❗IMPORTANT NOTICE
As of November 2022, Ribbon Home is no longer in operation.
But you can still get help making a cash-backed offer on a home. Here are some of your options:
- Homeward's Make a Cash Offer program: You can borrow cash from Homeward to make a strong offer on a new home, then get traditional financing to pay Homeward back.
- Buy-before-you-sell companies: Orchard, Knock, and Homeward can give you a bridge loan (a short-term loan backed by your current home's equity), allowing you to make a competitive cash offer on a new home before selling your current one.
Homeward and Knock allow you to choose your own real estate agent. You can start comparing top-performing agents in your area by filling out this short form.
Ribbon Home helped buyers make cash-backed offers so they could win bids in highly competitive markets.
The company also supported buyers facing financing delays. Ribbon would buy the home and allow the buyer to repurchase it later. This service cost extra and required buyers to rent the home from Ribbon for up to 180 days until their mortgage was finalized.
Ribbon Home Inc. was not a lender and didn't offer buy-before-you-sell services.
Ribbon Home alternatives
Homeward, Knock, and Orchard offer solutions for home buyers aiming to make competitive cash offers.
Homeward provides a service where it buys a home on your behalf with cash, allowing you to secure the property quickly and avoid contingencies. Once your mortgage is approved, you repurchase the home from Homeward. This service best suits buyers with solid financial standing who can quickly qualify for a mortgage.
Knock has a Home Swap program that allows you to leverage your current home equity to make a cash offer on a new property while Knock covers the mortgage on your old home until it sells. This program helps alleviate the stress of coordinating closings, but Knock requires a credit score of 620 or higher and a minimum of 30% equity in your current home.
Orchard can help you secure your next home with a cash offer while lessening the hassle of selling your current one. It offers services like free home staging and a guaranteed price on your old property if it doesn’t sell within a certain timeframe. However, the company's availability is limited to select markets.
Note: A skilled buyer’s agent can help you navigate this type of transaction, advocating for your interests and ensuring you make informed decisions. You can compare top-performing buyer's agents in your area by answering a few short questions and having tailored agent recommendations sent to your inbox.
Our Ribbon Home rating
| Overall score | 3.5/5 🟡 |
| Service quality | 3.5/5 🟡 |
| Fees | 3.5/5 🟡 |
| Customer reviews | 4.0/5 🟢 |
| Credibility | 3.0/5 🟡 |
Who does Ribbon Home work best for?
Ribbon real estate program may be helpful if you're struggling to buy in a competitive market or worried about financing coming through.
Ribbon cash offer services can help you make a cash offer to stand out in bidding wars. Or the company can step in at closing if your financing is delayed. Both of these services help sellers feel confident in choosing your offer.
However, not all homes may qualify for Ribbon Home financing. To be eligible, homes must be:
- Single-family homes, townhomes, condos, or new construction
- $150,000 to $1,000,000
- < 4 acres
- Built after 1960 or fully renovated
Ribbon Home buying will not back purchases for investment properties. Short sales, foreclosures, or manufactured or modular homes are not eligible.
Ribbon Home is available in 11 states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The company also announced that it will expand into six additional states in 2022.1
But Ribbon Real Estate is not for everyone. Its fees can be expensive, and you may lose your new home if you can’t repay Ribbon within 180 days of closing. Additionally, companies like Knock and Orchard are better at assisting and solving problems that may arise when buying and selling at the same time.
In-depth Ribbon Home review
Service quality
Our rating: 3.5/5 🟡
- Many agents like that Ribbon can give their clients a competitive edge.
- Reviews are mixed on communication and responsiveness.
Many real estate agents reported that working with Ribbon helped their clients secure the home they wanted.
For example, in a Trustpilot review, Jen B. said, “Ribbon was a great program for my buyers to use, to be able to win our offer for their home of their dreams. We couldn’t have made this happen without the help of Ribbon stepping in, especially since my buyers still had their house to sell.“
But the quality of communication and timeliness of responses seemed to vary.
Many positive Ribbon Home reviews stated having a seamless process. For instance, one real estate agent on Trustpilot said: “Amazing experience. Fast. Prompt. Reliable…can’t say enough wonderful things about their home buying process.”
But some reviewers, including ones who liked the experience overall, brought up concerns about slow communication or difficulty understanding some elements of the program.
For instance, Katie H. wrote on Trustpilot: “Big picture highly recommend, communication lacking. Great program that allowed for my clients to avoid a home sale contingency and multiple moves. L*** was helpful and accessible and great to work with. Only negative feedback is that when my clients were ready to purchase the home back from Ribbon, communication was difficult and lacking with me still trying to work as their agent.”
Fees and costs
Our rating: 3.5/5 🟡
- Service fees start low at 1% of the purchase price.
- Fees can increase to 2.75% or more if your financing isn’t secured by closing.
- If you can’t pay Ribbon back within 180 days of closing, you can lose the home.
Ribbon Home’s fees vary based on the service and your state. The company’s core service, Ribbon Boost, lets you back your offer with cash. As long as your financing is secured by closing, you will only owe Ribbon 1% of the purchase price.
However, if your financing is delayed, the fee will increase to 2–2.75% to allow Ribbon Home to purchase the house and complete the sale with the Ribbon Reserve program. You’ll then owe monthly rent (about the equivalent of a mortgage payment) until your financing is secured and you can buy back your home. If you can’t pay them back within 180 days, you may lose the home.
For individuals already under contract but struggling with financing, the Ribbon Rescue program can help you save the deal. But you’ll owe 3.25% of the purchase price and have to pay monthly rent for up to 180 days until you can buy back the home.
Ribbon Boost’s service fee is lower than typical buy-before-you-sell services, like Knock’s fee of 2.25% and estimated $1,850 in closing costs. But Ribbon doesn’t offer guarantees like many of these competitors, such as buying the existing home if it doesn’t sell.
Ribbon Home reviews and complaints
Our rating: 4/5 🟢
- Reviews report Ribbon cash offers helped buyers get their offer selected.
- Reviews from agents were largely positive.
- Negative reviews reported frustration with delays and some deals falling through.
Ribbon Home reviews are mostly positive. The company has an average customer rating of 4.3/5 rating from 164 online reviews.
Ribbon Home cash offer reviews highlight how the programs helped make their offer more competitive, allowing them to win their home.2 Agent reviews were also largely positive, remarking that the company was easy to work with and gave them additional options they could provide clients.3,4
However, negative reviews discussed frustration due to unexpected delays that weren’t mentioned until the last moment.5 Some negative reviews also reported their deals fell through unexpectedly, leaving them in a bind.6 Others felt the program fees weren’t fully disclosed or explained, like having to pay rent to Ribbon if using the Ribbon Reserve program.7,8
The company often thanked reviewers who left a positive review but didn’t respond to negative reviews.
Credibility
Our rating: 3/5 🟡
- Ribbon Home was founded in 2017.
- Laid off 85% of their staff in 2022.
Ribbon Home is a legitimate company that was founded in 2017 and operates in 11 states. The company’s online reviews are largely positive. And the company raised $330 million from investors in 20199 and another $150 million in September 2021.10
However, Ribbon Home let go of 170 employees in 2022 due to market changes such as the slowing of the housing market suggesting potential problems.11
How does Ribbon Home work?
Ribbon Home has three services to help with different buyer situations. Here’s how the process works.
1. Select your lender and get pre-approved
To qualify for Ribbon Home buying and cash offer services, you’ll need to be pre-approved by a third-party lender. You’ll need to find your own lender, which some customers may like. The amount Ribbon will lend you through their programs will partly depend on your mortgage.
2. Go house hunting
While looking for the home you want to buy, you’ll need to send the house’s information to Ribbon. The company will tell you the maximum value for each house you send, called the “Ribbon Max Value.”
3. Use Ribbon Boost to make a cash offer
Ribbon Boost allows you to make a cash-backed offer to help your offer stand out and (hopefully) be selected. As long as your financing is secured by closing, you’ll only pay Ribbon 1% of the purchase price for using their service. You will be the homeowner at closing.
4. Use Ribbon Reserve to save a deal due to financing delays
If your mortgage is delayed, Ribbon will step in and buy the home at closing, providing you with more time to secure your financing. You’ll have 180 to buy the house back from Ribbon. During that time, you’ll pay rent to Ribbon, which is usually equal to a mortgage payment.
Methodology
We evaluated this company based on four core criteria:
- Service quality
- Fees
- Customer reviews
- Credibility
Service quality
Customer experience. We look for indicators that the company is professional, communicative, customer-focused, and ethical in its dealings with customers. We verify this with customer reviews and information from professionals who have 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.
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 take note of whether a company is actively involved in resolving customer complaints.
Credibility
Trust signals. We look at how long the company has been in business, the number of verified customer reviews it has, its press coverage and social media presence, and how easy it is to find detailed information on its website. We also look at customer reviews to determine whether the company acts with honesty and integrity in its business dealings.
Related reading
Sources
- Inman, "Power buyer Ribbon plans to add 6 new states in Q2, upping count to 17," April 18, 2022. ↩︎
- Lisa, Trustpilot, June 2022. ↩︎
- Stephen, Trustpilot, March 2022. ↩︎
- Clara, Trustpilot, July 2022. ↩︎
- Stephanie C., Trustpilot, July 2022. ↩︎
- Timothy H., BBB, August 2022. ↩︎
- Mayura, Trustpilot, August 2022. ↩︎
- Lacey B., Trustpilot, November 2021. ↩︎
- HousingWire, "Real estate startup Ribbon secures $330 million to grow homebuying platform," November 1, 2019. ↩︎
- Inman, "Ribbon raises $150M round, vows to expand into half of US by 2023," September 15, 2021. ↩︎
- RealTrends, "Ribbon reduces staff by 85%, retains less than 30 employees," November 22, 2022. ↩︎