(QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Every month, North Carolina Real Estate Commission publishes a list of disciplinary actions against brokers and real estate firms. This month, one name stood out.
“It is the talk of the industry right now because an actual brokerage, not just a single broker, was disciplined,” said Robin Mann, a broker at EXP Realty.
The commission detailed violations about Opendoor Brokerage LLC, a real estate company that makes cash offers for homes and makes a few repairs before relisting them for sale.
“I said, ‘wow. Let me read this out loud to you and I read it and we were both just kind of taken aback,” Mann said.
The commission says Opendoor and two of its real estate agents violated rules in three separate residential transactions in Charlotte. In one of them, they failed to disclose and correct some issues with the property and advertised it had an outdoor pool with hardwood and tile floors when it did not.
In another, the firm advertised a 5-bedroom home when the septic permit only allowed for 3-bedroom occupancy.
In the third transaction, an Opendoor vendor buried parts of the outdoor pool in the backyard instead of removing it from the property.
“Right now, people are dropping $50,000 on due diligence and what that means is once you go under contract, you have a certain period called the due diligence period that if you back out as a buyer at that time, you lose that money. Period,” Mann said.
An Opendoor spokesperson did not comment on the specific violations only sending Queen City News the following statement:
“Opendoor is creating a modern real estate experience that empowers consumers to buy, sell and move at the tap of a button. Opendoor Brokerage is still an active brokerage in North Carolina. We look forward to continuing to service customers in the state, eliminating the friction they have been enduring in the traditional real estate transaction for decades. Our intent is to provide transparency to buyers and their brokers in order to facilitate an informed decision.”
According to its website, Opendoor currently owns 38 homes in and around the Charlotte area and about double that in the Raleigh area. They say this is the first disciplinary action they’ve received in the state, and they avoided an 18-month suspension with additional education offered by the commission.
