3.4
Editor's Rating1
User Rating (1 Reviews)Orchard is a real estate brokerage. They offer agent services to help you sell your home. Additionally, Orchard offers their 'Move First' program to help you buy a home before you sell the old one.
Pros
Cons
Orchard is a traditional brokerage in 3 states of the US. They collaborate with local real estate agents to offer full service to homeowners. Orchard charges the conventional 6% commission for their services.
Additionally, Orchard’s Move First program allows you to buy a new home before you sell your old one. They lend you up to 90% of your home’s equity with no interest. Upon moving, you can sell your old home and repay the equity to Orchard.
While the program is appealing, they don’t have anything unique to offer for their brokerage services. You have no opportunity to save on agent commissions. You can find multiple companies with similar services for a fraction of this price.
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✍️ Editor’s Take: We recommend you opt for cash buyer marketplaces. They connect you with nationwide investors and buyers, increasing your chances of getting multiple cash offers. This way, you can choose the best offer and close the deal faster.
Is Orchard Homes Legit?
Yes, Orchard is a legitimate real estate company. They are a BBB-accredited company with an A+ rating. The company was founded in 2017 and was formerly known as Perch. Orchard operates under the leadership of co-founder and CEO Court Cunningham.
Orchard is headquartered in New York but doesn’t offer services there. They are available in select markets. They have partnered with 100+ licensed agents to provide listing services.
How Does Orchard Homes Work?
Orchard Homes facilitates a seamless online process. First, Orchard provides a free home valuation on their website. For this, Orchard’s agent will take a 30-minute assessment. After that, their home advisor estimates the value of your property.
Orchard will then connect you with an agent. The agent will assist you based on the service you choose with Orchard.
List With Orchard
If you only want to sell with Orchard, your agent will collaborate with you to finalize the home’s value. They list your home on the MLS, oversee showings, and assist in negotiations. Orchard’s agent guides you through the closing process as well.
Move First
If you opt for Orchard’s Move First program, follow these steps:
- Get Your Home’s Equity: You can access up to 90% of your home’s equity with 0% interest. You can use this amount to make down payments and pay closing costs.
- Buy Your New Home: Orchard gives you a sale guarantee. So, you can extend a non-contingent cash offer to buy your new home. This makes your offer more appealing to potential sellers.
- Sell Your Old Home: Once you move to the new home, Orchard will list your old one on the MLS. They represent you as a listing agent and assist you with negotiations and closing.
- Repay the Equity: Once your home is sold, you pay the equity back to Orchard. You also pay agent commissions, closing costs, repair costs, and service fees.
Houses Eligible for the Move First Program
To qualify for Move First, the property you’re selling needs to be a single-family home constructed between 1920 and 2021. Orchard’s valuation of your home must also fall within $200,000 to $1,500,000.
You can also use this program if your home is a condominium and valued by Orchard between $200,000 and $750,000.
- 👉 Orchard Concierge Service: Orchard also offers a concierge. They collaborate with third-party vendors for repairs, simplifying the process for you.
Where Does Orchard Homes Operate?
Orchard’s services are available in the following markets:
| States | Cities |
| Colorado | Denver |
| Georgia | Atlanta |
| Texas | Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio |
Orchard Fees
If you sell with Orchard in the traditional method, you’ll have to pay a 6% agent commission. Additionally, you are also responsible for the seller-related closing costs. This will add another 3% to 4% to your overall expenses.
On the other hand, if you opt for their Move First program, you are charged a 1.9% service fee along with a 6% commission. You also pay the closing costs for both transactions.
While Orchard offers convenience, you miss out on the opportunity to save on commissions.
- 💲 Competitive Service Fees: Orchard’s service fee for the Move First program is slightly lower than their competitors.
Orchard Real Estate Reviews
Orchard.com has a 4.0 out of 5-star rating on Trustpilot based on 847 reviews. They also have a 2.9 out of 5-star rating based on 49 reviews on Better Business Bureau.
Positive Customer Reviews
✅ Bob had a successful and swift home sale through Orchard. He sold above the asking price and closed within 24 days.
The services offered by Orchard worked well for us. Our home sold very quickly for more than we asked. Having the closing also handled by Orchard allowed us to close in 24 days from listing to closing. Our only disappointment was with the cleaning service offered through the Orchard Concierge service. The crew did a poor job which were had to follow up one ourselves. Otherwise, everyone from the listing agent to the closing notary was great. We would definitely recommend them.
Source: Trustpilot
✅ Lucky was thrilled with Orchard. He had 29 showings within a few days which led to a swift sale process.
They did all the work. Came out and took pictures with 3 d panning. Listed and done. Posted on Friday( we went to a hotel till Monday and had over 29 showings. Under conton Tuesday. Hardest part was packing to move.
Source: Trustpilot
Negative Customer Reviews
❌ Steve was highly disappointed with Orchard. He highlighted that Orchard’s guaranteed offer was later reduced by $20,000, making him feel deceived.
Use extreme caution when choosing Orcard. This company will give you a guaranteed offer. However, this company has no idea what guaranteed means. My “guaranteed” offer was reduced by $20,000 two days sfter accepting their so called guaranteed offer. They made me feel like a sucker. Update: Orchard never said anything about a 5 day due diligence clause. They get you excited about selling, then reduce the guaranteed offer hoping that most will go for their trick.
Source: Trustpilot
❌ Steven felt disregarded by Orchard. He felt his agent was unresponsive and wasn’t helpful at crucial stages of the transaction.
It couldn’t have been clearer that Orchard didn’t care about my home sale. I was never certain that my auto assigned agent had my best interest at heart. He would never explain anything, was unresponsive, and generally abrasive when he actually did respond. Once we were under contract it literally took him a week to respond to any question or request for a status update.
Source: Trustpilot
Orchard Homes: Pros and Cons
Let’s evaluate the pros and cons of Orchard Homes:
👍 Pros
- Free Home Value Estimation: Orchard provides you with a free home evaluation on their website.
- Sale Guarantee: If your home remains unsold for 120 days, Orchard will buy it at a pre-negotiated price.
- Non-contingent Offers: Orchard’s Move First program helps you make a non-contingent cash offer to buy a new home.
- Hassle-Free Repairs: Orchard’s concierge service takes care of the necessary repairs of your home.
👎 Cons
- No Saving Opportunity: Orchard charges the same old 6% commission to buy and sell a home. You don’t have any opportunity to save on real estate commissions.
- Additional Expense: Orchard charges a 1.9% service fee on top of the commissions and closing costs for their Move First program.
- Limited Coverage: Orchard caters to a total of 6 markets in 3 states.
Competitors of Orchard
We evaluated various real estate companies. Our research led us to Houzeo Cash Offers, Offerpad, and HomeVestors as top alternatives to Express Homebuyers.
We conducted a comparative analysis to identify Orchard’s top competitors . We aim to provide a fair and data-driven comparison.
- Market Comparison: We evaluated different types of home-selling solutions, their services and company policies.
- Pricing Structure Assessment: We evaluated the true value of each platform by breaking down upfront flat fees, potential hidden costs, and percentage-based commission structures.
- Consumer Feedback Review: We analyzed seller reviews from Yelp, BBB, Trustpilot, and Google to understand satisfaction levels and common concerns across platforms.
- Support and Assistance Evaluation: The level of transaction support was evaluated by measuring the availability of dedicated closing coordinators, comparative market analyses, and advanced tools.
- Selection Criteria: We chose the competitors based on how they differ from Orchard’s model to ensure a balanced mix of alternatives.
1. Orchard vs. Houzeo Cash Offers
Orchard evaluates your property and presents you with a single cash offer. As a result, you do not have multiple bids to compare. If the offer falls short of what you expect, you will have to turn it down and look for another buyer.
Houzeo Cash Offers takes a broader approach by presenting your property to multiple vetted local and national cash buyers. You can compare the offers you receive and select the one that offers the best value, with some bids potentially reaching 100% of your home’s market value.
| Parameters | Orchard | Houzeo Cash Offers |
|---|---|---|
| Sale Price | 50%-70% of FMV | Up to 100% of FMV |
| Customer Rating | 3.4 stars (896 reviews) | 4.9 stars (11,300+ reviews) |
| Closing Timeline | 3-45 days | 7 days |
| Coverage | 8 states | Nationwide |
| Multiple Offers | ❌ | ✅ |
| Scope for Negotiation | ❌ | ✅ |
| Highest and Best Offer | ❌ | ✅ |
2. Orchard vs. Knock Real Estate
Orchard’s ‘Move First’ program offers the same services as Knock’s Home Swap program. They help you buy your new home before you sell. Knock charges you 2% service fees, while Orchard charges 1.9%.
Orchard lends you up to 90% of your home’s equity. But, you can borrow a maximum of $650,000. Orchard limits the duration for which your house can remain on the market to 120 days, whereas Knock offers a six-month window.
We recommend you reach out to both companies. Compare the equity and offers they provide, and proceed with one that suits your requirements better.
3. Orchard vs. Homeward
Homeward charges 2.4% convenience fees for their Buy Before You Sell program. In this program, Homeward purchases a new property for full cash before you sell your existing one. You move into the newly purchased home and sell the old one.
Homeward is more expensive than Orchard. However, Homeward offers additional savings if you bundle their mortgage and title services with this program. So, you can shop around and see which company best fits your requirements.
Other Options You Should Consider
- Sell For Sale By Owner: For Sale By Owner websites help you list and sell a house yourself, saving thousands in agent commissions. Around one-third of home buyers pay in cash. Hence, selling FSBO gives you an opportunity to get most of your home’s equity.
- Sell to an iBuyer: iBuyers purchase homes needing minimal repairs in as-is condition. They can be a great option if you want to sell your house fast. However, iBuyers have stricter criteria as compared to cash buyers.
- Sell through a Realtor: Traditional realtors list your property on the MLS and help you at every step of home selling. However, you have to pay 3% of the home’s sale price to avail of their services.
- Sell through Discount Realtors: Discount real estate brokers offer services at affordable rates. Their commission varies between 0.5% and 2%. However, they offset discounts by offering limited services.
Is Orchard Homes Worth It?
Orchard is a reputable brokerage that helps home sellers move swiftly. Their Move First program makes buying and selling stress-free. However, when you use their brokerage services, you sell the traditional way.
For a better deal, consider selling your home through a cash buyer marketplace. This gives your property wide exposure and lets you compare offers from multiple cash buyers. So, increase your chances of getting a competitive price closer to your home’s actual market value.
We implemented a rigorous multi-platform evaluation framework to provide an objective, fact-based analysis of Orchard’s services. This review avoids single-source bias by analyzing verified customer touchpoints across primary consumer intelligence networks.
- Cross-Platform Aggregation: We gathered raw review data across Google, Trustpilot, Yelp, and BBB to eliminate platform bias. Each platform weights sentiment differently, so aggregating across all three corrects for the blind spots any single source would introduce.
- Verified Customer Sampling: Our analysis evaluated specific consumer touchpoints to ensure statistical relevance, filtering out unverifiable or duplicate accounts to protect data integrity.
- Temporal Weighting: Reviews were time-stamped and weighted so recent feedback (last 6–12 months) carries more influence than older reviews, ensuring the analysis reflects current service levels rather than historical performance.
- Customer Service Analysis: We scrutinized customer interactions with customer service, identifying communication gaps.
- Alternative Cross-Referencing: We compared Orchard directly with competitors to baseline their market value.
- Category Tagging: Each touchpoint was coded against recurring themes like pricing transparency, agent responsiveness, closing timeline, etc., so the review speaks about specific, actionable dimensions of service rather than a single blended star rating.
Reviews
(1 Reviews)
Donald
Verified Reviewer
1st Jan 2026
I am sharing my experience to document concerns related to the management of showings during the listing of my home with Orchard. An incident occurred in which an agent, Ceira Hyde, entered my property without authorization. In addition, several showings took place outside of the requested and approved schedule, with some viewers arriving earlier or later than permitted. These situations raised concerns regarding access control and adherence to established showing protocols. Throughout the process, I experienced limited oversight of property access. Showings were not consistently regulated, and there was a lack of clear enforcement regarding scheduled entry times. Additionally, feedback from showings was often missing or incomplete. I frequently received empty reports, which made it difficult to assess buyer interest or make informed decisions about the listing. Overall, this experience highlighted gaps in communication, documentation, and oversight related to property access and post-showing feedback.