Open Door, 72-Sold, and others

There has been a lot of discussion around our office lately about Purple Bricks, Offer Pad, Open Door, 72-Sold, etc. In order to give this article its proper due, the writer must disclose this is my opinion, and unless I use actual statistics, it’s still just my opinion.

Let’s first start out by defining what these companies do. They make huge promises in their commercials of “no commissions” and “stay in your home for X months”, and “Make even more money”, etc. Often they are an automated service with phone representatives which may or may not even live in the United States. Some of these companies will “buy your home” sight unseen, and often you will never come in contact with a human.

Open Door, in particular, will make you a cash offer on your home. The initial offer is contingent on fees and repair costs. Often, the company will have your property relisted before it even closes escrow, and they will delay close until they find a buyer for more money than they purchased your house for initially. They don’t disclose this tactic in their contracts openly. This often leaves the seller waiting and delaying close of escrow, but not knowing why. Open Door also is supposed to go into the home and do repairs, but many times they do not, although they negotiate the price based on intended repairs. In my area the homes are typically in terrible shape, dirty, and no repairs have been performed. Also, in 2021, the company reported a net loss of $662 million up from the previous year’s $253 million loss. This is not a good business strategy. It does, however, speak to why Open Door is not doing any repairs on homes and trying to back-channel the deals without the seller even knowing.

This strategy is much the same throughout all the companies. A seller must also take in mind that anyone can walk up to your home, give a fake email and name to the operator, and gain access to the home. You certainly would not want to use any of these services if your home is not vacant…and be sure your homeowner’s insurance will cover losses if you list your house with these “virtual” companies.

Let’s not forget either that these services know nothing about your home, will never visit your home, and could care less about your situation. One article on Reddit was fascinating to read regarding Open Door’s lack of responsibility when closing escrow. https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/pdz871/opendoor_sucks/

The home buyers signed all their closing docs and the Open Door representative never showed up to sign. Days later the buyers found out the home still had not closed escrow legally, yet they were living in the house already. They called Open Door and the response was ” they are overloaded with closings and can’t give us any date when they might get to us!” Many comments followed, but few were correct. Their agent advised them correctly that they should not be in the home until it legally closes escrow, and the property records in their name. Until then, they are illegally trespassing in someone else’s property, and anything could happen. I.E. Fire, pipe bursting/Flood, etc. Who then is responsible and who is going to pay for the damage? Not to mention that Open Door could actually file a lawsuit against the buyers and their agent for allowing them access even though the Open Door representative told the agent to take the keys out of the lockbox and “toss it” because Open Door didn’t need it anymore.

Is this the kind of service you deserve?

The answer is no. I have clients who continually use my services in light of all this new proptech BS. Why, because I’m worth every penny.

I actually work for my clients. I find them homes they love, and negotiate better deals on both ends, and I get them what they want. I do all this while building relationship and trust. Now…I can’t do everything! I don’t read your contract to you line by line for 12 hours, but I do tell you to read it. I also answer all questions up front and have clients sign documents in places where signatures are not normally required…why? Because you need to know what’s going on. And if you don’t know, or don’t want to know, then you have only yourself to blame. And that’s where these companies are capitalizing. They’re selling you a pipe-dream. Good agents can help you make money on your investments, and their wisdom is priceless when looking for deals. I have made my clients billions of dollars collectively with their investments. It’s a win-win scenario. Love your Realtor, they work hard for you in many ways that are intangible and priceless. And every time you call them all worried and stressed out, they take that to bed with them every night also.

Don’t shortchange your agent, help them help you and forget these short-change companies who are preying on your lack of knowledge.

Prescott Circle Trail

The beautiful circle trail around Prescott, AZ in high-def photos. I’ve hiked the entire trail and can vouch for its beauty and serenity.

Pocket Listings – Lured in by unscrupulous agents

Things to be aware of in Arizona concerning Real Estate selling.

  • I can sell my house on the cheap as a pocket listing with an agreeable agent.
  • I can use an online service like “Open Door” to sell my home easily.
  • How can I list my home without paying Realtors steep commissions?

These questions, generated by commercials on TV, lure unsuspecting homeowners into potentially dangerous situations. If it were so easy to sell your home using some of the above methods, everyone would do it. The truth is, it’s not that easy, and often costs a homeowner more than they can afford. Let’s start by tackling these issues from top to bottom.

Pocket Listings

Selling your home as a “pocket listing” comes about when a homeowner starts with these questions or statements:

  • Most agents just put the house on the MLS and then do nothing! Why should I pay for some other agent, who actually works, to bring a buyer to my house when the listing agent sits back?

Unfortunately, some agents out there do fit that description. But you must ask yourself, “If I landed on this guy’s website, and I’m reading his blog post, shouldn’t I believe he’s an active REALTOR?” The answer is yes. Lazy agents who only list the home on the MLS are either new or they simply don’t care. Any agent you list your property with should be able to show you their efforts to generate buyers. Different approaches and styles exist, but all active agents engage an audience. This leads to the next thought or statement.

  • I’ll approach an active agent and tell them I want a pocket listing. If they’re willing to work hard, they should be able to produce a buyer for my house, right? Then I’ll pay them a commission.”

Although not illegal, pocket listings are basically obsolete. In Arizona, all Realtors who market a property in any way, shape, or form must submit the listing to the MLS. Along with putting the property on the MLS is the promise to pay a commission. Although the amount cannot be regulated, the property must be submitted. Therefore, if you are currently working with a REALTOR who says they can list your home without putting it on the MLS, while marketing the home, is acting against the laws of their local association. On the flipside, if you’re not in a hurry to sell your home, and your level of confidence is high in your agent, perhaps a pocket listing can work for you. The agent will simply pull from their pool of buyers to sell the property. They will have to do this without any advertising. As a seller, you’re agreeing to sign a contract to sell your home. What do you think an agent will do? They can’t advertise…They can’t send out emails…They can’t post of FB or Craigslist… Answer, they do nothing and the initial complaint at the beginning facilitates the outcome. TRUTH: A good agent is always working, and they’re worth they’re weight in gold. Don’t waste your time, go with someone who works hard.

Online Services

  • I want to list my with a service like Open Door or Purple Bricks because I don’t want to pay high commissions“.

Sounds fair, right? So…let’s get this ironed out. A seller wants to utilize an non-localized online service, hand over their house and keys to someone on the phone they don’t know, and allow anyone to walk up to the door, punch in a fake email address and have access to their house?

Consider this, the online service does not understand your property, will not visit your property, can’t explain any details to a buyer, may not know any of the local restrictions, CC&Rs, how to get HOA information, who to contact at the city or county, easement violations, and heaven forbid you get into escrow…how will the service negotiate with a buyer’s demands, inspections, repairs, contractors, or missed deadlines? If they don’t, you can be sure the contract you’ve signed says they are not responsible.

If the online service utilizes local agents to do the work at a cut-rate, you can bet those agents are not concerned with the outcome. After all, they’re selling their “expertise” cheap, and it’s likely because they’re not full-time Realtors, or they’re new and need the money.

We’ve encountered these services while representing buyers. We’ve walked up to doors and felt as if we had to win the game of Survivor to get the door open. Conversely, we’ve strolled up to the door, punched in a fake email and gained immediate access. Either way, strangers gain access to the house, unsupervised.

That’s why we carry homeowner’s insurance…” I sincerely hope the sentiment is consolation. Be sure all valuables are out of the home and if occupying the home, this could be very dangerous.

Realtors know who is going in and out of the home. We know names, brokerage, phone number, and everything about the Realtor gaining access. Buyers who only want to work with the listing agent can still call directly and we’ll walk them around personally. While we’re there, we’ll also check systems, smells, lights, and other safety precautions to ensure your home is kept safe.

At the end of the day you’re still paying for the service, and still paying a commission to a buyer’s agent. Why assume the risk?

Is it really that hard to sell my Prescott Home myself?

Had a friend recently tell me a joke, hopefully no one will take offense. “Why are divorces so expensive? Because they’re worth it.” It’s only funny in a sad/morbid sort of way… Back to the question.

Is it really hard to sell…” Depends. We’ve worked with very experienced sellers who have purchased and sold dozens of homes. They still prefer to use a Realtor. Why? Because they’ve learned it’s worth it. Why would super-experienced people use an agent while a first-time home seller cut corners? Could be bad advice, inexperience, watching reality TV, etc.

No, it’s not hard to sell a home yourself. If you’ve done it before and have experience more power to you! As long as everything goes according to plan, smooth and silky like….you shouldn’t have any issues. Of course, that is wherein they say, “lies the rub”. Most transactions do not go smooth, and most have multiple and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. As a seller, you’re not guaranteed to have an unrepresented buyer on the other side. The buyer will likely have an agent and that agent represents the other party, not you.

Discuss the commission during the listing process. Good agents can tell you why they earn their commission. I’ve honestly only experienced a single incident when a seller tried to talk me out of part of my commission. Story: I acquired the buyer, negotiated a better deal than was originally offered with better terms, got the buyer to put down non-refundable earnest money, and closed the deal without a hitch. Oh, did I mention the seller claimed to be an attorney from southern CA? The day before close they tried to renegotiate a well-earned commission because I handled both sides. Fair enough, except because of how I handled the initial offer not only did I offset my commission, I made them more money.

Good agents aren’t greedy, and they’re not chasing the paycheck. You know why? Because they’re doing well enough to not have to. These are the best and most secure agents to utilize. Closing a deal does not make a Realtor a living. Repeat business, ethical behavior, experience, and positive relationships make Realtors a living.

Prescott Arizona, Voted Best Place to Raise a Family!

That’s right! And voted by whom, may I ask?

Me.

Prescott is continually being lauded by magazines and statistical polls as one of the top retirement destinations in the U.S. Although easy to understand with its 4-season climate and exercise potential, Prescott is also a wonderful town to raise your kids. How do I know? Because along with my siblings, I was raised here.

Prescott was and is a town of adventure. Sitting on the edge of the wild western frontier, Prescott has deep routes carrying back to the days of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday and more. Prescott has seen many changes over the years from a tiny mall (Ponderosa Plaza) to the newer Gateway Mall and shopping district where Bullwhacker hill once stood. Once a seriously dangerous road, Bullwhacker hill was revered by locals for its steep and curvy grade into town. During heavy snow, Bullwhacker hill was a death-trap. When the city decided finally to allow the “Bull’s Whip” to be straightened out, it was to some relief. The remnants of the old road are still visible to north side of Highway 69 as a ghostly reminder…a reminder to long-time residents of where Prescott truly began when entering town. Nowadays, there’s just a mall and a huge hotel blocking the view.

Bullwhacker Hill Prescott AZ Views

©2017 Matt White The above photo was imaged during two different times a day, This was some years before bracketing capabilities on digital cameras.

I personally remember when Prescott decided finally to build a “mall”. Back in the 70’s & 80’s, Prescott was bustling on the west side of town. Prescott High School was in full swing and industries were popping up. As a kid, Prescott was both a super-boring place to live, but also had the formula for adventure. We more-than-welcomed the “mall”, which wasn’t much of a mall at all. Anchored by Sears and J.C. Penny’s (previously located in downtown Prescott where the Bashford Courts are now) the Ponderosa Plaza was a tiny strip mall which included T.G.&Y, AJ Bayless Grocery, an Ice Cream shop, B-Dalton Book Store, Footlocker, a jewelry store, several local clothing and antique shops, and of course the arcade. The mall became a wonderful hangout destination and sort of odyssey in the trek to get there. We personally liked the path behind the newly built K-Mart plaza, through the graveyard, into the mall parking lot. Back then, there was no Gail Gardner Road to cross, just a ditch and a parking lot.

View of Prescott during the 70's

©2017 Matt White – A view of Prescott during the late 70’s from what appears to be the top of Washington St where the water tanks were located. To the left, Senator Highway is visible and the dirt road that turns into Virginia St. You can see the end of the pavement as the street heads up to the graveyard. This is also where Prescott’s Drive-In Theater was located. The little “S” curve from Mt. Vernon St/Senator Highway was frequented by us on bikes. We would start our descent from the top of the hill (now known as Palmer Hill), shoot across Mt. Vernon, and hit this very steep dirt trail. The drop to Virginia St was about 10′ from the clearing. It was quite the thrill-ride. The “Y” shaped road to the left of the photo toward the bottom was to accommodate the entrance to the graveyard (left) and the drive-in (right)

A view of Prescott AZ during the 70's

©2017 Matt White – This view from the same location takes in Virginia St. Washington School is on the far right with the large roof.

View of Prescott AZ during the 70's

©2017 Matt White – An even better view of Washington School. Goodwin Street can be seen slightly. Hard to believe it was dirt once.

View of downtown Prescott during the 70's-80's

©2017 Matt White – This appears to be taken from DQ-hill, or also known as Bradshaw St. The dirt road in the center is Goodwin as it descends into Rush Street.

Yavpai College shot during the 1970's

©2017 Matt White – Interesting shot of Yavapai College in the distance. A little to the right is where the Prescott Resort would be built years later. The little hill above the college is still present and serves as a barrier between the college and the VA Hospital behind.

Back in the day, downtown Prescott was also very different, although not so much as to not recognize it. One of these days, I’ll get ambitious and dig through my parent’s old photo books with a scanner in hand.

4th of July Parade Downtown Prescott AZ 1978

©2017 Matt White Downtown Montezuma St across from the Salvation Army. Today, Radio Shack is still next door. The sign next to Rocco’s Liquor Store reads “Natural Foods”. Back then, the parade started at Prescott Junior High (now Mile High School.)

Downtown Prescott AZ during the late 70's

©2017 Matt White Radio Shack is still on the same site today. Tandy Leather, however, is gone.

Downtown Prescott during the 70's

©2017 Matt White A local Cantina and Tuneup Masters on the corner of Goodwin and Montezuma St in Prescott, AZ

Downtown Prescott Arizona during the 1970's

©2017 Matt White – These days during the fourth of July parade, onlookers are lucky to get a visibility at all. Those were the days!

Downtown Prescott during the 70's

©2017 Matt White Rocco’s Liquors eventually became Rocco’s Pizza. Phil’s Collectables was also housed in this building where John Denny came back to town to sign autographs after winning the Cy Young award while pitching for the Phillies.

Prescott was certainly a fun town to grow up in! If you’re looking for quaint towns to move and raise a family, consider Prescott, AZ.

For sale by owner houses in Prescott, Arizona – what a nightmare

We decided to share a story about a recent interaction we had regarding a FSBO.

Without disclosing anything about who the people are, let’s just say they have significant history and experience in real estate (as professionals and home-owners). They also, like most people, want to get the most bang for their buck when considering the sale of their home. All good things and we support anyone’s decision to DIY.

Of course they sought out my advice before they decided to go to market themselves. The story isn’t so much about “why” they didn’t list with me as much as it is “what happened because they didn’t?” Sometimes people just do what they believe is in their best interest, and although cautioning them, who am we say otherwise?

As a real estate professional in the area, care must be taken about what advice we give people who are “pocket” clients. Although they asked for legitimate documentation from the Arizona Department of Real Estate, we made sure we didn’t provide them with anything other than a blank  disclosure form (SPDS, which is required by law even when selling FSBO) and an HOA addendum (which is also required by law). Because we’re not actually representing them, we didn’t want to imply representation although retaining the relationship with them as friends was paramount. Tread carefully Realtors…unless you’re a licensed attorney in good standing, don’t give legal advice. The pocket client could also misrepresent their position to a potential buyer as well; “pretending” to work with a Realtor. Although you’re trying to “help” as a friend, we as Realtors need to also protect our reputations and guide our friends correctly.

They decided they’re chosen avenue for marketing was Zillow and Craigslist. On a side-note, we think this is another reason for all brokerages to boycott Zillow. They allow FSBO sellers to circumnavigate a profession which is there to help them, not hurt them. But thanks to some marketing and photos, a buyer was produced who had interest in their home. (Note all of this is hearsay on my part. we never actually spoke to the buyer or saw any documentation from escrow concerning the transaction.)

The potential buyer flew out to schedule a viewing of the home and to meet directly with the sellers, (red flag #1). Everything appeared to be going well as a price was negotiated and notification was given for perspective inspection dates. This is where it all took a turn for the worse. The buyer became extremely demanding, suddenly producing actual Arizona real estate contract documentation and wanting it to be signed (red flag #2). What started out as a friendly handshake and verbal agreement turned into a test of will – one against the other. To further add insult to injury, the escrow company handling the transaction actually told the seller “they handle FSBO clients all the time” and gave rise to the idea that “they don’t need professional representation” (red flag #3).

Well, it only took 24 hours before the entire contract unraveled. The sellers wouldn’t agree to sign official paperwork, (which had to do with appraisal contingencies) citing to the buyer “We had a deal that we agreed on. What’s all this talk now about appraisals and inspections?” Of course the buyer exercised their right to have inspections and appraisals performed, but being met with resistance, backed out of the deal.

Moral of the story? The sellers learned a valuable lesson although they knew this lesson going in. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” They spent a lot of time and money and although a buyer was produced, it didn’t equate to a sale.

If you’re planning on selling your home For Sale By Owner, it’s not good enough to google “How to sell my home DIY?” and read a few articles. Potential home-sellers need to know there is a lot of effort put in by real estate professionals. Contract Law, Negotiation tactics, Marketing, Advertising (not the same thing as Marketing), Technology, Syndication, Web Portals, buyer pipelines, email lists, Insurance, Umbrella Home Warranty Coverage during escrow, relationships with Title and Escrow officers, closing cost incentives, title fee discounts, property access with identification, keeping tract of timelines, negotiating with subcontractors, dealing with appraisers and banks, and hundreds of other things not coming to mind. Realtors also take ongoing education regarding negotiation skills (which translates into “keeping your cool”) and all the nuances of city, state, and national regulations. Even if you’ve been a real estate agent/broker in the past, you may not be up to speed on current laws although you may be able to handle your own negotiations. Do yourself a favor…save yourself the pain, headaches, and potential lawsuits. Hire a professional agent trained in helping you sell your home. It’s money well spent.

IDXpro, IDXbroker and cURL problems. How to solve for Real Estate Agents – WordPress 4.6 update

As a realtor, I rely on my systems to do their job each day, silently in the background, working as they should. One of the ways technology keeps itself in business is to consistently make things “safer”, keep things “up to date”, and mostly be “innovative”; always on the cutting edge. Making things harder for the end user is what maintains tech company jobs. It seems that any professional business has to have their own in-house I.T. person or “tech guy/gal” as we like to call them.

Being a programmer myself for many years now, I understand the struggles Realtors face every day with browser updates, JAVA updates, and Flash updates. Not to mention plug-in updates, OpenSSL, server-side scripts, Apache configurations, Perl, and now cURL.

The most obvious part of explaining cURL is to focus on the URL part of the script language. We automatically know this has to do with URL syntax. The “c” in cURL stands for “command” or “command line”. It basically allows a connection to another source to be verified before allowing a transfer of data (or information) back to the original requester. For Realtors running IDX platforms inside their websites this may mean using “wrappers” or “curling” a specific protocol for an end user to view.

Example: The IDX your using may require you to completely use their system with your information simply “plugged in” to the headers, etc. Others allow you to completely use your system and “plug-in” their lines of code into your HTML. When doing this, it’s generally referred to as a “wrap” or “wrapper”. Your effectively “wrapping” their content in your website’s look & feel. No problem, as long as all the programs talk to each other properly.

Every once in a while, some wise-guy decides to interject something into an update that completely throws everyone for a spin. Introducing WordPress 4.6 update.

The latest WP update many realtors using the IDXCO solution (known as IDXbroker, IDXpro, and IDXlite) running to their servers to complain about the latest error that has shown up on their page: “There was a problem curling the page, please make sure your server allows page curling“. When Google-ing this phrase with quotes around it (meaning I’m looking for that exact phrase) Google delivered over 46,000 page results…all from Real Estate companies. The real bummer, my website was on the first page of that result… several times.

The steps you’re likely to take:
1. A non-programmer would immediately contact the IDX provider. It’s obvious that the problem is coming from their end…right? However, the word “server” in the message sends people also to the host server.
2. Contact your host server: I.E. godaddy, networksolutions, mediatemple, WhoIs, etc.

Although both of these steps seem incontrovertible, they are both actually not this issue in this instance. The problem is the wordpress 4.6 update.

As to not anger the cyberspace gods, I’ll caveat the above statement with this: Your server should be updated with the latest scripting languages available including PHP, cURL and OpenSSL (among many others.) To find out what versions your server may be running, you’ll need to locate the info.php file or php.ini. To do this all you need is a simple text editor such as Notepad. (Don’t use word processors like MS Word) Then type in this line of code:
<? phpinfo(); ?>
That’s it. Save this file as something like myinfo.php and FTP (save it) it to your website’s public directory, root directory, or wherever you can easily find it on your server. Then pull it up in a web browser by typing in the URL.

If you’ve done it correctly, you’ll have your PHP settings from your server displayed nicely with title breakdowns. You can check the versions of programming languages against the latest releases just by Google-ing the language. (I.E. “Latest version of cURL”) You’ll find that many servers have not updated their languages to the latest updates. This could cause the error above. Put in a request ticket with your host server to make sure they’re updated to the latest versions. Now… don’t you feel smart? You should.

The other adjustments that need to be made temporarily to fix this issue are within IDXpro/broker/lite. In your “Global HTML wrapper” tab under Customize>Designs, you’ll find the settings to either use a static or dynamic wrapper. Many Realtors use the dynamic wrapper and inject the code into their HTML. If this is your situation, you’ll need to temporarily disable this and use a static wrapper. The static wrapper can easily be split into the two sections called the “Header” and “Footer” of the page. Simply put, the top & bottom sections of your webpages with the IDX code running in the middle. The static wrapper is now using your HTML code, hosted on your server VS the IDXpro system using their dynamic wrapper, which is what’s causing the problem. SO, what is the problem exactly???

The problem is that WordPress’ 4.6 update added a new folder under wp-includes/requests/transport that didn’t exist in version 4.4 (the version that still works with IDXpro) Inside this folder is a file called cURL.php. This cURL file has lines of code which have been known to cause issues. The WP support forum has a ticket on this item which was supposedly solved. FOUND HERE. However, the issue is not solved for IDXpro users. I won’t take time to write up everything said in the support ticket, as you can go read it for yourself.

The solution for agents is to:
1. Temporarily switch to the static wrapper
2. Contact your server to make sure they’ve updated to the latest cURL
3. Make sure your version of PHP is running at least 5.6 or higher
4. Possibly make the changes mentioned in the support ticket above (although they didn’t work for me)
5. Wait for your server to announce their latest updates.

WordPress may also issue a new update that may correct this problem. However, just because WP releases a new version still does not mean your server is handling the page requests properly IF using outdated versions of cURL and PHP.

Now, aren’t you glad you became a Realtor so you could learn to program websites?