Have you inherited a home? Are you the power of attorney for an individual that may be moving to an assisted living facility? Are you moving and just don't feel like making repairs? These are examples of homes that will probably come on the market "AS IS"...meaning that the buyer will not be able to negotiate for repairs. The seller will typically reduce the listing price to factor in those areas that need attention on the front end.
Just a couple of items to go over from the beginning. I've talked with so many sellers that don't want to make repairs, but they aren't against providing concessions to the buyer. We call this "cash in lieu of repairs". That is where the buyer and seller are in agreement about the repair item and have also agreed to a dollar figure that the buyer will be credited. This will likely be in the form of seller paid closing costs. In this scenario, this is not an "AS IS" sale because the seller is compensating the buyer for the specific issue as it is brought forward by the buyer on the back end.
Determining which way to go depends wholly on the condition of the home. A seller can't simply credit high ticket items to the buyer in the way of seller paid closing costs because there is a maximum dollar amount going that route. If (1) the repair amounts are reasonable and (2) the buyer is ok with getting funds for the repairs at a later date and (3) the repair is not flagged as something that needs to repaired prior to closing (this would be a directive from the appraiser), this could be a way to go. The only issue with it is that not all buyers are going to want to do this and if you simply declare that you aren't going to make any repairs, then all potential buyers know this from the beginning.
When considering an AS IS sale, your Realtor will be able to walk through the home and look for red flags that he or she knows would be an issue for an appraiser. They will be able to recommend excluding some types of loan products (FHA/VA) if they know that the seller will not repair items that would be conditioned in the appraisal as required repairs before closing.
For more info on selling your home AS IS, check out my video below.
