How Opendoor put a Phoenix family on the fast track to their forever home

When Cassie and Brandon decided they needed a bigger home, the timing was critical. Crammed into a townhouse in the East Valley area of Phoenix, the couple had a 4-year-old daughter, two cats, one dog, and a baby on the way.

“The townhouse was Brandon’s bachelor pad, not really suited to a young family,” Cassie recalls.

Brandon, a patrolman, and Cassie, an emergency room technician, discussed moving to a larger home in the same part of town. They love the neighborhoods east of Phoenix that offer beautiful desert landscapes and a rural feel. “I like that where we live, it’s not so urban, but we can still get to the city in 20 to 30 minutes,” Cassie says.

Despite their desire to move, the couple worried about the hassle of prepping and listing their townhouse while Cassie was pregnant. So, they decided to wait.

A new house for baby

Once the baby was born and Cassie was on maternity leave, the desire to move grew more intense. The combination of no yard for toddler play, a small living space, and many stairs made everyday life difficult for the recovering mom and her newborn.

The couple had their eyes on a larger ranch home nearby that seemed ideal for their family, with a spacious yard and single-level living. But there remained the issue of having to sell their townhouse and move quickly, before Cassie returned to work.

“We didn’t want to keep our house in order and endure showings with two small kids. It was physically impossible,” Cassie says. They simply didn’t have the time or energy to list the house in a traditional way.

One day, the couple heard about Opendoor on the radio. An acquaintance of theirs had sold their home through Opendoor and had a great experience, so they were familiar with the company. Cassie requested an offer online.

From offer to dream home in three weeks

Everything happened efficiently, the couple says.

“We received a phone call almost immediately and had the offer from Opendoor the next day. The home assessment was scheduled for the following week,” Cassie recalls.

The couple did their homework. They researched area home values and ran the offer past their friend, a realtor helping them scout a new home.

Although the friend was initially skeptical, “she was really surprised at how good the offer was from Opendoor,” Cassie says. It reflected her assessment of the fair market value for the house. The realtor reviewed all the paperwork with them and advised them to move forward with Opendoor. In the meantime, the realtor worked to help them purchase their dream home using the proceeds from their townhouse sale.

“We were on an extremely short timeline,” Brandon recalls. “We wanted to snatch up the new home before anyone else could put in an offer.”

The timeline from offer to move-in was about three weeks, the couple says. The fast turnaround from Opendoor meant they could schedule their closing date to move into their new home as soon as possible.

“It was nice, since I was on maternity leave and Brandon was working, that I could handle everything over the phone and email,” Cassie says.

Family tested, Opendoor approved

The next hurdle: the home assessment.

“We knew that if the assessment revealed any big surprises, we could walk away from the sale,” Brandon recalls. Luckily, they didn’t face any major repairs, and the sale proceeded on schedule.

“The whole process was really fair and simple. Everything was presented to us in layman’s terms,” Cassie says, adding that her realtor backed her decision. “She reassured me everything looked good and fair and was safe to sign.”

After so many major life changes in such a short time period, the couple is enjoying settling into their new space and relaxing.

“Our last house was his house,” Cassie says. “Opendoor gave us our forever home.”