What is an iBuyer?
iBuyers have become more prevalent during the real estate boom. An iBuyer is a real estate company that uses algorithms and technology to buy and resell homes quickly. The “i” is for “instant.” Companies like Zillow, Opendoor, Offerpad and RedfinNow are all players in the national iBuyer game.
iBuyers buy your home to quickly resell that home for a profit, and are therefore paying a discounted price to give you the convenience of not having to stage or show your home. You also get the added benefit of picking a closing date that works best for you.
To see if an iBuyer will purchase your home, you typically submit basic information about the property, such as the address, age, square footage and features, using the company’s website or app. The iBuyer estimates your home’s value and, if it wants to proceed, sends you an offer. If you like the offer, the company will do an in-person evaluation and then provide a final offer.
However, selling your home through an iBuyer will not come without its fees. In fact, in doing my own research with my own home, I found the iBuyers were charging 1-2% more than a traditional real estate charges. So be aware of this before accepting an iBuyer offer.
In general, iBuyers are geared to people who want to sell their homes quickly and avoid the uncertain wait to find traditional buyers. The extra cost of working with an iBuyer may be worth it in those cases.
However, the coronavirus outbreak has cast uncertainty on iBuyers themselves, and it’s unclear when the largest companies, including Opendoor and Zillow, will resume making cash offers. Check individual iBuyer websites for the latest information.
At the Stern Team we decided to get ahead of this for our local Utah market. We’ve created our own version of the iBuyer and we plussed it. We can set a quick appointment to come buy the home and evaluate the property for an instant offer. We can create the instant offer right then and there. But at the same time, we’ll also show you what your home would sell for using the Stern Team’s Strategic Selling System with a traditional listing. If you prefer the convenience, you can take the instant offer. If you’d be okay waiting 30-45 days then you’ll get the full market value using our unique selling system that we’ve deployed to sell over 1,000 homes in the past 4 years. Many of which sell for above retail price.
There are certain restrictions on a property’s ability to qualify for the instant offer, so give us a call today.
