RSSSelling That House As Is?
Aug 24
Best Solution Connotation, Intention, Upfront No Comments
Home sold strictly as is; owner will make no repairs; home inspection for informational purposes only… CLICK… If I am an investor, then there is more chance that I will look at these houses, because I am expecting to need to do work and I am prepared to handle the work, however, if I am an average home buyer, then I am not necessarily looking for a home which needs work. Now, I realize that “as is” does not by itself mean that a house needs work, but it has a strong connotation that is what is meant. Perhaps you have read some of these remarks about a property:
Everything is new; sold strictly as is;
Home Warranty; sold strictly as is;
Home is in good condition; owner is not capable of making repairs; sold strictly as is;
…
What does this statement mean: “home inspection for informational purposes only”? For whose information? The buyer’s, the seller’s, the agent’s, the bank’s, the appraiser’s, or…? When information exists, then it may need to be acted upon. The inspection results become known material facts that should be disclosed. Some agents will say that they do not want to know the results of an inspection, because they would need to disclose them. Too bad, you must disclose material facts that you know or should have known. When you are standing in front of the judge and he asks if a home inspection was done and you say yes and then he asks why you did not disclose what was in the report and you reply that you did not want to know what was in the report so you did not look at it, I don’t think he will look upon that response too favorably. So if a buyer has a home inspection done and he does not like what he sees, then can he get out of the contract? Of course, the answer to this is in the wording of the contract, but what is the intention of the agent when they put this statement in the listing? It is important to clarify this upfront so that the buyer does not get stuck with a house that’s “as is” condition is more than he can handle.
A home warranty does not cover prior damage, so this is not a legitimate excuse for selling a house “as is”. Certainly, this statement alone does not mean that any given condition was a problem prior to the home warranty, but it does not help.
The owner states in his gruff voice “there aint nothin wrong with this house, I fixed everthing myself; I aint makin no repairs”. Sheepishly the agent says “okay, I’ll list it ‘as is’ ” When home inspections are done on these houses, almost invariably something is found to be wrong, and perhaps surprising to the agent is that the owner will actually take care of it.
What do you mean that the owner is not capable of taking care of any repairs? If he is not a licensed contractor, then I probably do not want him to do the repairs anyway. Is it a question of money? Usually a contractor can be found who will accept payment at settlement if it is not too far away.
If you want to sell a house then use statements and remarks that will entice potential buyers to want to look at the house, rather than comments which will discourage them.