End-to-end homebuying service Flyhomes is now working with brokers and agents in Idaho to enable their homebuyer clients to make all-cash offers.
The Flyhomes Cash Offer helps agents close deals 4.5 times faster — in 10 days, instead of 45 — and gives their clients an edge in multiple offer situations, the company says. Flyhomes reports that more than half of homebuyers using the Flyhomes Cash Offer last year beat out higher bids by making cash offers that were 2.53 percent lower, on average.
Seattle-based Flyhomes provides end-to-end homebuying services through subsidiaries including Flyhomes Brokerage, Flyhomes Mortgage and Flyhomes Closing.
Homebuyers don’t pay a fee for using the Flyhomes Cash Offer service if they finance their purchase with a mortgage with Flyhomes Mortgage. If they choose another lender, Flyhomes charges a 1 percent fee.
It’s offering the Flyhomes Cash Offer program to real estate brokerages and their agents through Flyhomes for Agents, now available from Flyhomes Mortgage in California, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, Washington state and Washington, D.C. More markets are planned for next year, the company said.
“A Flyhomes Cash Offer provides certainty, speed, and simplicity for buyers throughout Idaho,” said Flyhomes’ Adam Hopson, in a statement. “For a seller and their listing agent, it’s the difference between knowing your home is sold and wondering if it will fall through, as every Flyhomes Cash Offer is backed by a 100 percent guarantee that Flyhomes will buy the home if the buyer backs out.”
After they’re “pre-underwritten” by Flyhomes Mortgage, homebuyers can start making offers. If their offer is accepted, Flyhomes provides a short-term loan for an all-cash offer to be funded in 10 days. After the homebuyer has moved in, they have up to three months to arrange permanent financing.
If they choose Flyhomes Mortgage, their short-term loan is refinanced into a standard mortgage within 30 days that’s guaranteed to close on time. If homebuyers go with another mortgage lender for their permanent financing, they’ll pay a 1 percent convenience fee.
Flyhomes also employs in-house real estate agents who are paid a base salary and bonuses based on the number of transactions they’re involved in.
When sellers chose Flyhomes Brokerage as their listing agent, they pay 1.25 to 1.5 percent of the home’s sale price, or 2 to 2.5 percent for “all inclusive” services that include cleaning, staging, and inspecting. If a home hasn’t sold after it’s been on the market for 180 days, Flyhomes will make an offer on it, although sellers can keep their property on the market until it sells.
When working with buyers, Flyhomes Brokerage collects a standard commission. Buyers can back out of a purchase after their cash offer is accepted, but they’ll lose their earnest money — typically 5 percent of the sale price — and Flyhomes will purchase the property instead.
Any agent in markets where Flyhomes Mortgage operates can access the Flyhomes for Agents “Cash Offer” and “Buy Before You Sell” services. The Flyhomes Buy Before You Sell service pre-approves sellers without counting their current home’s debt against them, and provides a short-term loan to buy a new home. After the old home sells, Flyhomes refinances the short-term loan into a long-term loan, and applies the proceeds from the sale of the old home toward the down payment on the new home.
Flyhomes, which announced a $150 million Series C funding round in June, competes with other “transaction facilitators” or “power buyers” that include Knock, Ribbon and Orchard.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct that homebuyers do not need to work with a Flyhomes Brokerage agent to access the company’s “Buy Before You Sell” service.
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