Opendoor: Color me Gray

Should you close the door on Opendoor? Probably not. But you should know a little about their process from an “inside” perspective.

In the State of Texas, only a Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) licensed inspector can perform an inspection concerning a real estate transaction. That’s the law. But that’s not the MO for Opendoor. According to their website, if you’re selling your home to Opendoor, they perform an “assessment” (they actually call it an inspection at 1:04 of this video) done by a team of their in-house “estimators” to determine “…items that are broken, inoperable, or affect the safety, structure, or functionality of the home.” Pretty much the same thing a TREC licensed inspector is supposed to be doing in a transaction. So the question is; how is Opendoor allowed to get around this law? Looks pretty gray if you ask me, but makes me see red.

I’ve done quite a few inspections on Opendoor properties & found issues; some pretty significant. Which makes me wonder what Opendoor is doing with the money they tell the seller they are deducting for repairs. But what was most unsettling was concerning an inspection I did in San Antonio. The home had previous work done on the foundation for settlement problems. I asked the buyer’s agent if they were listed in the Seller’s Disclosure. Many times transferable warranties are in effect & I try to connect the dots for my clients. He actually sent me the SD & it was the cleanest disclosure I’d ever seen. Not only were deficiencies that I found not listed, but not a tiddle concerning the foundation repairs. So I did some digging on Opendoor’s process.

Turns out there are reports that are submitted by their in-house inspectors & kept on file. I know this because I asked the aforementioned agent to request a copy concerning the property in question. The Opendoor representative obliged; which the agent then forwarded on to me. Here’s the kicker: Most of the items I observed in my report were contained in the Opendoor inspector’s report including the notes about foundation repair. So why weren’t they included in the Seller’s Disclosure? Good question! I forwarded all this on to TREC, but it appears nothing has been addressed since the MO is still the same on the Opendoor website(s).

So what’s the moral of the story? Make sure you hire an experienced & qualified TREC inspector if you intend to buy an Opendoor property.