Flyhomes Review: Should You Use Them to Buy and Sell?

Flyhomes is a traditional brokerage that offers some buyer-oriented programs, including cash offer and buy-before-you-sell programs. These programs can make the buying process less stressful and help you stand out in a competitive market with offers that are less likely to fall through.

Its Cash Offer program allows you to unlock the equity in your current home in order to make a strong cash offer on a new home. Buy Before You Sell, meanwhile, also lets you use your current home’s equity to buy a home first with a bridge loan, and then sell your old house later.

While Flyhomes has excellent reviews and its programs can help you buy quickly and with less hassle, it’s not for everyone. If you’re a seller, for example, there’s not much to distinguish Flyhomes from the competition. Plus, if you’re looking for savings, Flyhomes’ real estate agent commissions are no better than what traditional realtors charge.

Bottom line: If you're looking for help lining up a home sale and purchase, Flyhomes may be worth considering. However, competitors like Homeward and Knock offer similar services, but with different pricing models and the ability to choose your own agent, so consider them as well before making a decision. Choosing an agent from a low commission brokerage can also help offset the costs of a buy-before-you-sell program, saving you thousands on your home sale.

An offers marketplace like Clever Offers can save you a lot of time finding reputable cash buyers and seeing what they'll offer for your house. Simply enter a few home facts to find your best offers — it's free with no obligation.

Is Flyhomes right for you?

Flyhomes is best for buyers who already have some equity in their current homes and are looking to make a strong offer in competitive markets. The company’s Cash Offer and Buy Before You Sell programs help buyer offers stand out by reducing the need for financing contingencies. That can help you win out when competing with multiple buyers.

However, you’ll need to watch out for fees and interest rates when using some of the company’s buyer-oriented programs, such as its Guaranteed Backup Contract Offer, which could increase your closing costs. 

Flyhomes doesn’t offer any commission savings for buyers or sellers. You’ll pay the same realtor fees with them as you would with a traditional brokerage. However, you won't have the luxury of choosing your own agent. While Flyhomes’ agents have mostly positive reviews, making them a safe option for most buyers and sellers, you could get matched with an agent you don't particularly like working with. 

By contrast, working with a reputable low commission brokerage could save you thousands in realtor fees while still giving you a wide selection of agents to choose from.

How Flyhomes works

Flyhomes has a number of services available, which are primarily directed toward buyers (although selling with Flyhomes is also an option). Its two most popular programs are Flyhomes Cash Offer, which empowers buyers to make cash offers on homes, and its Buy Before You Sell program, which removes some of the stress of buying and selling at the same time.

While Flyhomes’ programs are convenient, some of them come with added costs. If saving money or selling for the highest price is your priority, you should first compare Flyhomes with some alternative services.

Here’s a breakdown of how Flyhomes’ various services work.

Buy with Flyhomes

Buying a home with Flyhomes is similar to buying with a traditional realtor, unless you choose to use Flyhomes Cash Offer or Buy Before You Sell programs (which we’ll describe in detail below).

You can search for properties on Flyhomes’ website, which includes some interesting features, such as ratings of nearby schools, the political leaning of the neighborhood, and an AI-powered tool that lets you reimagine the furniture layout and decor of the images of the listed home. You can also book a tour through the online portal.

When putting in an offer on a home, you can use Flyhomes Mortgage, although you’re under no obligation to do so. At this stage, you can also choose to use Flyhomes Mortgage to take out a loan in order to make a cash offer, which can give you a competitive advantage in a crowded market.

Flyhomes also offers a Guaranteed Purchase Addendum if you decide to back out of the purchase after your offer has been accepted and all contingencies met. In that case, Flyhomes will purchase the home instead and try to resell it. If the home sells for a profit, they promise to return as much of your earnest money deposit as possible.

Flyhomes Cash Offer

Flyhomes Cash Offer is designed to help buyers secure a new home. With this program, Flyhomes will provide you with a bridge loan through its affiliate, Flyhomes Mortgage, based on the equity in your current home. You can then use this loan to make a cash offer on a house you’re looking to buy. Once you’ve bought a home, the bridge loan can be refinanced into a regular mortgage.

The advantage of using Flyhomes Cash Offer is that it can help you stand out in a competitive marketplace. Cash offers tend to be looked on favorably by sellers because they’re far less likely to fall through due to financing problems and they can often close quickly. As a result, some sellers may be willing to sell for less in exchange for a cash offer.

However, because you’re taking out a loan, you will need to pay interest, plus there will be costs associated with closing on the loan. Additionally, the amount you can borrow will vary depending on your credit history and other factors.

Buy Before You Sell

Flyhomes’s Buy Before You Sell program enables you to buy a new house before you sell your current one. This makes it a convenient option if you want to minimize the stress of selling and buying a home at the same time. In general, the process works as follows:

1. Get pre-approved for a loan: You’ll get pre-approved for a loan through Flyhomes Mortgage worth up to 90% of your home’s equity.
2. Purchase a new house: Using the loan from Flyhomes Mortgage, you’ll buy a new house and move in.
3. Prep for sale: Flyhomes will assist with preparing your home for sale, such as staging it and taking photographs, and list it on the MLS.
4. Sell your home: You’ll proceed to sell your old home. If your house fails to sell within 120 days, Flyhomes will purchase it for cash.

With Buy Before You Sell, you can take advantage of Flyhomes’ Guaranteed Backup Contract, which is a guarantee that Flyhomes will purchase your property if it fails to sell on the open market. This offer makes it easier to qualify for a new mortgage and makes your offer on new homes more attractive since there’s less risk of the deal falling through due to financing.

Buy Before You Sell offers convenience, but it comes at a price. The Guaranteed Backup Contract costs a flat fee of $2,500. Also, if you need to sell your house to Flyhomes after 120 days, the offer may be lower than you were hoping for. Finally, you’ll need to watch out for interest rates on the bridge loan you get based on your current home’s equity.

Sell with Flyhomes

Sell with Flyhomes is a fairly standard listing service that you can use if you want to sell your home. The process for selling with Flyhomes looks like this:

1. Sign a listing agreement: This agreement will specify the services offered, the listing fee, and the length of the agreement.
2. Prep your home: Flyhome will source vendors to help get your home ready, including for staging, photography, cleaning, and inspections.
3. List your home: Your home will go on the local MLS. In addition, Flyhomes will utilize other marketing methods, including open houses, ads, emails, signs, and fliers, to attract buyers.
4. Field offers: Your Flyhomes agent will help you negotiate with buyers and choose the best offer.
5. Closing: Your agent will assist with closing, including making sure all of your paperwork is in order. The listing fee for your Flyhomes’ agent will be deducted from the proceeds.

In recent years, Flyhomes has shifted toward focusing on buyers. As a result, its Sell with Flyhomes service no longer offers much to distinguish it from the competition. While Flyhomes agents get good reviews, if you’re selling you should compare it to other real estate brokerages first — particularly brokerages offering commission savings.

Flyhomes fees and other costs

Flyhomes claims that it doesn't tack on any additional fees for its Buy Before You Sell or Cash Offer programs. However, you do need to be aware of both loan origination fees and short-term interest rates associated with the bridge loan it uses to purchase your home on your behalf.[1] Fees often vary depending on the market and your own personal financial circumstances.

For sellers, Flyhomes charges a standard listing fee of around 2.5-3% depending on the local market. This is the industry standard and it’s what most traditional brokerages charge. For buyers, the real estate commission is likewise 2.5-3%. 

If you use Flyhomes Buy Before You Sell or Cash Offer programs, you will need to pay a loan origination fee of up to 1.9% plus short-term interest on the bridge loan you’re provided. Flyhomes' cash offer calculator shows that loan costs can exceed $17,000 on a million dollar home. Interest rates depend on market conditions and your financial strength as a borrower. If you use Flyhomes' Guaranteed Backup Contract offer, it’ll cost you a flat fee of $2,500.

Flyhomes reviews and complaints

Flyhomes reviews are very positive, with an average rating of 4.8/5 across more than 2,000 reviews. The company stands out in particular for the quality of its agents, who are regularly praised for their market knowledge, professionalism, and proactive approach to helping customers buy and sell their home.

Negative reviews are rare, but the few we found complained about some agents using strongarm tactics by encouraging buyers to submit offers before they felt ready. These complaints may simply be a reflection of the fact that while for some customers an agent encouraging a fast offer can be seen as proactive, while for others it may come across as pushy.

We also noted that the vast majority of reviews came from buyers, while seller reviews were rare. While this is not a red flag, it does indicate that Flyhomes’ business model is strongly geared toward buyers. While seller reviews are positive, few of Flyhomes’ services offer sellers many advantages compared to alternative companies.

✅ Agents provide excellent service

We routinely found reviewers who praised the quality of Flyhomes’ real estate agents. In fact, praise for individual agents was by far the most common theme in Flyhomes reviews. Real estate agents were singled out for their wealth of local market knowledge and being proactive in helping customers buy or sell a home.

Customers especially praised agents for making them feel comfortable and as though they were in a safe pair of hands. As one seller says of their agent:

“Jose took charge of all the necessary arrangements, from getting things fixed to coordinating the staging of the condo unit. His attention to detail and commitment to ensuring everything was perfect truly stood out. He kept me informed throughout the entire process, making sure I was comfortable and confident with each decision.”

— Martin E., 2024, Google

Similarly, others felt that the competence and knowledge displayed by their Flyhomes’ agent made the process go smoothly. One customer says:

“Working with Matthew Miller and Flyhomes to purchase our condo was an outstanding experience. Matthew expertly guided us through every step—from identifying potential homes and smoothly managing showings to providing detailed research and clear offer strategies. He skillfully coordinated with the HOA to secure all necessary documentation and seamlessly handled the entire setup process.”

— Aravind B., 2025, Google

That Flyhomes routinely gets high marks for its agents is a good sign. When considering agents for your own home transaction, however, it’s important to choose one who you personally get along with. Every home transaction is different, which is why you should compare multiple agents to find the one who is the best fit for you.

✅ Flyhomes gets good marks for customer service

In addition to the quality of individual agents, some reviewers also pointed out that Flyhomes’ entire team provides excellent customer service. Some customers noted that agents were supported by a team of professionals, who were diligent and helped the entire transaction run smoothly.

In interactions with the company, reviewers noted that they were treated with respect and professionalism. For example, the following reviewer felt that Flyhomes displayed an excellent level of customer service during every stage of their transaction:

“I was thoroughly impressed with Flyhomes as a company. From the initial consultation to the final closing, the entire Flyhomes team demonstrated a high level of professionalism, integrity, and expertise. Their innovative approach to real estate, coupled with their unwavering commitment to client satisfaction, truly sets them apart in the industry.”

— Yang Z., 2024, Google

✅ Buy Before You Sell program offers great value

Flyhomes’ Buy Before You Sell program is one of its biggest selling points as it gives customers a chance to buy a new house before selling their old one. Reviews that specifically mentioned the Buy Before You Sell program were highly positive.

Customers specifically said that the program helped them with purchasing a home, even if their offers were lower than other buyers. This aligns with one of Flyhomes’ claimed benefits of the Buy Before You Sell program: because you have a backup offer from Flyhomes, you can make a stronger offer on a new home due to financing being less likely to fall through.

“I used Flyhomes to move into a new home and used their buy before sell offer in WA. Linda K was my realtor and worked with me through the entire process. Linda was very thorough in arranging homes for us to see, gave good advice on them and when we found the perfect home for us, made sure to structure the offer in a way that even though was not the highest in terms of money, stood out for the sellers.”

— Usman S., 2024, Google

❌Some complaints about high-pressure tactics

While the vast majority of Flyhomes reviews are positive, there were a handful of negative ones. One complaint we encountered a few times was agents using high-pressure tactics on buyers in order to get them to put in an offer.

For example, one person complained about a Flyhomes agent pressuring her to put in an offer before she had even agreed to work with that agent:

“I clicked on some ad and shared my contact info and they called NONSTOP until I finally caved and agreed to a video chat. The agent was really nice and I liked her but once I said I like a place she was writing up offers when I had not even requested her to. I found that part to be high pressure and made me too nervous to want to work with them.”

— Danielle M., 2024, BBB

Similarly, another buyer shared this experience of working with Flyhomes:

“They were extremely pushy and would shrug off our offers, ignore us, etc if we didn’t extend a proposed offer at least 20% over asking. I can’t tell you how many times they told us “this house is going to sell for x,” which scared us away, only to see the house sold for much less.”

— Laura L., 2024, Google

It’s important to stress that these negative reviews are rare. While such high-pressure tactics can be off-putting for some buyers, in some situations they can help you get an offer on a house quickly before another buyer does. The point is to make sure you’re teaming up with an agent you’re comfortable with, regardless of which brokerage they work for.

Flyhomes vs. alternatives

Flyhomes vs. Clever Offers 

If you’re looking to sell your home for cash, Clever Offers is a good alternative to Flyhomes. Unlike Flyhomes, Clever Offers doesn’t buy your home itself. Instead, it fields offers from multiple local investors, so you can compare your options and choose the deal that pays the most or comes with the most attractive terms.

Keep in mind that Flyhomes will only purchase your property through its Buy Before You Sell program and only if your house sits on the market for at least 120 days. Clever Offers, in contrast, is a more straightforward cash offer program where you can choose to sell your house fast and at any time, with the closing process often taking less than a month.

You can also choose to sell the traditional way with a Clever Partner Agent, but instead of paying the full 2.5-3% listing fee that Flyhomes’ agents charge, you’ll pay just 1.5%, which could potentially save you thousands on the sale of your home.

Flyhomes vs. Knock

Knock offers a bridge loan program that is comparable to Flyhomes’ Buy Before You Sell program. With Knock, you can access equity in your current home in order to put a strong cash offer on a new home before you sell. You then sell your old home on the open market. Similar to Flyhomes, if it doesn’t sell, Knock will buy your house for cash.

Unlike Flyhomes, Knock’s bridge loan is interest-free for the first six months. However, Knock charges a 2.25% program fee that Flyhomes doesn’t charge. Also, with Knock you have to wait six months for your house to sell on the open market before taking advantage of the backup cash offer, compared to Flyhomes’ four month wait.

Knock has similarly high reviews as Flyhomes, with most customers pleased with the ease of the service. If you’re looking for a buy before you sell option, you should compare Knock and Flyhomes as their differing fee structures can either save or cost you money depending on your timeline and financial situation.

Flyhomes vs. Opendoor

Opendoor is an iBuyer that will buy your home for cash, so its business model is slightly different from Flyhomes’. You can get an offer from Opendoor at any time and choose to sell to them immediately or you can list your home for sale on the open market and use Opendoor’s offer as a backup for up to 30 days.

Because Opendoor is an iBuyer that can buy your home quickly, it’s generally a better option than Flyhomes if your priority is to sell fast. Flyhomes, remember, will only purchase your home itself if it fails to sell within 120 days through its Buy Before You Sell program.

However, Opendoor charges a 5% fee on its home purchases, which is roughly equivalent to what it costs to work with a traditional real estate agent. That’s despite the fact that, because you aren’t listing on the open market, you probably will have to settle for less money than you would with an agent.

Flyhomes vs. Homeward

Homeward offers a number of programs that are similar to Flyhomes’, including buy before you sell and buy with cash offer programs. These two programs function similarly to Flyhomes’, although you’ll need to watch out for fees, which can range from 1.9–6.6%.

Unlike Flyhomes, Homeward also has a standard cash offer program where you can sell your home directly to Homeward for up to 89% of its value. You can use this offer as a backup and still list on the open market, selling only to Homeward if you don’t find another buyer.

As with Flyhomes, Homeward gets very positive reviews from customers, especially for the quality of its customer service. However, its purchasing criteria tends to be strict, so you may have more difficulty qualifying than you would with Flyhomes.

Is Flyhomes legit?

Yes, Flyhomes is a legitimate company. It was founded in 2016 in Seattle, Washington by business school students Stephen Lane and Tushar Garg, who later went on to become licensed real estate agents. The company has grown over the years, offering a suite of brokerage services, including buy-before-you-sell and cash offer programs.

The company has raised $190 million in venture capital and acquired a number of businesses. Its most recent acquisition was of Sam Altman-backed startup ZeroDown, an AI-powered home search portal. With the acquisition, Flyhomes is aiming to become competitive with larger companies like Zillow and Redfin.

What types of homes does Flyhomes buy?

Flyhomes only purchases homes that fail to sell within 120 days through its Buy Before You Sell program. Most residential properties are eligible, including single-family homes, townhouses, and condominiums. However, eligibility may be restricted depending on your home’s location and other factors.

Additionally, Flyhomes generally won’t purchase the following types of properties:

• Commercial properties
• Investment properties
• Properties outside of Flyhome’s service area

Flyhomes locations

Flyhomes is available in the following states, plus the District of Columbia: AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, ID, IA, MD, MA, MN, MO, NV, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WY

FAQs

Recommended Reading

Methodology 

We evaluate each buy-before-you-sell company based on five core criteria and create a weighted score:

• Customer reviews
• Service quality
• Fees and other costs
• Credibility

Customer reviews

Review analysis. We perform an in-depth analysis of all the available customer reviews to determine trends. We break down the reviews by theme and sentiment, and filter out spam reviews to determine our rating.

Company responsiveness. Negative reviews are part of doing business; however, we note whether a company is actively involved in resolving customer complaints.

Service quality

We rely on secret shopping and fact-checking interviews with company representatives to look for indicators that the company is professional, communicative, customer-focused, and ethical in its dealings with customers. We verify this information against customer reviews and interviews with past customers or professionals (realtors, former employees) who have had direct experience working with the brand. 

Fees and other costs

Competitiveness. We look at how the company's fees and other costs compare to competitors.

Value. We consider whether the fees are justified by the value offered.

Credibility

Trust signals. We look at how long the company has been in business, the number of verified customer reviews it has, how willing the company was to answer questions about their business model when we contacted them, and how easy it is to find detailed information on their website — including the names and contact details of specific team members. We also look at customer reviews indicating whether the company acts with honesty and integrity in their business dealings.