I have made it over the finish line after completing the final buyback of a client’s home from Ribbon. If you haven’t been following this story, let me bring you up to date.
Part 1: I provided a background of who Ribbon is and the service they provide to buyers and sellers. I began this journey with my clients Jose and Lisa. They were poised to be the perfect clients for the Ribbon service, but would Ribbon be the perfect service for them?
Part 2: I took you through the Ribbon buying process as I experienced it.
That brings us to where we are today.
Part 3 is the last phase of the process. My buyers Jose and Lisa bought the house Ribbon purchased on their behalf back from Ribbon.
Here’s how it went down.
Once Jose and Lisa moved into the home Ribbon had purchased for them, the clock started ticking. The clock started ticking because
- The rent that Ribbon charges is substantial although arguably fair market price.
- Ribbon’s rent back policy is only up to 6 months. This meant Jose and Lisa and I were under the gun to get their house ready for market and closed in order to be able to buy back the Ribbon house within the 6-month period.
In the Charlotte Market, this sounds like a very doable task. However, having a time frame looming that carries the weight of where you live, or not is onerous and stressful on the seller for sure. I have to give a HUGE credit to Jose and Lisa who have a small business to run, and 2 very young children to handle, and still dealt with all the stuff that comes with buying, moving, and selling all at once.
The easy part was I knew we had a fantastic house to sell. I didn’t have too many worries about the on-market time. Note: Jose and Lisa’s neighbor with the same house next door had just closed and had a longer than usual on-market time frame. Taking into consideration we may also have a longer than usual time on-market, well, we needed to keep things moving.
See my blog post about whether or not it pays to stage a home.
Jose and Lisa’s house went on the market looking fabulous, great staging www.stellahome.com. The home had fantastic pictures and great marketing. Their house went under contract after being on the market only 2 weeks, whew. Jose and Lisa’s sale sailed through the due diligence period and onto closing.
My gaze was focused on the sale of Jose and Lisa’s house. Ribbon creates a business efficiency in their favor by not including real estate brokers on the buyback. I learned this from an e-mail I was copied on. The e-mail was from a Ribbon rep that was communicating with Jose and Lisa. As a busy real estate broker, I read that and breathed a sigh of relief. I thought that is so great I don’t have to worry about that part of this sale. Well, I should know better. I was contacted with full expectations by Jose & Lisa’s lender and the Ribbon crew to continue to fulfill agency duties for this final sale also, minus, of course, any compensation.
At the risk of sounding like a martyr, I am used to doing a lot of my work without compensation, I accept that. What concerned me is never having gone through this process with Ribbon before I wasn’t sure what my blind spots were and what liability I may be vulnerable to. I did voice my feedback to one of the Ribbon reps involved in the buyback process. He was receptive and understanding of my point of view. I arranged closings for Jose and Lisa as sellers and as Ribbon buyers back to back with the same closing attorney. This worked out beautifully. Both properties closed.
This Ribbon experience with Jose and Lisa is now in the rearview mirror. It worked out really well for Jose and Lisa.
Here are some of my final takeaways:
- I wouldn’t recommend Ribbon for a potential buyer that has a house to sell that may not move quickly. I don’t know what the protocol is if you can’t meet the 6 month buyback period.
- Although our Ribbon sale was without any devastating twist and turns, anyone who practices residential real estate knows there are always curveballs. So many things can go wrong of no fault to the client. I wonder how those curveballs are handled by Ribbon?
Hopefully, Jose and Lisa’s experience is helpful to anyone considering Ribbon. The more you are armed with knowledge, the more informed decisions you can make!
Oh, one final shout out… to the Ribbon team and the CEO Shaival Shah for caring enough about their business model to read my Ribbon posts and contact me directly. That says a lot!
