Folks who know me will tell you that I’m not just an “innovation investor” – I’m an “innovation guy.”
That is, I don’t just invest in innovative stocks to make a lot of money. I also use innovative new services and products every single day to make my life better. I, quite literally, live and breathe innovation. It’s in my DNA.
Which is why I like to get my hands on as many innovative technologies as possible.
I just used an Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset from Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) the other day to sit in a space-based living room. It’s one thing to read about VR and another thing entirely to experience it. And, yes, it was a very cool experience.
I’m set to soon complete one of the first test drives of ElectraMeccanica’s (NASDAQ:SOLO) three-wheeled electric vehicles in San Diego. Couldn’t be more thrilled about it – the vehicle looks awesome in the showroom.
My fridge is stock full of Celsius (NASDAQ:CELH) energy drinks – the healthy alternative energy drinks that are disrupting Monster and Red Bull. They taste amazing. If you haven’t tried one, please do so right away.
My wife and I are customers of Hims & Hers (NYSE:HIMS), the DTC telehealth platform that is trying to build a seamless and convenient “front door” to the healthcare industry. Its skincare products are awesome. And for our 15-month-old daughter, we use Else Nutrition (OTCMKTS:BABYF) plant-based milk formula. Our daughter loves it!
You see… I don’t just invest in innovative stocks… I use their services and believe in their companies.
That’s why I have so much conviction when it comes to investing these stocks. I can tell you firsthand that they are making products and services that are absolutely groundbreaking!
Naturally, then, when my family was looking to sell our home over the past few months, we turned to the one company that I’ve been pounding the table about since 2020: Opendoor (NASDAQ:OPEN).
Opendoor is an iBuying company that buys homes from homeowners through a digitally native process that is supposed to be cheaper, faster, and far more convenient than the traditional home-selling process. Personally, I believe deeply in disintermediating archaic economic systems (filled with tons of profit-taking middlemen) and replacing them with cheaper, faster, and fairer direct-to-consumer systems. Which is why I’ve been a huge proponent of the Opendoor business model and Opendoor stock for a while now.
That’s not just talk. There’s walk behind that talk.
I just sold my home to Opendoor. And let me tell you, Opendoor didn’t just live up to the hype – it exceeded it. After completing the process, I’m more bullish than ever on Opendoor to disrupt the $1.4 TRILLION real estate market – and for Opendoor stock to turn into a 10-bagger.
Here’s how things went down…
I went to Opendoor.com on a Sunday evening, created an account, and plopped in our address. Opendoor auto populated most of the information about our home, after which I answered a short questionnaire. Moments later, Opendoor provided me with a solid preliminary offer for the home that was in line with our expectations (based on Zillow estimates, which we’ve found to be quite aggressive).
The entire process took no more than 10 minutes.
After that prelim offer, a bot asked me if I wanted to move forward with a virtual tour via a mobile Zoom call. I said yes, scheduled a virtual tour for the very next day, and I was texted a link to the Zoom meeting. So when Monday evening rolled around, I simply clicked the link and an Opendoor representative greeted me.
We did a 15-minute walkthrough of the home via Zoom, looking at various rooms, utilities, and appliances. It was quick and easy, with no pain-points. After that walkthrough, the rep and I chatted for another 15 minutes about what to expect next and who to contact if we had any questions.
That complete process took no more than 30 minutes.
Twenty-four hours later, Opendoor emailed me my final offer, which was above my prelim offer, well-above market value, and well-above our expectations. We were pleasantly surprised. The final offer also included deductions for repairs and closing costs – which were small – as well as the 5% service charge from Opendoor (which, of course, beats the 6% you have to pay to both the seller’s and buyer’s agents in the traditional model).
Of importance, the final offer also included flexible closing options and a free rent-back period. That is, we could select any closing date we wanted, ranging from 14 days after signing to 90 days after signing, and we were allowed to live in our home for seven days for free after closing.
Oh, and it was all-cash (of course), which means there were no questionings surrounding financing and qualifications.
We were blown away by the offer. The price was great. The costs were small. The flexibility was unmatched. The perks were amazing.
So, we signed the offer Wednesday night and officially entered escrow – just 72 hours after we started the home-selling process.
No strangers walked through our home. We didn’t have to stage anything. There were no agents. No negotiations back and forth. No hassle. No open houses. Nothing. We sold our home, at an above-market price, with below-market costs, in three days through an entirely virtual process that allowed us to move out on our own timeline.
I’m not a fan of using the word “perfect.” I don’t believe perfection is attainable for anyone or anything. But this was as close to a perfect home-selling process as you could find.
Just days ago, we officially closed on the home. There were no problems in escrow. No problems with the title company. All the funds arrived exactly as we expected them to – everything went off without a hitch.
Unfortunately, Opendoor isn’t selling homes in San Diego yet – they’re just buying them – so we couldn’t assess the “buying through Opendoor” process. But reviews suggest it’s as big of an upgrade as the “selling through Opendoor” process, in which case this company is well on its way to fundamentally reshaping how consumers buy and sell homes in America over the next decade.
Trust me. This is the future. I’ve always believed that, because it just logically makes sense to buy and sell a home online without profit-taking middlemen. But now that I’ve successfully gone through the process and know first-hand that Opendoor lives up to its promise, I’m more confident than ever in the company.
Of course, that means I’m more confident than ever in the stock.
You’ll notice that Opendoor stock has been beaten up in 2021. This has nothing to do with Opendoor’s business. The entire growth sector melted down in 2021 amid rising inflation concerns and a worry about extended valuations.
But inflation doesn’t drive an individual stock price – earnings growth does.
And Opendoor is executing very strongly on creating the world’s best home-shopping experience, which is setting the foundation for enormous volume and revenue growth in the coming years as more and more consumers gravitate toward Opendoor’s ultra-cheap, ultra-fast, and ultra-convenient process.
All that volume and revenue growth will unlock economies of scale, and result in strong profit-margin expansion. This will, of course, power enormous earnings growth, which will in turn power enormous stock price appreciation.
In other words, the current downturn in Opendoor stock is an opportunity – an amazing opportunity – to invest in the future of housing at a significant discount.
That’s why Opendoor stock is a core holding in my Innovation Investor portfolio – a portfolio dedicated to investing in the world’s most innovative companies, creating the world’s best services and products, which will fundamentally reshape our daily lives over the next few years.
These aren’t near-term trades. These aren’t “buy today, sell in three months” stocks. These are multi-year investments, with enormous multi-year potential for investors who are willing to sit and wait for these companies to change the world.
Good things come to those who wait. That’s true in life, as it is in the stock market. My Innovation Investor portfolio is stock full of investment opportunities that will generate enormous returns for patient investors.
And now that you know my first-hand experience with Opendoor, I think you’ll be even more impressed with the collective research and analysis we’ve compiled on OPEN stock, which is one of the best companies I’ve come across in a long while.
On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.