What Does Selling a Property As-Is Mean

If a homeowner is selling his house as-is, more likely than not, the condition of the property is less than stellar. Although some defects might be obvious, others might not be readily visible. The defects in the home can range anywhere from expensive, major repairs to small, minor repairs. In fact, more than one problem can exist with the home.

Allowing the current homeowner the opportunity to sell the home without completing any repairs or renovations is one of the main purposes of selling a home as-is. One of the advantages of this scenario for the seller is that he can put the house up for immediate sale rather than delaying the sale while necessary repairs are completed.

Furthermore, selling a house as-is protects the seller as long as the seller has been honest in his disclosure about the property. If the seller lies about any defects or inadequacies of the house to the buyer, he is not protected from any claim that the buyer might pose against the seller.

Basically, a buyer purchases the house in its current condition and may not request the seller to do anything to the property. When a property is being sold as-is, the seller may not hide any defect related to the condition of the property. Therefore, the buyer has no recourse should he decide he doesn’t like the condition of the house. This is because he has already agreed to purchase the house as-is.

The only time that a buyer would be able to take action against the seller is if the seller intentionally misled the buyers about the property. If the seller was aware of a particular defect with the property and intentionally hid this from the buyer, then the buyer would be able to take action.

Typically, the seller must include any problems or defects with the house on any disclosure forms. However, it is still important to have an inspection of the property in order to see exactly what is wrong.

Buyers who purchase property as-is realize what repairs are necessary and have taken this into consideration when determining their asking price. However, even though they have agreed to purchase a property with certain defects or flaws does not mean that they have agreed to any undisclosed problems that the property has. On the other hand, the buyers have essentially indicated that they will be responsible for all repairs, even cosmetic repairs.

© Allison Van Wig