iBuyer Lies Are Hurting Your Business

For more than 25 years, I’ve coached agents to get to their next level by helping them stay ahead of the game in terms of their knowledge and skillsets. In today’s world of 24/7 information (and often misinformation), the time to be diligent about staying sharp, informed and skilled is right now. If not, you are not only costing yourself commissions; lack of knowledge is costing consumers in your market thousands of dollars.

I’m talking about the surge in iBuyer programs that are burgeoning across the country. What started as a little disruption in markets such as Phoenix, Raleigh, Dallas, Vegas, Orlando, Atlanta, Charlotte, San Antonio, Tampa and Nashville is now spreading, with the help of deep financial pockets and lots of false advertising.

I don’t say that lightly. As someone who’s been in this industry my entire adult life, a little disruption and competition is not only something to not fear; it should be embraced. It makes us better as service providers when we are in a constant state of learning and skill-development. However, false advertising and flat-out misinformation that leads consumers to lose a big chunk of equity from their investments—all while basically maligning agents as an unnecessary expense and speedbump in the home-selling process—is not something we could stay quiet about.

That’s why we put more than a month of research into investigating what these companies are doing and saying so that we could get the real information out to our coaching members and real estate professionals across the country. That way, when they are speaking to people in their sphere and farm, they can do so with all the facts and data they need to help protect consumers as the advocates and resources they truly are.

The truth? 

• iBuyers are investors, not regular buyers.
• They are looking out for their interest, not the consumer’s.
• They purchase homes based on what they say it’s worth.
• They tell consumers that they’ll pay a seller’s concession fee with an agent, which is untrue.
• They are buying to flip it for a profit and make sellers pay them a 6-13 percent commission, which they call a “service fee.”
• In addition to their commission, they charge another commission called a “market risk fee”—another 2-6 percent.
• They make sellers pay for repairs they want done.
• They control the process, not the consumer.

As real estate professionals who are committed to service, not just sales, the underlying greed of these programs is problematic. By coaching consumers in your market to better understand the facts about iBuyer programs and other programs that may prey on homeowners, you can develop long-term trusted relationships and represent yourself as a resource that they can count on to help them protect their best interests.

In a world where fake news and misinformation spread like wildfire, it’s helpful to have the tools and training that can help you get ahead of them and be a champion for consumers. That raises the bar for not just you, but our industry.

We’re here to help. Learn the facts so that you can be a resource that consumers in your market can count on for the truth about protecting their investments. I’ve spelled them all out in an almost hour-long recorded presentation and coordinating workshop called iBuyer Beware: Why IBuyer Is the Worst Thing to Happen to Homeowners to help. Find it at www.ThePowerProgram.com/iBuyer. 

Darryl Davis has spoken to, trained and coached more than 100,000 real estate professionals around the globe. He is a best-selling author for McGraw-Hill Publishing, and his book, “How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate,” tops Amazon’s charts for most sold book to real estate agents. He is the founder of the Next Level™ real estate training system The Power Program®, which has proven to help agents double their production over their previous year. Davis earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, held by less than 2 percent of all speakers worldwide. To learn more, visit www.ThePowerProgram.com.