If you have a home to sell and heard someone mention “iBuyer,” you may be tempted to use it. It’s being touted as much faster and simpler than listing a home with a real estate agent. Before making a choice between an iBuyer program and a real estate agent, the answers to some frequently asked questions may help you to make an informed decision.
What is an iBuyer program?
Instead of listing your home for sale with a real estate agent, iBuyer companies purchase your home in a cash transaction, make repairs and then attempt to sell the property themselves.
How does selling your home to an iBuyer work?
The process with an iBuyer company, such as Zillow Offers, Offerpad or Opendoor, begins by completing an online form giving the company information about your home and requesting an offer. Algorithms allow the iBuyer to come back to you with a cash offer for your home.
Selling to an iBuyer eliminates the need to make repairs a buyer or a lender might demand. Zillow Offers, Offerpad and Opendoor purchase your home in as-is condition. They do any work and prepare the property to market it for sale only after they complete the purchase with you.
What are the major differences in working with an iBuyer vs. a real estate agent?
- The traditional method of selling a home using a real estate agent usually entails the following steps:
- Choosing a real estate agent with whom to list it for sale;
- Determining the listing price based upon its fair market value;
- Making the house ready for sale by removing clutter, sprucing it up and making repairs to increase its appeal to potential buyers;
- Marketing the property;
- Negotiating terms once a buyer makes an offer;
- Waiting for the buyer to be approved for financing; and
- Closing on the transaction.
While an experienced agent can handle most of these steps for you, selling to an iBuyer is faster because it’s a straight cash deal. iBuyers also offer some extra flexibility by allowing you to close at your convenience, and eliminating the time and expense of making repairs.
Do you make more or less using an iBuyer than with a real estate agent?
An offer from an iBuyer must take into account the cost of repairs and other expenses it will incur to resell a property as well as making sure they make a healthy profit from the transaction. How this affects what a seller nets on the sale was the subject of a study using data collected from 26 sales of properties after sellers turned down iBuyer offers.
On average, the sellers netted 11% more by selling on the open market with a real estate agent. 11% may not sound like much at first, but that is thousands of dollars less for the seller considering the price of a home – even after taking into account the real estate agent’s commission.
What’s the best option: An iBuyer or a real estate agent?
A home is the biggest investment most people will ever make. While using an iBuyer can be convenient, there is most often a heavy hidden cost for this when compared to listing your property with a good agent.
Sellers who want to maximize the amount they receive on the sale of their home will likely do better if they can find the right real estate agent vs taking a cash offer from an iBuyer.
Interested in selling your home?
If you are like most sellers, you want to get the most money from the sale of your home in Tyler, Texas. Our team of real estate agents has the experience to get you the best price while making sure you have the best possible experience.
The Pamela Walters Group is dedicated to selling your home for the highest price possible using professional photography and an extensive marketing plan. Contact us today to learn more and get a custom home value from an agent that truly cares about you.