Opendoor, a company who profits on Seller’s equity

Opendoor, a company who profits on Seller’s equity

     As a realtor for Keller Williams Realty East Valley, I have shown a few homes Opendoor has had listed and I also previewed a few homes to see if any of the homes would appeal to my buyers. I also received several mailers from Opendoor wanting to buy my home and some of my clients received mailers for their homes that were listed at the time with The Ehrke Team.

     Many of you may have received a mailer from Opendoor (if you own a home) making statements such as “Say hello to an offer in your back pocket”, “Receive an offer on your home by this time tomorrow”, “Request an offer on your home at the press of a button”. One of the mailers my clients received while listed with The Ehrke Team said, “Welcome to selling your home for exactly what it’s worth”. The range between the low offer and the high offer shown on Opendoor’s mailer was $42,000. After my clients received this mailer from Opendoor, they went to Opendoor’s website and requested an offer, this offer came in about $20,000 less than the lower offer amount that was on the mailer. If my clients had accepted Opendoor’s offer, they would have lost about $42,000+/- in equity. The Ehrke Team helped our clients keep the equity by selling their home for more than Opendoor was willing to pay for it.

    For those of you who have not used Opendoor, this is how Opendoor works: First, you receive a mailer stating Opendoor will buy your home between X (the low offer) and X+ (the high offer). After you decide you would like to get an offer you access their website and request an offer from Opendoor. The first thing you may notice on the offer is the price offered for your home may be below the amount shown on your mailer. The other item you may notice, Opendoor has deducted 9 to 9 ½% from the already low offer to cover Opendoor’s operational cost. In addition to this operational cost if you live in a community that has an HOA you the seller will be required to pay all HOA fees. The last cost the seller will pay for are any repair cost that Opendoor determines during the inspection of your home and this amount will also be deducted from the home price as well. This is an unknown cost at the time of the offer and is a number provide by Opendoor to enhance their profits and to reduce your equity.

     For some Sellers Opendoor is attractive to them for selling their home fast, but it is at the cost of a good percentage of the Seller’s equity and that equity will then become Opendoor’s profit and not the Seller’s profit. If you are thinking of getting an offer from Opendoor, that’s great, but call an agent to provide you with comps so you can see how much equity you are giving up to Opendoor. If you live in Arizona and you are in the East valley, you can contact me at 480-526-0306 for your free CMA (Comparable Market Analysis). Don’t pay a convenience tax and throw away your hard earn equity to a large profit hungry company, call a realtor to get the most out of your home, and pocket the equity you built for you and your family.

Home for sale: 2651 N Sericin Cir Mesa AZ

No HOA, Single level, corner lot, 3 bedroom 2 bath home with easy access to shopping and restaurants all in walking distance plus near schools and golf course.

KB Home to develop Allred Brothers Ranch - Zoning Hearing

On June 29th, the property owners within 500 feet as well as all registered neighborhoods and HOAs within a half mile of the Allred Brother’s property received a notice at the request of the Mesa Planning Division. This notice was to inform the property owners around the proposed project of the request to rezone the approximate 26.7 acres from its current zoning of AG (Agriculture) to the RSL 4.5 zoning. The proposed development consists of single family homes with over 5 acres  of open space throughout the community. The rezoning was originally scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on July 19, 2017 at the Mesa City Council Chambers. This was rescheduled for Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. in another notice received by the property owners on July 31, 2017.

During the Mesa City Council meeting, the lawyer representing KB Home spoke to the Mesa City Council and addressed some of the changes made to the original site development plans. These changes were made to address some of the concerns of the homeowners who attended the meeting on March 23, 2017. The properties on north property line were made deeper so that any two story homes would have 48 feet minimum to 53 feet maximum distance from the patio to the north fence. This change was to address the concern of privacy for the homes north of the new development. They also added more green space (retention area) to allow for the additional rainwater runoff. They were also going to address the access to the development from the canal on the westside of the project. The lawyer also addressed both entrances/exits to the subdivision, the entrance/exit on Southern Ave allowed 100 feet from the end of the  median at the canal, the other entrance/exit off Los Alamos was made wider. All the changes made to the subdivision reduced the number of properties to a total of 108 in the new subdivision.

There were 4 homeowners who requested to speak to the Mesa City Council to voice their concerns. Two homeowners were concerned with the additional traffic from the new subdivision and from Countryside Park along Los Alamos and the possibility of needing a traffic light at Los Alamos and Southern Ave. They also requested a reduction of the number of homes built in the subdivision. The 2 story homes were still a concern and with the new home properties widths smaller than the homes to the north, the homeowners to the north could have 2 to 3 properties backed up to their properties. One of the homeowners was concerned with the entrance/exit on Southern Ave because the 100 feet from the end of the median at the canal may not be enough space to allow someone entering the subdivision to slow down. The final concern was regarding the runoff from future rains and if the developer had addressed this to prevent flooding of the neighborhood to the north.

After all had a chance to speak to the Mesa City Council, the Council put the rezoning to a vote. There was a unanimous vote to approve the zoning with conditions. 

 The Ehrke Team will post additional updates as this project continues forward.

KB Home to develop Allred Brothers Ranch

The Allred family has decided to sell their horse ranch on the corner of Southern Ave and Lindsay in Mesa. On March 8th, the homeowners north of this one of a kind property in Mesa received a letter saying that KB Home was now under contract to purchase the 26.7+/- acre property. They intend to subdivide it and build 117 single family residences. The current home owners in the area were invited to a neighborhood meeting with the applicant at Porter Elementary School on March 23rd to learn more about the proposed project.

There were several concerns from one homeowner to the north of the project:

The first concern raised was in regard to the congestion on Los Alamos. Visitors of Countryside Park already bring considerable congestion to the neighborhood by parking on Los Alamos. The current homeowner was concerned with how much additional traffic would be added from the future homeowners of the new development. A Mesa police officer advised the neighbors to contact the Mesa City Council to resolve parking issues. Currently the westside of Los Alamos is already a No Parking Zone.

The second concern brought to attention was the possibility that homeowners currently living to the north of the project could have two story homes built behind them leading to lower home values and an invasion of privacy in their backyards.

The third concern presented was the possibility of additional rain runoff from the new subdivision. The Allred property will need to be elevated to avoid flooding from the canal on the northwest corner of the project which may cause rainwater be redirected toward the neighborhood to the north.

A final concern was mentioned at the end of the meeting by one of the homeowners about a proposed greenbelt in the new subdivision that would be accessible by way of the canal. The concern was that allowing access to the greenbelt from the canal may attract visitors to the new subdivision who already utilize Countryside Park for questionable and illegal activity.

After presenting these concerns to the applicant and the lawyers, the neighborhood residents were told they would take all their concerns into consideration.

The Ehrke Team will post additional updates as this project continues forward.

10660 E Plata Ave, Mesa AZ 85212

Move-In ready, single level, 3 bedroom 2 baths home, within walking distance to
community park and easy access to shopping, restaurants the loop 202 and
US60 and the home is in the Gilbert school district. This home features
a front porch, great room, large eat-in kitchen, pantry, master
bedroom, master bath, walk-in master closet, great room, dinning area,
interior laundry area with cabinets, backyard covered patio and 2 car
garage with cabinets and new garage door opener. Recent upgrades:
Exterior painted in 2014, interior painted in 2017, Guest Bathroom and
Master Bath new cabinets and granite counter tops and faucet and new
light fixtures in 2016, new built-in microwave and oven/range 2017,
cabinets install in laundry area 2016, garage door opener 2017.

Benefits of Home Ownership

Benefits of Home Ownership

Have you been considering buying a home? Have you wondered if it was better to rent or to buy? Have you wondered what the benefits to buying a home are? With mortgage rates at the lower end of the spectrum and the five reasons below, I think you will see that this is still a great time purchase a home.

1.     If you are renting you are paying someone else’s mortgage. Along with paying their mortgage you are giving that person a nice tax deduction that could be yours. Mortgage loan interest may be deducted on your tax returns. This tax savings is not an option available to renters. (Consult a tax professional about the tax savings benefits of home ownership.)

2.     How many times has your rent increased since you have started renting? You have no control over if it will increase or not. When you purchase a home you have stability, because fixed mortgage payments (principal and interest) will not change during the loan term whereas rent payments may increase annually.

3.     When you move out of your rental property you will not have anything to show for it, except that you had a place to rest your head and to store your things. Home ownership allows you to build equity. Owning a home long term allows equity to build and thus your home investment to grow. Do you know what equity in real estate means or how it works?  It’s the difference between the current fair market value of the property and the amount the owner still owes on the mortgage. It is the amount that the owner would receive after selling a property and paying off the mortgage. Equity can be used to obtain a line of credit or a loan for home improvements, cash for emergencies or big-ticket items or to bring down the amount you would need to borrow on a bigger and or nicer home.

4.     In most markets your home will appreciate. This means it will increase in value over time and this with paying your loan down is how you obtain equity in your home. Your rent payment does not give you any return on your money.

5.     What types of options do you have in making your rental property reflect your personality or your lifestyle? Anything you do will need to be approved by your landlord, correct? When you purchase a home you have a place to call your own. A place you can add your own touches with paint, flooring, fixtures, landscaping or complete remodel that will reflect your tastes and lifestyle. Maybe you would like your own pool and the privacy it affords you and your friends and family. How about the chance to get to know your neighbors, neighborhood and be involved in what goes on in your area.

Is it time for you to stop throwing away your rent every month? Do you want your tax savings, the stability of the same monthly payment, to be able to build equity and appreciation, as well as a place to call your own?  Now is a great time to invest your hard earned money in home of your own.  Call The Ehrke Team 480-526-0306 and find out where to start.

 Based off of Trulia’s Rent vs. Buy Report, October 2015

5135 E Evergreen St Unit 1186, Mesa AZ 85205

1295 N Ash St 213, Gilbert AZ 85233 (Ikon Hayfield)