Open door realtor

[Cowboy]

Went and looked at a house that was owned and being sold by Open door. We like the house but the way they buy and sell apparently is they purchase the property say 200k then go through the home and do a list of repairs. The company then charges the homeowners for the repairs so the final price might be 185k as final payout. So that the over all purchase price isn't lowered. Well afterwards they don't do the repairs they charged the now former home owner for and up the price 20% for sale as is.

Anyway just wondering if anyone has purchased anything from Open Door and how flexible on price they were. What's the General mark up with this kind of company? Seems they are going to make money they "paid" 274k and have it listed at 287. I'm not willing to go that high obviously. The comps for the area is 280k but this house has zero repairs as is but you still get your time for inspections.

 

[Bocephus]

They buy under market and sell a little above market, so nothing 100s of other companies aren’t doing. I don’t know how flexible they are with negotiations but I have seen a couple of their homes in my area go unsold for so long they dropped the price under what they “paid” for it.

I started the process of selling my home to OD and here is how it plays out. They do a video walk-through of the house to see the condition and identify any issues. They then to an exterior inspection and use those (and comps) to come up with an offer. The gotcha is they charge a 7.5% fee, plus charge you for repairs and around $1k for closing costs. You can get them to redo the offer to more accurately reflect true comps but that is a pain. In the end, I told them thanks but no thanks because they were $20-25k under market value before the high fee.

 

[Tailhunter]

Over all I have found “real estate” to be a scam.
I have dealt with or had meetings with 10 different agents in the last 4 years. I have only met one that actually knew how to do her job. Most remind me of used car salesmen (salespersons). They expect you to find the place you want. Physical or internet searching. They will show it to you and then show up to collect their check at the closing.
If you actually find one that will hunt the listings or beat the bushes to find something for you and represent your interests, you’ve done good.

 

[Bailey Boat]

"Realtors and other Reptiles"........ A new book by buyers and sellers alike, available soon in a bookstore near you.....

 

[SPST]

Just like buying a gun or a car from someone. Do your homework and offer them only what you are willing to pay. If they don't take it, walk away.
I sold my mom's house "as is" to a "flipper" last September. I told him everything that I thought would be needed to bring it up to "as new" condition. He brought in his inspector and looked everything over. We made a deal. He basically put lipstick on a pig and set the price for a completely remodeled home. It took him longer than he thought to remodel it. He told me it was the worst money maker he has had in a while and he left the 17 year old HVAC system, patchworked the plumbing, did nothing with the electrical and left a falling down fence around the backyard. The house was built in 1965 and needed lots of work. He listed it for $445k and is finally closing on it this week. I hope the poor buyer got it for way less than that because there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.
Look very hard at this house, because I'm sure OD did the same thing and just covered up as much as they could to make it look good.

 

[Cowboy]

Just like buying a gun or a car from someone. Do your homework and offer them only what you are willing to pay. If they don't take it, walk away.
I sold my mom's house "as is" to a "flipper" last September. I told him everything that I thought would be needed to bring it up to "as new" condition. He brought in his inspector and looked everything over. We made a deal. He basically put lipstick on a pig and set the price for a completely remodeled home. It took him longer than he thought to remodel it. He told me it was the worst money maker he has had in a while and he left the 17 year old HVAC system, patchworked the plumbing, did nothing with the electrical and left a falling down fence around the backyard. The house was built in 1965 and needed lots of work. He listed it for $445k and is finally closing on it this week. I hope the poor buyer got it for way less than that because there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.
Look very hard at this house, because I'm sure OD did the same thing and just covered up as much as they could to make it look good.

Actually it's a little worse. They don't even put on the lipstick, but they do charge the original home owner for the lipstick. Records say the paid 274k and they are asking 287k. I think once our house goes under contract we may hit them with an offer of 260-265 if it's still on the market and let our inspector go through it all.

 

[Bocephus]

Not sure they will accept that offer if the house was just relisted but it can’t hurt to try. Just remember the 7.5% fee they charged the original seller (in this case, about $20,500) and use that to your advantage. Good luck!

 

[Cowboy]

Not sure they will accept that offer if the house was just relisted but it can’t hurt to try. Just remember the 7.5% fee they charged the original seller (in this case, about $20,500) and use that to your advantage. Good luck!

We have a good bit of time to play with and they made sure to tell our realtor they have had NO offers. We won't make an offer for another 2-3 weeks minimum.