Understanding the "As Is" clause in Your Real Estate Purchase Agreement.

Every once in a while you will encounter a home for sale that expressly states in the listing that the home is to be sold in "As Is" condition.

"As is" means exactly that. What you see is what you get. It doesn't mean that the seller has any knowledge of any problems, it just means that they don't want to continue to negotiate after a purchase price is agreed to. Sure, there are sellers who aren't as honorable as others, that's why it's always best to be prepared in this type of situation.  Remember the term Caveat Emptor? It means let the buyer beware. See this article  on Caveat Emptor.

Just remember to submit your bid accordingly, if you do decide to make an offer on a property that has this specific condition.

That means considering getting a building inspection prior to your offer if you can, or realizing that you should put aside monies for any unforeseen issues that arise out of an inspection that will not be addressed by the seller on an "as is" sale.

Sometimes you don't have the luxury of the time or availability to have an inspection beforehand. You could be in a bidding war, or tough negotiating on your part could lead the seller to counter you with an absolute bottom line, where they just say, "Okay, you can have the house at the price that you want, but you will also agree to take the home in "as is condition". That means you can go ahead and have a building inspection, but do not come back and try and renegotiate anything or the deal is off.

Going back to a seller and asking for monies off after you have agreed to an "as is sale" will most certainly kill the deal, if not handled properly, and there really aren't too many ways to reasonably address it. An issue or issues would have to be substantial.

If you are in the situation where you need to make a decision on buying a home "as is", do your homework first,and be prepared to walk away if the inspection doesn't go as well as you want it to, and you aren't willing to address the concerns yourself.

And a note From Judy: If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in Fairfield County, and are in need of an Realtor to represent you, I invite you to contact me, and if you have an idea for a topic that you would like to see on The CT Realty Blog, please include it in the "Post a Comment" section link below this post. We appreciate the feedback and look forward to providing you with the best real estate content, advice and service in Fairfield County, Connecticut.