Selling a house "As Is"?

Question

I need to sell my grandparents home. It needs new bathroom fixtures (toilet/sink) and all the rooms need painting. The kitchen is outdated and the outside of the home needs some care. I don't have the funds to do this. Do you realtors have any success selling a house "As Is"? I've been told there are a lot of people out there that are looking for houses to fix up or flip? What's your opinion?

Answer 1

I recently sold my house as-is. You just need to understand that with the problems your asking price has to be lower than it otherwise would. The nice thing is that there won't be any hidden surprises with an inspection that the buyer will expect you to pay to fix.

Answer 2

I have been a real estate broker for 29 years. The direct answer is yes you can sell it this way.

When people want to buy a house and fix it up and resell it the are taught that most of the profit comes at the buying end. That means they won't be able to sell it extraordinarily high or fix it up at a low price, if they want to make a big profit they have to drive a very hard bargain with the seller and get the house at a rock bottom "give away" price.

You may be willing to do this, or you may be willing to do some of the basic fix up and deal with "normal" homeowner occupants. You will get a much better price, but it may be that you just want to walk away- if so- sell to those people wanting to do the fix up and flip.

Answer 3

You have to be careful when you do that. As an agent I can tell you that buyers are weary of going to see "as is" properties because they are already expecting problems. Your best bet would be to put it on the market and go from there. You don't want the house not to be shown just because it is "as is".

What may happen is you put it up as is and then lower the price and then people will start ducking off the price because the house needs this or that - if they come to see it in the first place.

You'll get top dollar if you just make a lot of the repairs yourself if you can.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

The inspector and buyer agent have the buyers interest in the process. When selling "as is" and the inspector comes back and says , "This, this and this needs to be fixed." It does not mean the seller has to fix the issues, the buyer at that point has the options to ask the seller to fix the issues, back out of the sell based on those issues, or take on the responsibility of fixing those issues at their cost. The buyer has asked your mother to fix these issues and her agent is recommending these be fixed. Your mother has some options. Fix the items at her expense during the sell, negotiate with the seller for a new price on the house with the understanding that these issues will be the buyers responsibility to fix or stop the sell to this buyer, fix the issues at her cost and re-list the house with a new price with the cost of fixing those issues added in. Selling a house is all about negotiating and if your mother's agent is not advising her of all her options, then it is time for your mother to get a new agent.

Answer 5

Hi:

I am a real estate sales agent and I can tell you that I sell properties in "as is" condition all the time. The only time you have an issue with selling in "as is" condition is when the seller knows that he is selling a property that needs improvements, but wants top dollar.

If you can get over the fact that you will have to discount the house and you price it correctly, you should sell it in non time.

I wish you all the best.

Jonathan

Answer 6

Yes we do. The price needs to be right , in other words it can't be over priced.

Get a area sales analysis from a qualified Realtor to get you an average price of surrounding properties to be able to compare. And it is very important to get this in writing.

The people that look for theses type of houses are generally investores or builders.

Answer 7

You can make it clear to the Realtor that you are willing to negotiate a price to not make any repairs, but you NEVER want to advertise a property "AS IS"....in a competitive market, buyers may assume that it is in deplorable condition, when what you have mentioned is mostly cosmetic.

You can't sell it if you can't get them in the front door.

Answer 8

I'm not sure if I should post this under your question or if I should start a new topic but it's related to your question about selling "as is".

Can someone sell a home "as is" to a Buyer who's wanting a FHA loan?

Some of the Realtors that answered this question may have experience with FHA ...

Thanks!

Answer 9

There are many people who actually look for "as is" homes so they can get them for a lower price, fix them up and resell them for a higher price (or "flipping"). This is a HUGE trend right now and you'll be surprised as to how many people will be interested in your hrandparent's home!

Answer 10

That may depend on where the home is located. In my city as is homes goes fast for they are cheaper and easier to get approved for. I say contact a realator and start the sell.