Your preliminary offer changed. Here is what moved it.
A preliminary offer is priced on what you told Opendoor about the house. The final offer is priced on what somebody found when they looked. That gap is the whole story, and it is not always a drop. Opendoor’s own help center says the offer can go up or down. We compete with Opendoor, and every claim below links straight to the Opendoor page it came from so you can check it in a click.
How this was sourced. Every statement about Opendoor was read off their help center on September 9, 2026. Opendoor changes terms without notice. Confirm anything that matters directly with them, and hold Zoom Casa to the same standard.
Three stages, and only one of them is a real number.
| Stage | What it is priced on | What has been seen |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary offer | Your description of the home, plus Opendoor’s own market data. | Nobody has looked at the property yet. |
| Assessment | Either self-assessment photos through the Opendoor Key App, about 30 to 60 minutes, or an in-person walkthrough of about an hour. A video option exists in some markets. | Structural elements, mechanical systems, roof, cosmetic condition, safety items and exterior. |
| Final offer | Prepared after the assessment. Opendoor says this typically takes 5 to 7 business days, and that business days exclude weekends and holidays. | The number you can actually accept. |
Assessment format is decided by market. Opendoor names Seattle, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Chicago as self-assessment only; elsewhere the type is assigned by property and location. Source.
The four reasons Opendoor gives.
- Condition differs from what was described. Worn carpet, aging HVAC, the things easy to under-report about a house you live in.
- Undisclosed damage or needed repairs. Water stains, foundation cracks, an outdated electrical panel.
- Recent improvements you did not mention. This one moves the offer up. It is the reason the assessment is worth preparing for rather than dreading.
- Market shifts. Comparable prices can move between the two offers.
All four are Opendoor’s own wording, and so is the sentence that matters most: the offer can go up or down.
Look at the adjustment, not at an average.
You will find pages stating that Opendoor offers fall by some average percentage after the assessment. Opendoor publishes no such figure. We checked, on the date above, the article that exists precisely to explain why offers change: it gives four reasons and no numbers. So treat any specific percentage you see elsewhere as somebody’s estimate rather than a published fact.
There is something better to work with. Opendoor does name one deduction, and it is the one worth your attention. The condition adjustment is their internal estimate of repair costs, subtracted from your offer, explicitly their own estimate based on the scope of work identified, not a contractor’s quote. Their stated reason is that it saves you hiring anyone or delaying the sale. Whether that trade is worth it depends on the size of the deduction, which is why the assessment matters more than the preliminary number ever did.
We show you the arithmetic before we have your phone number.
The anxiety behind this search is not really about Opendoor. It is about being given a number, arranging your life around it, and finding out later that it was a draft. Any cash buyer that prices before seeing a house has some version of this gap, including us.
What differs is when you get to see the math. Zoom Casa’s net sheet runs on your address and shows what you would net, line by line, before we ask for a way to contactyou. Cash Offer+ pays up to 85%up front, before fees and reserves, and returns the remainder, less one program fee, when the home resells, so the resale upside is yours rather than the buyer’s. Closing runs as fast as 10 to 15 days on qualified homes.
Up to 85% up front, less reserves. The remaining balance (minus a one-time program fee) is paid when the home resells on the open market. Final terms are issued in writing. Not all properties qualify.
What the revised number actually nets.
If the final sheet is in front of you, type the figures in. You get the net, how far it lands from your own price expectation, and the lines worth asking about in writing.
What the offer says
Straight off the sheet. Anything it does not mention, leave at zero.
What you are comparing it to
Optional, and it is the half that turns a net into a decision. These are your numbers and your agent's, not ours. We do not estimate your home's value here, on purpose.
Put the offer amount in and the read appears here. Nothing is sent anywhere while you type. The arithmetic runs in your browser.
Beta. The arithmetic is yours and every line of it is checkable against the sheet in front of you. Please do, and tell us if anything reads wrong.
The decoder on its own page, with the method and the questions
What sellers actually ask.
Does an Opendoor offer always go down after the assessment?
No. Opendoor’s help center states that "based on what the assessment reveals, the offer can go up or down," and it lists recent improvements that were not part of your original description as a reason an offer can increase. Any page telling you offers drop by a set percentage is quoting an estimate somebody made up. Opendoor publishes no such figure, and neither will we.
What is a condition adjustment?
It is Opendoor’s estimate of repair costs, deducted from your offer. Their help center is explicit that these are internal estimates based on the scope of work identified, not contractor quotes, and that rather than asking you to fix the items yourself they estimate the cost and subtract it. If you have already completed repairs, they say you can contact support with documentation.
Can I do the repairs myself instead of taking the deduction?
Not as an alternative to the adjustment. Opendoor’s stated model is that they estimate the repair cost and deduct it so you avoid hiring contractors, managing work, or delaying the sale. You are never obligated to accept the offer.
How long does the final offer take?
Opendoor says the offer is typically prepared 5 to 7 business days after your photos or walkthrough, and that if more than seven business days pass you should contact their support.
Why does Zoom Casa have a page about Opendoor’s offers?
Because we compete with them, and you should read this page knowing that. What we can promise is method: everything above came from Opendoor’s own help center on a stated date and is linked so you can check it. Where they do not publish something, we say they do not publish it rather than filling the gap with a number that sounds authoritative.
Net-sheet previews are illustrative; final offer terms are issued in writing on a term sheet. Program availability varies by state. Past results don't guarantee future outcomes. Not all properties qualify.