Categories: Lifestyle

Considering Selling A Home As Is? – A Quick Guide On What It Might Mean For You

Should you sell a home as is and what can you expect while unloading a house in as-is condition. If you are reading this, you likely are considering selling a house as is. So, we’ll skip rope comparing the benefits of selling a home as is and the drawbacks you might encounter and head straight to what selling as is might require of you as the seller. But first.

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What Is An ‘As Is’ Home (What It Really Means)?

A listing of a house in as is condition means the seller is unloading the home without as much as lifting a thumb to spruce it up. Buyers can expect the home to be on offer as it currently looks, feels and well, smells.

A seller could be selling a house in an as-is condition for several reasons:

Lacking enough cash to do the repairs or renovations required
Feeling like spending money on the home’s renovations is not worth the investment
Wanting to sell the home fast say, when cash-strapped
Leaving the home to live in an elderly people’s home in a hurry
He or she doesn’t live in the house and doesn’t really know what condition it is in
Having inherited a lemon of a house and does not wish to spend time and money on renovations

There could be more, different reasons. But, should you sell a house as is? Here’s what it means for you.

1. You Are Required To Share The Home’s Genuine Condition With The Buyer

Contrary to popular thinking, in most places, sellers are legally required to disclose the actual condition of an as is a house (cracks, clogs, warts and all) to buyers in advance. And even when not required like in the state of Massachusetts, you are required to truthfully answer a buyer’s questions during their inspection of your house.

In fact, if the buyer unwraps a defect that makes them back-off from the buying process, you are required to share that defect with subsequent interested buyers.

2. Buyers Might Not Be Willing To Pounce As Expected

There’s always a negative cloud of thought hanging over a home listed in ‘as is’ condition: that it might be in such a bad condition that you are not able to repair it to top-notch condition. You can invite prospects to inspect the home if you are confident this is not the reason for selling as is. If it is, you may want to…

3. You May Have To Offer A Discount

An important thing to remember is housing an as-is home accurately. If the house has a leaking roof, needs upgrades in different rooms and so on, you’ll need to account the cost of those repairs and subtract them from your preferred listing price.

While you’d want to list according to the home’s size and match other house prices in your neighborhood, you may have to deduct the renovations costs to attract buyers.

4. You’ll Want To Work With An Experienced Realtor

An experienced realtor can not only help you accurately figured out how much your home is worth in its current condition but can also inspect and let you know in advance what bargains potential buyers are going to want.

Be sure to ask a realtor whether they have experience selling houses in as-is condition before signing them up—and ask to see how many in the last 12 months.

Conclusion

Selling a home as is may be a bit of a challenge and might mean some more work on your part. As seen above, the extra work will be all about convincing buyers you are not selling a house as is because it is a bad lemon.

Have experience selling a home in as-is condition and would like to share your experience? C’mon and join in on the conversation below.

If you are interested in even more lifestyle-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels then we have a lot to choose from.