

When youget an offer from Opendoor, you know upfront what our service charge will be as well as estimated repairs and closing costs. After you accept the offer, we then conduct a free home assessment and provide you the exact details of what it will cost to make any repairs. You’ll know how much you’ll have to spend on your next house, and you get to set the closing date. There’s also no obligation–you can cancel your contract at any time before closing at no cost.

Learn more aboutour pricing andhow selling to Opendoor works.

Misconception 6: Opendoor inflates repair costs and charges credits for things they don’t repair

Just thinking about repairs is stressful. The questions are endless: should you replace your aging roof, or sell your home “as is” for a lower price? Do you need to invest in fresh paint and new carpet to get an offer? Will you really make a return remodeling the bathroom, or just end up losing both time and money?

Because repairs are one of the most frustrating aspects of selling a home, it’s one of the areas we’ve worked hardest to simplify. When we make an offer on your home, it includes a free, no-obligationhome condition assessment. We send a local estimator to your home to assess items that are broken, in poor condition or can affect the safety, structure, or functionality of the home. Our philosophy is to ask for repairs we anticipate the next reasonable buyer will request. Learn more about themost common repair items our estimators find. These are typically issues related to the foundation, flooring, roofing, plumbing, and HVAC systems.

Following the home condition assessment, you can skip the work and have us handle any repairs. We’ll ask for a credit, and we can pass along any wholesale savings from our partnerships with contractors. Alternatively, you can do the repairs yourself and submit documentation when they are complete.

What we don’t ask for are repairs that are considered upgrades. For example, we’d ask for a repair to replace a cracked kitchen countertop. We would not ask for a repair to replace a Formica kitchen countertop with granite because that’s considered an upgrade. Because our business is fee-based, we don’t aim to profit from repairs, we only ask for credits to cover the exact cost of making the repairs.

If you disagree with our price for repairs, you can choose to do many of them yourself, and you are welcome to hire your own inspector for a second opinion. It’s important to note that just like in a traditional sale, repair credits are a justification for costs that reduce the value of the home. They aren’t a legal obligation to make every repair. All the homes we sell must meet our minimum home standards (i.e., clean, safe, and functional), and beyond that, we use our discretion just like any other buyer would. In some cases, we like to give the next buyer of the home the opportunity to negotiate repairs. For example, a buyer may prefer to purchase a home at a lower price and make certain repairs themselves down the road as opposed to paying a premium up front.

We’ve streamlined the repair process so it’s simpler, more transparent, and gives you control. You can avoid making repairs before listing, as well as negotiating back and forth with a buyer during closing—repairs are one of the primary reasons deals fall through. Our home condition assessment also has zero obligations so you can walk away at any time without a penalty.

Read the full guide onhow our home assessment and repair process works or check out these stories abouthow we’ve made the selling experience easier for our customers.

Final thoughts

We are dramatically simplifying the home buying and selling experience, and we understand why people have a lot of questions about what we’re doing and how they can benefit. If you want to learn more about our business or real estate in general, a great place to start is our Resources section.

Ultimately, it is the stories of everyday people who are moving on to their next chapter in life that inspire us. We’d love to hear yours!

By Joseph Gomez

Related guides and blog articles

→ How we take “the process” out of the home selling process
→ How Opendoor calculates the value of your home
→ How does Opendoor make money?
→ How Opendoor’s costs compare with a traditional home sale
→ What types of homes does Opendoor purchase
→ Other frequently asked questions about Opendoor