Which is more valuable, your home or your data?  iBuyer Programs Steal Your Home and Your Data so let’s investigate what an iBuyer program is and what its goals are.

iBuyer programs offer an easy button to sell a home, with a catch.  These are investors looking to scoop up homes at a large discount.  Essentially you sell your home so far below market value it becomes lucrative for an investor to buy and flip your home.  They make all the profit.  In other words, you’re giving your home equity over to them.

iBuyer programs are nothing new.  Investors have been posting those pesky road signs all over the place offering to pay cash for your home or buy ugly houses for decades.  Today’s iBuyer program is different, because they have another motive.  They want your data.

iBuyer programs realize once people see their offer then subtract fees, closing costs, and repairs after their inspections, over 90% of sellers become disgusted and turn them down.  By then, it’s too late.  They’ve captured all your data.  They sell that data and make millions.  Their goal is to make billions.

Here’s how it works.  First, you get an offer.  It’ll be low, perhaps 10% or more below market value.  It gets even better.  They tack on fees, typically in the 5-7.5% range.  Then they add closing costs in the 2-3% range.  Then they do inspections, because up until this point they haven’t even seen your home.  It’s all been done using data points and algorithms.  The report comes back, and they decide you need $15,000 in repairs plus your kitchen needs updating, so tack on another $20,000.  At this point, the seller is furious.

The seller says no, and the deal is off.  The iBuyer program knows how much you owe on the home, how old your roof, appliances and air conditioner are, what improvements are needed to the home, where you’ll be moving once you sell, and much more.  How? Because you answered their questions to continue through the process.  You didn’t like the ending, but you were curious through the process to see what number they would give you.  They had you at hello.

So, you say, “I’ll sell my home with a broker and keep the profit yourself.”  That’s ok, because they refer you to “top brokers” in the area.  You guessed it; they collect a referral fee from agents they recommend.  They may not be the best agents, but surely, they are agents paying them a fee.

Have you seen ads on TV promising to find the best agents in your neighborhood?  HomeLight is one that comes to mind, and they are also an iBuyer.  Contractors, remodelers, home improvement stores would all be interested in the age of your appliances, or what your kitchen and baths look like.  Same with flooring.  Now they have pictures, because you guessed it, the inspector took pictures during the inspection period.

Outside mortgage companies have your info too because they bought your data.  They know your phone number, email address, how much you owe, where you’re going, and more.  The simple offer you were curious to get has become a treasure trove of data.

If you sell your home to the iBuyer, they win big.  If you refuse to sell, they still win big.  The only loser is the poor seller who was just curious to use the easy button and sell their home if the price was right.

Keller Williams is coming out with an iBuyer program to prevent this.  We have no intention of selling the data.  We’re not going to refer it out to other agents.  If the seller doesn’t like the cash offer, they’ll use one of our agents to get full market value.  We have our own mortgage company that offers a zero-lending fee loan.  So, we’re not selling to other mortgage companies.  We’re not selling to contractors or home improvement stores.  We simply want to provide the iBuyer option so people don’t go to other places that will sell your data.

Our program is rolling out to 8 markets this year and more after that.  If you’re thinking of selling your home and want full market value, Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty Fort Myers & the Islands 239-489-4042 Ext 4 or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com

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