Should You Sell Your House As Is?
Are you a homeowner who receives a deluge of cards, letters, and phone calls wanting to pay cash for your house “as is”? Sounds like an attractive offer, doesn’t it? But really- should you sell your house as is?
Perhaps you’re in a rush situation – your job is transferring you to another city, you’ve found your dream home and need to sell your current home quickly, or you just don’t have the money to smarten up your current home.
What does selling your home “as is” mean?
You won’t have to remodel, revise, or replace anything inside or outside of your home. Buyers will purchase your home in its current condition for cash. Generally, cash buyers are investors or house flippers either looking for houses to flip or rentals.
Instant buyers (iBuyers) is an interesting alternative for selling your house as is. Their cutting-edge (proprietary) technology determines the fair market value of your home, taking its current condition into account. They make internet offers on your home, frequently sight unseen. You will receive their offer quickly and get cash for your home, often within a week.
Instant buyers will often pay you about 98.6 percent of market value. It depends on how closely your home meets instant buyer specifications.
Should you sell your house as is?
Unless you’re desperate, avoid companies that run ads such as, “we buy ugly houses.” Their offer often is made up of the amount you owe on your mortgage. So, if you take the cash and pay off your mortgage, you’re left with nothing. This type of company may be legitimate, but they typically don’t play fair where payment to sellers is concerned.
Selling your house as is means you won’t have to pay commissions to a realtor. You won’t need to worry about a potential buyer’s financing being denied. You won’t need to deal with annoying contingencies, such as the potential purchaser must sell their home before they can buy yours.
As for speed, convenience, and reduced stress, you can’t beat selling your home as is to a cash buyer.
Disclosure matters
Selling your home for cash does not preclude you from disclosing your home’s imperfections. Disclosure doesn’t mean you are obligated to repair any defects when you are selling your house as is.
However, deliberately suppressing information on property disclosures can come back to haunt you later. First, abide by the real estate laws in your state. For example, some states require the seller to divulge whether anyone died on the premises. Others do not.
Also, list any major issues such as mold, asbestos, leaking roof, lead-based paint, etc. If you have already addressed problems of this nature, make a note on your property disclosure sheet.
If your home was treated for termite damage, add that to your disclosure sheet.
Find out if your state requires you to disclose that your home is allegedly haunted.
Report foundation issues, repair dates (if any), and the nature of work.
If you decide to sell your home as is, do your homework and get the necessary information to make an informed decision.
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