Can You Negotiate with Opendoor?

Can you negotiate with Opendoor? | Home buyers | Home sellers | FAQs

Can you negotiate with Opendoor?

When you sell your home to Opendoor, there may be some wiggle room to negotiate — but don't expect any major changes. Opendoor only negotiates the final sale price of the home and the cost of repairs.

If Opendoor overlooks a detail that might significantly impact its assessment of your home's value, like an updated kitchen or the home's overall size, you may be able to get a higher offer.

Opendoor also charges all home sellers a non-negotiable 5% service fee to offset its costs and ensure the company makes money on each home purchase.

We recommend working with an agent if you want to get the best price from Opendoor. A Clever partner agent can request an offer on your behalf and negotiate by looking at local MLS data to determine the most competitive sale price for your home. If you aren't satisfied, you can look for other cash offers or list your home on the open market.

When you buy a home from Opendoor, there may be some wiggle room on price.

Opendoor doesn't want to own houses for too long because carrying costs — expenses like electricity and property taxes — only go up the longer Opendoor owns a house. In other words, the company is motivated to resell houses quickly.

However, Opendoor operates in competitive markets and carefully purchases houses with the most resale potential, so it has a lot more leverage than you do at the negotiating table. If Opendoor doesn't accept your offer, it's probably because there's a good chance someone else will make a better one.

Negotiating with Opendoor as a buyer

As a buyer, you can submit an offer to Opendoor directly or through your real estate agent.

You need to be pre-approved for financing from a mortgage lender before submitting an offer. This isn’t typically required when buying from a regular seller, although it can still be advantageous.

Opendoor will negotiate closing costs with buyers and may even offer concessions to help the buyer cover some of their expenses before the deal is finalized.

When Opendoor receives your offer, it will either:

• Accept the offer
• Email a counteroffer
• Reject the offer

If Opendoor flat-out rejects your offer, it will let you know why the offer was rejected.

It’s important to remember that Opendoor will be more flexible on the closing date than the typical home seller since Opendoor isn’t living in or preparing to move out of the home.

How to negotiate with Opendoor as a buyer

Negotiating with Opendoor as a buyer isn’t like negotiating with a regular seller. Opendoor’s list prices are based on the price the company paid to acquire the home, repair costs, carrying costs, comparable sales in the same neighborhood, and input from local pricing experts.^[1]

Opendoor's business model doesn't leave much room for buyers to negotiate, but working with a local real estate agent can give you a leg up. A realtor can tell you:

• If the list price is fair. Local agents know the market conditions and what the home’s features are worth. This information will help you decide if you want to make an offer or keep shopping for a house.
• If any factors indicate you should offer below the listing price. These might include the home sitting on the market for longer than the local average selling time or necessary repairs that could help you negotiate a discounted price.

Experienced buyer's agents are skilled negotiators who can protect your best interests when you're purchasing a home, even if you're buying a house from an iBuyer.

Negotiating with Opendoor as a seller

Opendoor negotiates with sellers in extremely limited circumstances. There are three situations where you might be able to get Opendoor to budge.

1. Opendoor's incorrect about or unaware of certain features in your home

When Opendoor makes an offer, it includes a detailed explanation of how it arrived at its number. If there’s an error — like an incorrect number of bathrooms or a finished basement marked unfinished — bring it to the attention of your Opendoor representative. The company will reassess and potentially offer more money.

2. A competing iBuyer offers you more money

Other iBuyers, like Offerpad and RedfinNow, operate in many of the same areas as Opendoor. You can request free, no-obligation offers from all of them. If one of Opendoor's competitors offers you more money, you can potentially leverage the offer to get a higher offer from Opendoor.

3. You get an agent to negotiate for you

The most likely way to negotiate with Opendoor successfully is to let a real estate agent take charge. Agents are experienced negotiators and they have access to MLS data that'll give you the most accurate picture of what your home is really worth.

If Opendoor uses old comps (comparable local home sales) or incorrect home details (wrong square footage, etc.) to establish your sale price, an agent can respond with the correct data — and even help you get other cash offers that are more competitive.

Clever can connect you with local top agents from major brokerages like RE/MAX and Keller Williams who will help you get the highest possible cash offer OR list your home on the open market if you aren't satisfied.

How to negotiate with Opendoor as a seller

Though the odds are slim that Opendoor will raise its offer, you can improve your chances when you're negotiating by:

• Providing Opendoor with receipts for renovations and repairs. Proof of improvements you’ve made to your home increase the chance that Opendoor will raise its offer.
• Requesting offers from other iBuyers in your area. You should get free, no-obligation offers from all the iBuyers in your area. If one of Opendoor’s competitors, like Offerpad or RedfinNow, offers you more money, Opendoor may match or even beat it.
• Getting a comparative market analysis (CMA) done on your home. An agent can perform one for free and use it to negotiate with Opendoor. Knowing what your home could get on the open market gives you a sense of the strength of Opendoor’s offer.

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