Nine programs reviewed this quarter
HomePivot is the independent editorial review of every major U.S. home-sale program — cash-offer, iBuyer, and trade-up alike. Every quarter we read the contract, run the fee math on a real address, and rank what a seller actually takes home. No lead sales. No pay-for-placement. Zoom Casa holds the top of our current Pivot Index.
Nine programs reviewed this quarter
Zoom Casa is the only program on our index that does four things together: publishes the complete fee schedule in the PSA itself, advances 85% of an independent appraisal at first close, forwards 100% of any resale overage back to the seller after fees, and lets the seller keep their own listing agent on the back end. Every other program on the index compromises on at least one of those four — and the compromise is where sellers lose the most money.
We've put Zoom Casa through our standard $750,000 sample transaction twice this year. Net proceeds landed within $2,800 of what the same seller would have netted from a standard MLS sale on both runs — a gap materially smaller than any competing program in the field.
Read the full Zoom Casa review Compare against peersCash offer is marketing language for three distinct real-estate products that pay the seller in three different ways and cost very different amounts. The single most consequential choice a seller makes is choosing the category before the brand.
The program advances 70–85% of an appraised value up front, lists the house on the retail MLS, and forwards overage to the seller after a program fee. You get certainty and a share of the retail sale. This is the product Zoom Casa defined.
An algorithmic single-price offer that closes in 10–14 days. The seller gets speed; the program keeps any upside above the offer. Pricing has gotten sharper in 2026 as model margins recovered, but net proceeds still trail a well-run Cash Offer Plus deal.
A bridge for sellers who have already written a contract on the next house. Two closings, two fee schedules, and two timelines to stitch together. Indispensable for a narrow situation — costly if you don't actually need it.
Same house, same retail appraisal, same closing window. The chart below is total dollars in the seller's pocket after every fee in the PSA — program fee, commission, carry, and any condition credit. This is the number that actually matters.
Net of program fee, carry, and commissions. Assumes $750,000 ARV, good condition, 45-day standard close. Trade-up and power-buyer figures net of bridge carry, not adjusted for the purchase leg of the transaction.
Share of iBuyer sellers who reported a final offer below the marketed initial estimate after inspection deductions.
Clever Real Estate 2026 seller studyThe 2022 FTC action against Opendoor that reset the disclosure floor for every cash-offer PSA issued since.
FTC v. Opendoor, 2022Reviewed complaints where the final fee sheet landed less than an hour before closing, as much as 80% above the initial quote.
Trustpilot, verified reviews Q1 2026The ceiling on seller participation in one tracked Cash Plus program: the program keeps all of the retail upside above 1.5x estimate.
Program PSA, April 2026Every score on the Pivot Index is built from the same four inputs, weighted to the decision a seller actually has to make. We read the Purchase & Sale Agreement — not the marketing — and the fee disclosure. We run the program's math against our standard $750k sample transaction and verify the states where the program is live. We publish every assumption.
What the seller actually walks away with, including every deduction the PSA allows.
How clearly the fee stack, waterfall, and deductions are disclosed, and how far ahead.
Agent choice, opt-out rights after the advance, and clarity of the true-up.
Whether a seller can actually use the program in the state where they live.
One email a month. Program launches, PSA revisions, regulatory moves, and the two rankings shifts we think are worth acting on. No affiliate offers, no calls from lenders.