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Opendoor refunds $62M in FTC order over “deceived” sellers

FTC ordered payments after disputing iBuyer’s marketing promises to sellers

Sellers Get Their $62M From Opendoor
Opendoor's Carrie Wheeler and former CEO Eric Wu (Opendoor, Getty)

Opendoor has opened its wallet to reimburse home sellers the Federal Trade Commission says were deceived by the iBuyer’s marketing. 

The FTC is issuing nearly $62 million in refunds to almost 55,000 sellers, the federal agency announced this week. The move comes after authorities say customers made less selling their homes using Opendoor’s platform, despite being promised the opposite. 

“Most people who sold to Opendoor made thousands of dollars less than they would have made selling their homes using the traditional process and many paid more in costs than what sellers typically paid,” said the FTC in a statement. 

Opendoor has maintained its innocence, saying in a statement released in August 2022, when the FTC voted to fine the company, that it “strongly disagrees” with the decision.

The agency alleged Opendoor in advertisements promised consumers that bundling fees would lower costs. 

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According to the FTC, Opendoor’s marketing materials appeared to promise consumers they would make more selling to the company because fees were bundled together. But consumers often paid more and the iBuyer on average paid sellers below market value. 

Check recipients should cash their checks in 90 days. Questions about payments can be directed to Epiq Systems, the refund administrator, at 1-888-546-2054.

Opendoor’s fortunes have changed since 2022, when it lost nearly $1 billion in a single quarter, due to the downturn in the market. The following year, it cut 22 percent of its staff. 

The company last year had enough money and felt confident enough about its prospects to buyback about 50 percent of its outstanding bonds, reducing its debt balance by nearly $190 million through the third quarter.

“It was an opportunistic decision based on our view of how strong our balance sheet is today,” a company executive told The Real Deal last year. 

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IBuyingOpendoorReal Estate Lawsuit