Opendoor Launches Cash-Backed Offers For Loan Customers

As evidenced by Zillow’s new foray into making cash offers to sellers who vibe with their Zestimate may leave some budget-minded buyers out in the cold. But what if you, too, could make a cash offer to a seller? What if you could buy a home with someone else’s cash?

That’s exactly what Opendoor wants you to do. The online brokerage wants buyers to make an offer with the company’s till once they’ve pre-qualified. Then the buyer’s offer becomes as good as cash when reviewed by the lender.

“With this new offering, we’ve made cash-backed offers more accessible, enabling customers to compete in hot markets, and in a radically simpler way,” said Opendoor’s Chief Product Officer Tom Willerer. “Buying a home with Opendoor is managed fully online and through our app, which is the preference of 75% of home buyers we surveyed. But, the added benefit is that you have a team of experts behind you every step of the way.” 

According to Realtor.com, cash offers currently make up approximately 36 percent of all transactions. And according to every buyer in America, there’s a crazy amount of competition for listings as soon as they hit the market. Buyers are employing every tactic available to get the attention of sellers, and multiple offers situations or bidding wars are a foregone conclusion.

So you can understand why the prospect of a cash offer would be enticing.

“No extra work. No surprises. And no additional costs. We give qualifying buyers the benefits of an all-cash offer while allowing them to skip the many hurdles required by other companies, such as a full pre-underwriting process or charging extra fees,” Willerer stated.

How does it work? Opendoor will back your offer with our cash. This means you can present the certainty of an all-cash offer to the seller, free of financing, appraisal, and home sale contingencies, even if you need a home loan. And if you want to move into your next home before you sell your current one, we can even buy your new home for you. You can move when you’re ready while we help you sell your old home with less inconvenience to you. 

But where is all this cash coming from? Well, the firm is likely flush with that IPO cash after their launch in December of 2020, right?

And of course, if spending someone else’s cash on a home was a regrettable whim, never fear! Opendoor says that they’ll buy that back from you within 90 days of purchase.

Would you use Opendoor to make an all-cash purchase? You can if you live in 13 different cities including Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.