Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,931,469 times
Reputation: 9885
Advertisements
One of my neighbors is apparently using Curbio in tangent with her agent in order to sell her house.
Apparently, this company upgrades your house and then you pay them at closing. They claim that you can get a 130% return on your money. Obviously, they are going to want their money at some point. Anyway, I'm just really curious.
Well.... IF one cannot afford to maintain and update, paying the juice at closing might be worthwhile. There better be equity to play with, not the expectation to make something from nothing.
But.... IF the seller makes 130% and Curbio makes 30% (which seems realistic for their function and the model to be sustainable), someone is squeezing that turnip pretty hard.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,931,469 times
Reputation: 9885
I just checked their website and, since I'm not a realtor, I'm not able to access everything. But it looks like you have to spend a minimum of $15,000.
If your house doesn't sell within 30 days, you have to drop your price by 2%. Every month you must drop the price 2% until it sells. You have to leave your house on the market until it sells. If you take your house off the market, you must pay them directly.
They aren't addressing the issue of not making enough closing to pay them. Do you have to then pay the difference out of pocket? Personally, I wouldn't do this.
I just checked their website and, since I'm not a realtor, I'm not able to access everything. But it looks like you have to spend a minimum of $15,000.
If your house doesn't sell within 30 days, you have to drop your price by 2%. Every month you must drop the price 2% until it sells. You have to leave your house on the market until it sells. If you take your house off the market, you must pay them directly.
They aren't addressing the issue of not making enough closing to pay them. Do you have to then pay the difference out of pocket? Personally, I wouldn't do this.
It all falls in with the Convenience Trend. Where people will trade significant equity money for convenience.
A house doesn't need to be perfect to sell. On the other hand, houses with really serious issues (badly leaking roof, etc.) have a very limited buyer pool.
It is generally thought that most "improvements" will not yield even 100% of their cost at sale. It is hard for me to see how a seller would come out ahead on the deal described here.
There ARE ways to borrow money on much more favorable terms for absolutely necessary repairs. Even a credit card at 21% might be better.
Some real estate brokerages offer these services as well. Compass has a service like this and Keller Williams is piloting a similar service in some markets. The difference being that with Compass and KW they're offering this as an ad on to the home selling service. So, it's not their bread and butter like Curbio. Therefore, the cost of the service is far less with KW or Compass. It's instead used as an incentive to get you to list with Compass or KW.
Regardless, I'm a big believer in making the house look as best as possible without spending unreasonable sums of money. Painting is usually cheap and can make a big impact. Professionally cleaning carpets can bring old flooring back to life and doesn't cost much. Most often, the houses I deal with are helped most by re-arranging furniture and removing excess furniture. Adding some accessories to the existing decor can also spruce up a house. Many people can afford to fund such small improvements. Unfortunately, too many people watch HGTV and think you need to put in all new bathrooms and a kitchen in order to put your house on the market.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
