OPENDOOR IS AMAZING! My 91-year-old mother finally decided to move to California from Florida to be closer to us. Hooray!! When it came time to sell her house I knew it was going to be difficult to try and manage things from across the country. We knew that we didn't want a series of open houses, or having random people disturb her wanting to look at the place and making ridiculous offers or worse yet just "casing the joint," nor did we want to deal buyers who fall out of escrow at the last minute. There were some issues that necessitated her trying to make the move as quickly as possible. When parents sold their home a few years ago before my father passed it took well over a year and even though the sale was listed "as is" they still spent so much time and effort negotiating things that weren't necessary. This lead us to Opendoor. I did my research and they seemed to be reputable and on the up-and-up. I read some really negative reviews but the theme seemed to be people who had a really inflated idea of how much their home was worth or that it wasn't in as good condition as they thought or that they didn't have a lot of equity in the home. So for us, Opendoor seemed like a good alternative. We contacted Opendoor in late December and spoke to one of their reps who walked us through the whole process. One of the things he kept saying was that we could cancel the deal at any time, right up to the end. That gave me a bit of security knowing that if something were to happen we could back out. We filled out the rest of the online paper work (I should mention that we did all this while Mom was visiting California for the holidays) and a few days later got our offer. I was really hesitant to open it but was pleasantly surprised. It was in line with what I had expected. I know my mom wanted more but I don't think she was being realistic. It actuality it was probably a bit on the low side. Had we used a traditional real estate agent they probably would have listed it higher expecting to come down on the price. Plus if we ended up waiting a year or more the market (which isn't really that stable right now) could have tanked and we would have ended up losing money on the house--this happened to my parents twice in the past. With the fee that we paid to Opendoor, my mom made a small amount of money on the property and basically lived in that house for three years rent free. We accepted the offer and could have closed within a couple of weeks but wanted to give her a little more time to get things packed. We ended up changed the closing date a couple of times and it was no big deal. Even the final walk through we had to reschedule at the last minute and it was fine. The one potential hold-up was the inspection. I thought for sure they'd come in with a check list and start making all kinds of deductions for even the littlest things. Now my mom's house is in really good shape. It was a flipped property when she bought it and she was the only one living there for the three years. So there wasn't really anything for them to find and anything minor they just over looked. So we passed the inspection with no deductions at all. From the time that we first talked to Opendoor to the time we were on a plane headed to California (with the money in the bank) was two months. The whole time I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop; for something bad to happen. And nothing bad ever did. I still can't believe how incredibly easy it was. The other thing that I think is important to mention is the amazing customer service. EVERY SINGLE PERSON we dealt with that was on our team--from initial intake, to the title and escrow services to the team that did the home inspection and the notary who came out to have her sign the papers--were friendly, professional, well-informed, and courteous. They were all so understanding of our situation and made sure we understood every step in the process and were there every step of the way. When I sold my house a few years ago, I loved my real estate agent, but I did feel that once we had a buyer that she disappeared. And that's when I really, really needed her to help me understand all of the paperwork and procedures, etc. That level and quality of service is not something you find all the time and certainly not what you'd expect from an "online service." Opendoor was definitely the right choice for our family. If you have any concerns, talk to them. From what I understand, they don't take on every house that comes their way. And there's no obligation even up until the end. So talk to them and see what they can do for you. If you're like us, I think you'll find there a great choice. So as I write this my mom is sitting in our living room, our two dogs snuggled around her looking forward to the next chapter in her life. And she's happy. And so are we. Thank you Opendoor for making this all possible.