Should you buy a house that’s selling as is?

Should you buy a house that’s selling as is?

Now that you know the pros and cons of an as-is home sale, you might be wondering whether to move ahead with the sale—and how. Since these sales can be bargains, they are worth considering, although there’s one precaution buyers will definitely want to take prior to the sale: a home inspection.

A home inspector examines the house from basement to rafters and will point out any problems plaguing the place that may make the buyer want to reconsider the sale. The problems can be current or potentially in the buyer’s future, such as an old roof that may need replacing five years later.

A real estate inspection costs around $300 to $500, and typically occurs after the buyer has made a sales offer on real estate that’s been accepted and put down a deposit.

The buyer, not the seller, pays for the inspections—which makes sense, because that way the inspector is not working for the seller.

On houses that aren’t selling as is, buyers may use problems found during the inspection to demand that repairs be made (or that credits be given so they can make those repairs themselves).

While as-is home sellers have already made it clear they won’t lift a finger on that front, an inspection still serves an important purpose for buyers before the sale.

Provided the buyers place an inspection contingency in the contract, this means that if the inspector unearths problems, the buyers don’t want to address, they can walk away from the deal with deposit in hand.

“You should always elect to do a home inspection, especially on a bank-owned property where no one knew how the home was cared for and no one knows what happened right before the past owners left the property,” says Winston Westbrook, a broker and owner of Westbrook National Real Estate Co. specializing in short sales and distressed real estate.

“Yes, you lose out on the cost of the home inspection, but the cost of the home inspection is well worth it, considering the headache you would have had in the future trying to make the house livable.”

On the other hand, if the inspection reveals additional problems, you might consider offering a lower price based on estimated costs of home improvement.

Remember that, despite what the seller says in the real estate listing, a real estate deal is still open to negotiation. If the sellers have a property on the market and it doesn’t sell, they may be open to selling at a lower price.

The sellers may even make certain fixes requested by home buyers, if that’s the only way they can sell the house.

Unless it’s a hot real estate selling market and other potential buyers are competing with you, the listing agent knows that the property won’t sell until you get a deal that works for you.
Fred Sweezer Sr LLC
1-562-234-2689