The Property Is "As-Is"... What Does This Mean? "As-Is" means the seller will not make any repairs to the property.
All bank owned (foreclosure) and short sale properties will be bought "As-Is".
Some people are very concerned about this, so we are going to explain the steps we take to make sure you are not buying a money pit home.
When we look at properties, we will be looking for glaring red flags. As the agent, I will point these out to you and we will discuss them. Most buyers think repair work costs a lot more than it actually does. Some actually do cost a lot, so our priority is to figure out what scenario we are in when we look at the home.
If you love the property and think it has a lot of potential but are still concerned there may be some major issues with it, we would be happy to recommend a home inspector we know and trust.
A home inspection is done after the Bank has approved the contract. We will need to do one typically within a week of our contract being ratified. Once this is done, we will get a better picture of what type of home you might be buying. If there are serious issues, we will get out of the contract and keep looking or we will try to negotiate the price of the home down to reflect these issues. Minor repair work will not be a reason for negotiating price again.
If the HVAC unit or some of the appliances look like they are on their last leg, we will recommend a home warranty. If the property is a bank owned or short sale, we STRONGLY recommend a home warranty. A home warranty covers any of your appliances or HVAC system. If it goes out in the first year, they will send someone out to repair or replace it. You can even renew this year after year should you choose.
Two of the most expensive items to fix in a home are HVAC and the roof. The HVAC will be covered by the home warranty and the roof will be visually inspected by the home inspector.
Typically "As-Is" properties are already being bought at a great price, 10-20% below market value. Most buyers tend to be ok with minor repairs needed on a home if they get it at a good price.
