It’s time to move to a better school district. I interviewed SO MANY realtors. And they are all the same, at the end of the day. They have a 5% service charge, a professional photographer takes great photos, someone plugs info into the MLS, someone populates form fields on contract templates, and the vast interwebs sell the house – Redfin, Zillow, what have you. I feel this article deep in my bones: What Do Real Estate Agents Really Do Anymore?
So I decided to check out the iBuyers in my area, Opendoor and Zillow Offers. Spoiler: Despite the flexible close date and not having to deal with showings (HUGE bonus with dogs and kids), I went with a Realtor.
Opendoor was the first iBuyer I contacted (in October), as they were initially the only game in town. Their offer, $370,700, seemed to be about $10k below market at the time of the quote. Selling fees were 7.5%. I didn’t bother pursuing the next step (a home inspection). I wasn’t going to leave almost $20k on the table before concessions.
Zillow Offers arrived in town a couple months later (in December). Their initial offer was attractive – $376,000 with 5.5% service charge. I was willing to give up 0.5% for the convenience of not having to list my house and having a flexible close date. I proceeded with the inspection. Repair adjustments came back at $13,315, largely for things that are already built into the market price for homes in the neighborhood, like galvanized plumbing. Also, 98% sure the home inspector they sent stole my laptop. (The only other possibility is a family member during a holiday party.)
I finally listed, via a Realtor, in February. I received many offers and was in escrow after 3 DOM. Final price was $400,000 with a $6,200 buyer credit (for the sewer line, which wasn’t part of the Zillow repair adjustment).
Conclusion – as much as I feel like Realtors are overpaid for what they actually do, they’re better than the iBuyers. So, for now, unless you need to get out of Dodge, use a Realtor.