Fair Trade Real Estate: What Sellers Need to Know Before Signing

Fair Trade Real Estate is a Southern California-based real estate company headquartered in Irvine, California, that specializes in off-market and wholesale transactions, offering sellers a same-day cash offer and the ability to close in as little as 7 days — a model that trades top-dollar proceeds for speed and certainty.

Key Takeaways

• Fair Trade Real Estate is a wholesale-focused cash buyer headquartered in Irvine, California, with offices across Southern California and more than 2,500 completed deals.
• Sellers who choose Fair Trade Real Estate can receive a same-day cash offer and close in as little as 7 days, but typically accept a below-market price in exchange for that speed and certainty.
• Listing on the MLS with a traditional agent almost always produces a higher sale price, but requires showings, contingencies, and a 30–60 day timeline.
• The right choice between Fair Trade Real Estate and a traditional listing depends on your timeline, your equity position, and how much certainty you need on the close date.
• Sellers should get a comparative market analysis from a licensed agent before accepting any cash offer so they know exactly what discount they are taking.

What Is Fair Trade Real Estate and How Does Its Model Work?

Fair Trade Real Estate is a real estate operation based in Irvine, California, that functions primarily as a wholesale and off-market buyer [2]. Under CEO Dek Bake [10], the company has built a track record of 2,500-plus deals across Southern California [9], which puts it firmly in the category of high-volume cash buyers rather than a boutique brokerage. The company is registered as FTRE CA Inc. #02190978 [11] and operates out of multiple offices across the region.

The core model is straightforward: a seller contacts Fair Trade Real Estate, the company evaluates the property, and it can issue a same-day cash offer with a closing timeline as short as 7 days [12]. That speed is the product. Fair Trade Real Estate is not trying to compete with a full-service listing agent on price — it is competing on certainty and convenience. For a seller facing foreclosure, a divorce, an inherited property, or a job relocation with a hard deadline, that value proposition is real. For a seller with time and equity to spare, it almost certainly leaves money on the table.

Fair Trade Real Estate Locations Across Southern California

One reason Fair Trade Real Estate has been able to close 2,500-plus deals [9] is geographic reach. The company is not a single-office operation. It maintains a primary headquarters at 18881 Von Karman Ave, STE 225, Irvine, California 92612 [3], with additional offices positioned to cover the major population corridors of Southern California.

For sellers evaluating whether this company can actually serve their market, the office footprint matters — it signals local market knowledge and the ability to move quickly on a property without a long due-diligence lag. You can reach the Irvine office at (949) 979-4968 during business hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday [14][16].

City	Address
Irvine, CA (Primary)	18881 Von Karman Ave, STE 225, Irvine, CA 92612 [3]
Irvine, CA (Secondary)	5 Park Plz, Ste 1150, Irvine, CA 92614 [13]
Santa Ana, CA	281 N Sycamore [4]
Redondo Beach, CA	300 N Pacific Coast Hwy, STE 1060 [5]
Corona, CA	225 E Rincon St, STE 212 [6]
Pasadena, CA	36 S El Molino Ave [7]
San Diego, CA	1420 Kettner Blvd, STE 360 [8]

Fair Trade Real Estate vs. Traditional MLS Listing: The Core Trade-Off

This is the decision that actually matters for a seller. A traditional MLS listing, priced correctly and marketed well, will almost always generate a higher sale price than a wholesale cash offer. The MLS exposes your property to every active buyer in the market — financed buyers, owner-occupants, and investors all competing against each other. That competition is what drives price up. A cash buyer like Fair Trade Real Estate, by contrast, needs to acquire the property below market value so it can resell or assign the contract at a profit. That spread is the business model.

The trade-off is not a flaw — it is a feature for the right seller. If you need to close in 7 days [12], no traditional listing can match that. Lender-required appraisals alone take 10–14 days in most markets. If your property has deferred maintenance, title complications, or tenant issues that would kill a financed deal, a cash buyer sidesteps all of that. The question every seller needs to answer honestly: how much is speed and certainty worth to you in dollars?

Factor	Fair Trade Real Estate (Cash Offer)	Traditional MLS Listing
Sale Price	Below market (wholesale discount)	At or near market value
Time to Close	As little as 7 days [12]	Typically 30–60 days
Showings Required	Usually none or minimal	Multiple showings, open houses
Financing Contingency Risk	None — cash deal	Buyer financing can fall through
Repairs Required	Typically none	Often required by lender or buyer
Closing Certainty	Very high	Moderate — subject to inspection, appraisal
Best For	Speed, distress, complexity	Maximizing net proceeds

Who Should Seriously Consider Fair Trade Real Estate

Not every seller is a candidate for a cash wholesale offer, and Fair Trade Real Estate is not trying to be the right answer for everyone. But there is a specific seller profile where this model makes genuine sense, and agents should recognize it so they can counsel clients honestly rather than reflexively steering everyone toward a listing.

The seller who benefits most from a company like Fair Trade Real Estate typically has one or more of the following circumstances pressing on them. A hard deadline — a job relocation start date, a probate court order, a foreclosure auction date — makes the 7-day close [12] worth a significant price concession. A property in poor physical condition, where the cost of repairs would eat into net proceeds anyway, is another strong candidate. Inherited properties with multiple heirs who simply want to liquidate and divide proceeds quickly also fit the profile. In each of these cases, the seller is not leaving money on the table carelessly — they are making a rational trade of price for certainty and speed.

• Sellers facing foreclosure with an auction date inside 30 days
• Inherited properties where heirs want a clean, fast liquidation
• Properties with significant deferred maintenance that would fail a conventional appraisal
• Sellers relocating for work with a firm start date
• Landlords with difficult tenants who need to exit without a lengthy vacancy period
• Sellers with title complications that would delay or kill a financed transaction

Who Should Skip the Cash Offer and List on the MLS Instead

If you have equity, time, and a property in reasonable condition, a wholesale cash offer from any buyer — including Fair Trade Real Estate — is almost certainly not your best financial move. The MLS exists precisely to create price competition, and that competition is worth real money. In Southern California markets, the gap between a wholesale offer and a properly marketed MLS price can easily run 10–20% or more of the home's value. On a $700,000 home, that is $70,000 to $140,000 left on the table.

Sellers in this category should interview two or three local listing agents, get a comparative market analysis on each, and understand what a realistic net proceeds figure looks like after commissions and closing costs. Only after seeing that number should they compare it to any cash offer. Fair Trade Real Estate's own model depends on sellers not doing that math — not because the company is deceptive, but because the business only works when the acquisition price is below what the open market would pay. A well-informed seller with time and equity should almost always choose the MLS.

How Fair Trade Real Estate Compares to Other Cash Buyer Options

Fair Trade Real Estate is one of several categories of cash buyer operating in Southern California. Understanding where it sits in that landscape helps sellers evaluate their options more precisely rather than treating all cash offers as equivalent.

iBuyers like Opendoor and Offerpad use algorithmic pricing and typically offer closer to market value than a traditional wholesaler, but they charge service fees that can approach or exceed a standard commission, and they are highly selective about which properties they will buy. They generally will not touch properties with significant deferred maintenance or unusual characteristics. Fair Trade Real Estate, as a wholesale-oriented operation with 2,500-plus deals [9] and a team of roughly 99 people [1], operates at a different point on the spectrum — it can handle more complex, distressed, or non-standard properties that an iBuyer would decline. Local fix-and-flip investors exist at the other end: smaller operations, often one or two people, with less infrastructure but sometimes more flexibility on deal structure. Fair Trade Real Estate sits between these poles — larger and more systematized than a solo flipper, more willing to take on complexity than an iBuyer.

Buyer Type	Typical Price Offered	Property Condition Flexibility	Close Speed	Example
iBuyer	Near market (minus fees)	Low — move-in ready only	14–30 days	Opendoor, Offerpad
Wholesale Company	Below market	High — distressed OK	7–21 days	Fair Trade Real Estate [12]
Solo Fix-and-Flip Investor	Below market	Very high	Varies widely	Local operators
Traditional MLS Listing	At or above market	Moderate	30–60 days	Listed with agent

What to Do Before You Accept Any Offer from Fair Trade Real Estate

The single most important step a seller can take before signing anything with Fair Trade Real Estate — or any cash buyer — is getting an independent valuation of their property. This does not have to be a formal appraisal, though that is an option. A comparative market analysis from a licensed local agent costs nothing and gives you a realistic picture of what your home would sell for on the open market in its current condition. That number is your baseline. Everything else is a discount off that baseline, and you need to decide whether the discount is worth what you are getting in return.

Second, read the purchase agreement carefully. Wholesale contracts sometimes include assignment clauses that allow the buyer to sell the contract to a third party before closing. That is not inherently problematic, but you should know it is happening. Third, verify the buyer's proof of funds before you take your home off the market or stop talking to other potential buyers. A legitimate cash buyer like Fair Trade Real Estate, with its established track record [9] and multiple offices [3][4][5][6][7][8], should have no problem providing this documentation promptly. If any cash buyer hesitates on proof of funds, walk away.

Frequently Asked Questions About Fair Trade Real Estate

Where is Fair Trade Real Estate located?

Fair Trade Real Estate's primary office is at 18881 Von Karman Ave, STE 225, Irvine, California 92612 [3]. The company also maintains offices in Santa Ana, Redondo Beach, Corona, Pasadena, and San Diego [4][5][6][7][8], giving it coverage across the major Southern California markets.

How fast can Fair Trade Real Estate close on a home?

Fair Trade Real Estate can make a same-day cash offer and close in as little as 7 days [12]. This is one of the fastest closing timelines available to home sellers and is the primary value proposition for sellers with hard deadlines.

How many deals has Fair Trade Real Estate completed?

Fair Trade Real Estate's real estate operation is responsible for more than 2,500 deals across Southern California [9], which places it among the higher-volume cash buyers in the region.

Who is the CEO of Fair Trade Real Estate?

Dek Bake is the CEO of Fair Trade Real Estate [10].

What are Fair Trade Real Estate's business hours?

Fair Trade Real Estate operates Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and is closed on Saturday and Sunday [16]. You can reach the Irvine office at (949) 979-4968 [14].

Is Fair Trade Real Estate a good option for sellers with properties in poor condition?

Generally yes — wholesale cash buyers like Fair Trade Real Estate are specifically suited to properties that would struggle to pass a conventional lender appraisal or that require significant repairs. The trade-off is a purchase price below what the open market would pay for a move-in-ready home. Sellers should still get an independent market analysis before accepting any offer to understand the size of that discount.

How does Fair Trade Real Estate compare to listing with a traditional agent?

A traditional MLS listing will almost always produce a higher sale price because it creates competition among all active buyers in the market. Fair Trade Real Estate competes on speed and certainty rather than price — the right choice depends entirely on the seller's timeline, equity position, and tolerance for the contingencies that come with a financed transaction.

The Bottom Line: Which Option Fits Your Situation?

Fair trade real estate as a concept — and Fair Trade Real Estate as a company — fills a legitimate niche in the Southern California housing market. For sellers who need speed, certainty, or a buyer willing to take on a complicated property, the model delivers real value. The company's track record of 2,500-plus deals [9], its seven-office footprint across the region [3][4][5][6][7][8], and its ability to close in as little as 7 days [12] are genuine differentiators in a market where most transactions take 45 days or more.

But for sellers with time, equity, and a property in reasonable condition, the math almost always favors a traditional MLS listing. The wholesale discount that makes Fair Trade Real Estate's business model work is real money out of the seller's pocket. The right move before you decide is simple: get a CMA from a local agent, compare that number to any cash offer you receive, and make the decision with full information. A seller who does that homework will never feel like they were taken advantage of — regardless of which path they choose.

Sources

• https://www.linkedin.com/company/fair-trade-real-estate
• https://local.yahoo.com/info-233370632-fair-trade-real-estate-irvine/