A few weeks ago, it was pretty big industry news when all of the big iBuyers out there—Offerpad, Opendoor, Zillow, etc.—decided to suspend their purchasing for the foreseeable future, citing safety concerns for their employees amid this global pandemic.
However, I think the real reason they ceased purchasing is that there’s so much uncertainty in the market right now; no one knows how long this crisis will last and how, exactly, home values will be affected. I don’t even blame them. Purchasing homes in bulk, as is their entire model, is a very risky proposition currently.
Are we at the Franklin Team still offering our home buyout program? yes, absolutely. We’ve been offering it for our builder partners for almost 20 years uninterrupted. We’re not going to stop now. We offered it in 2008 when every competitor stopped offering it.
“There’s so much uncertainty in the market right now.”
Given the uncertainty looming large today, having a buyout option is more valuable than ever. We understand that our builder partners rely on this program to help sell incremental homes. In fact, we recently just extended two buyout offers, with one already accepted and the other anticipated to be accepted soon.
As a reminder, our buyout offer is 96% of an independent appraisal. We give that offer to the client from the very beginning of the process, and then try to sell their house for the most money possible. If we’re able to do so, we’ll charge the normal 6%, but return 3% upon closing. In the event that we have to buy their house and resell it, we will reimburse them that profit back. Essentially, clients are able to sell their homes for the most money possible with the safety net of our buyout.
If you have any questions about what I discussed in this message or if you’re interested in buying or selling a home soon but aren’t sure how to proceed in these times, reach out to us. We’re always here to help, and we look forward to hearing from you.
