OfferPad is a scam

My wife and I were going to sell our home in Colorado to move closer to her family. Our home is a new build that was finished in October of 2019. We had a full inspection of our home 15 months ago in September of 2020. As of this post, the home is only 26 months old.

We received a very good offer from OfferPad, but did not sign it at first because we didn’t know if we could commit to a move in the timeline they gave us. We had other offers from iBuyers as well. OfferPad came back a few days after the signing deadline and stated they would extend their offer for the home, same offer. We decided to sign with OfferPad.

OfferPad then had an inspection performed on the house. The inspector found 2 things.

1) The door leading in from the garage did not close automatically. I guess this is a fire code thing if there is a fire in the garage. I purchased a spring hinge for $30 and will be able to fix this ASAP.

2) One of the wires in the fuse box needed to be capped. This will cost around $0.05

OfferPad reduced their offer by $30,000 ostensibly because of these two issues. Even if we fixed the two issues, they were reducing their offer.

I have read about a few other interactions homeowners have had with OfferPad where OfferPad utilized the inspection to adjust the terms of the agreement. It is my opinion that OfferPad’s model is to go in with a high offer to secure a homeowner’s business, and then claw back whatever margin they can get, blaming it on inspection and manipulating loopholes in real estate transactions. By this point, the homeowner is possibly so committed that they will be at the mercy of OfferPad. We had not agreed to purchase another home yet, but if we were under contract with another home, we would have had to eat the $30,000. I wasn’t going to finalize anything until I knew more from OfferPad and this is a great example why you should wait as well or make a contingent offer (which in this market, will probably prevent you from securing the new home). Obviously in our case, it is easy to identify OfferPad’s motivation when the repair cost less than $50 and OfferPad lowers their offer by $30,000. However, for older homes, the math may get a little bit more fuzzy, and you might convince yourself that OfferPad’s “adjusted” offer is reasonable and in your best interests

Needless to say, I believe that OfferPad has absolutely zero integrity. This was easily one of the most shady, dishonest interactions I have ever had with a business. It is literally only 13 days since we signed the contract with them. OfferPad never intended to honor their offer. I would avoid using OfferPad. It’s a seller’s market. You’ll do just fine without them.