Three very different products, all marketed the same way. Here's the clean separation: who owns the home, who gets the upside, and where the risk sits.
iBuyers buy your home and try to resell it at a profit. Cash Offer Plus programs pay you now and split the upside with you later. Bridge / trade-up products loan you the cash to buy your next home before your current one sells. Same vibe, radically different economics.
Structure. The program buys your home outright at a price they believe leaves them 4–7% margin after a retail resale. First close happens in 10–14 days. You get paid once, that's it. Whatever the home sells for afterward is not your concern.
Where you lose. The offer price is below market by the program's required margin, plus a service fee, plus whatever repair deductions the inspector finds. On a $525k home, a typical iBuyer net sits in the $415–445k range — roughly 80% of market.
When it's the right answer. You need speed and certainty more than you need money, you're moving for a reason that makes delay expensive, or your home has issues that would take weeks to fix for a retail listing.
Structure. The program pays you a cash advance — usually 85–100% of appraised value — and takes title. They then list the home on the open market through a partner agent. When it sells, there's a “true-up” or “waterfall”: the overage above appraised value is split between you and the program per the PSA, usually 85–100% to you.
Where you lose. The program fee (1–3% of sale price), the partner-agent commission (which you'd pay anyway in a traditional listing), carry from first to second close, and whatever share of overage the program keeps. The structure favors you if your home sells materially above appraisal.
When it's the right answer. You want cash now but don't want to leave 15–20% on the table like iBuyers charge. Your home is in reasonable condition and your market is reasonably liquid. You can afford to wait the 45–90 days for the second close without needing that last tranche of cash.
Structure. Fundamentally different product. You're not selling to the program; you're borrowing against your current home's equity so you can buy the next one before selling. You keep title and control of your departing home and list it traditionally. The program is repaid at second close.
Where you lose. A fee on the bridge (1.25–2.75%), interest on the borrowed amount, and the cost of carrying both homes during the interim. You're effectively paying for the privilege of not having to make your new purchase contingent on selling the old one.
When it's the right answer. You found your next home and don't want to lose it to a contingency-free competing offer. You have real equity in the current home and a realistic path to selling it within 60–90 days. You want to stay in control of the listing.
Rough rule of thumb for a seller in a major metro with a home in good condition:
Some of the most interesting programs in 2026 don't fit neatly in one category. HomeLight's Cash Offer can function as either a Cash Offer Plus (you keep title) or a bridge (you close on a new home first). Knock's Home Swap is technically a bridge but increasingly quotes like a Cash Offer Plus on the departing home. Read each program's actual PSA rather than its marketing category.
Answer five questions and we'll narrow it to the one or two programs that make sense for you.
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