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If you match the average home seller, you’ve been in your house for at least eight years. That’s enough time to build some great memories, but also, repair needs to start to pile up.
That might make you dread putting your house on the market. You don’t want to spend time and money making repairs or get stuck in negotiations over them.
But what if you could sell your house as-is? Put it on the market without doing any work and walk away after accepting the highest offer?
The idea has its appeal, but it’s not the correct answer for every situation. The current market and the general condition of your home determine whether you’ll get enough or if it’s better to do at least some work before you sell your house as-is.
Keep reading to learn more about whether it’s worth trying to sell your house as-is and what’s involved.
What It Means to Sell Your House As-Is
As-is means you are letting buyers know up front that you won’t be making any repairs to the house regardless of what might come up in an inspection. Since about 86 percent of home inspections find something that needs to be fixed, buyers need to consider repair costs when making offers.
Typically, sellers do repairs and updates before listing their house to make it look its best. Doing the repairs and updates lets them ask top-dollar and sometimes get it. They’re also open to negotiating to take care of any problems during the inspection process.
When you sell your house as-is it means the buyer takes the property in its current condition with no warranty. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to disclose issues you know about, like a cracked foundation or that the buyer can’t do an inspection.
It also doesn’t mean the buyer can’t come back to renegotiate the price after they uncover something in that inspection.
Who Buys A House As-Is?
Most people sell a home as-is because they need to sell quickly, can’t afford to make needed repairs, or want a cash offer in a hot market. A house with issues won’t appeal to the masses, but some groups are eager to buy a fixer-upper.
If your neighborhood has a lot of tear-downs and new construction, developers might be willing to give you top-dollar to get your lot. In those cases, you can sell a house as-is fast compared to others in excellent condition.
House flippers and investors also would have an interest. However, they are looking to pay far below market value, so they can make a huge return when they put the house back on the market. If the needed repairs aren’t significant, they might jump to buy it.
Sell Your House As-Is: Pros
It’s easy to see the appeal of selling a house as-is. After all, it’s more convenient for you than taking the time to fix the house up for sale. In addition, the cost of making the repairs might be more than you can handle, so an as-is sale lets you get out from under the burden.
When you don’t take time to update or repair things, you can get the house on and off the market faster. In a hot seller’s market, houses move quickly, and you can get money in your pocket sooner if you don’t take a month or so to fix things.
The gap between offers for updated houses and those sold as-is in a seller’s market gets smaller. Less inventory means more competition for each house, which drives prices up, even for fixer-uppers.
Marketing a house as-is attracts investors, who are often cash buyers. They don’t have to wait on financing and come in comfortable with the need to make extensive repairs.
Moreover, it can get you to closing – and your money – faster than with a traditional offer.
Speaking of money, you end up with less out-of-pocket since you aren’t paying to make repairs on the property. In a hot market, that’s money you keep with less risk of losing it by having to take a lower offer.
Warning buyers ahead of time that you don’t intend to make repairs means there are fewer negotiations to deal with. While the buyer can request that repairs be made after the inspection, you’ll get fewer of them.
You can consider offering concessions instead at that point if needed to close the deal.
Sell Your Home As-Is: Cons
All of that sounds great, but there are a few downsides to keep in mind before you sell your home as-is.
Buyers may get suspicious or turned off when you include the words “as-is” in your listing. As a result, they may not even come to take a look at the house. They worry that there’s more wrong with the place than what they can see on the surface.
You’ll end up with a smaller potential buyer pool as a result. Most buyers want a turnkey house and don’t want to take on the hassle of fixing a house themselves.
Since the buyer can still do a home inspection, there’s always a chance they could pull out afterward if the problems are more extensive than expected. Doing an inspection yourself before you list can counteract this, as you can give them a complete and truthful picture of the property before they even make an offer.
Remember that most buyers expect your asking price to be lower to account for the cost of making those repairs themselves later. This is particularly true with bigger-cost items like a cracked foundation or roof replacement.
A good market analysis can also be challenging since most of the houses you have to compare with won’t sell under the same conditions as yours. It can make settling on the right price a challenge.
Your agent might suggest some low-cost fixes to get the house closer to the comps and give you a good return for the effort.
Looking to Sell Your House Fast?
If you want to sell your house as-is, it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons and understand what you might be giving up. For example, you can avoid a lot of stress and expense by not making needed repairs, but you might also have to accept less money for the property.
It’s a balancing act to determine the best choice for you and your property depending on the condition and amount of effort, time, and money you want to put in.
Are you interested in trying to sell your house as-is? Contact us to find the right agents who know the market and can help you connect with cash buyers.
