Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are considering buying a fixer upper that we would be buying as is. We are comfortable with this in general because we are buying location more than anything else. If we agree to buy the house as is, my understanding is that we can still have the house inspected & still walk away if "as is" turns out to be more than we can stand to repair after seeing the inspection. Obviously we have thoroughly looked at the house but would be depending on a competent inspector for certain things. Am I correct?
What you can do depends on what the contract says you can do, but yes typically "as-is" contracts are written with the contingency of an acceptable home inspection.
Absolutely. In fact, if there are serious questions about what exactly makes the seller want / need to list the property "as is" it probably makes sense to specify in the offer EXACTLY what you are getting into.
If you have a budget for repairs in mind you might want to get more than just a home inspector, but a follow-up with the various contractors that you would need to do the "fixing up" EVEN IF you plan on doing it yourself -- I have seen MANY people get in over their heads and having a competent contractor give you a ball park estimate may be a very prudent thing to do.
I have seen situations (typically an auction) where the property is NOT available for inspection. The assumption in such cases is either that the property is so unsafe that no one is allowed in OR that their are tenants that will not allow the inspection. In either case the house is very UNMARKETABLE and you would be taking a huge risk to even offer land value UNLESS you have some knowledge of exactly what is going on...
While I don't have a contract for this house because we are still trying to decide whether to make an offer, I did find in the last offer (contract) we made language about "Note to seller: Buyer has the right to inspect the property & based upon information discovered in those inspections cancel this agreement or request that you make repairs or take other action." I assume if I use the same contract for making an offer on the current house that this would be sufficient.
I'm mostly concerned about major structural things we might not have noticed and not cosmetic stuff.
While I don't have a contract for this house because we are still trying to decide whether to make an offer, I did find in the last offer (contract) we made language about "Note to seller: Buyer has the right to inspect the property & based upon information discovered in those inspections cancel this agreement or request that you make repairs or take other action." I assume if I use the same contract for making an offer on the current house that this would be sufficient.
I'm mostly concerned about major structural things we might not have noticed and not cosmetic stuff.
Thanks for your help!
In our ASIS/Right to Inspect contract, written by the FL Assoc of Realtors and the FL Bar, clearly has verbage that lets the buyer walk for any reason based on the inspection. Check with an agent in your State. I'm sure we are not that unique here in Florida with contract forms.
What's important is the offer. The seller is just saying that it is offering the house "as-is," meaning the seller does not intend to offer any credit for, or perform, any repairs. This listing is simply an offer to you to make an offer to buy the house. Your offer is the one that is important. If you include a contingency that you can walk away based on the inspection results, and the seller accepts that, the seller can't force you to buy the house.
If the inspection turns up problems, ask them for closing credits to cover some repairs before walking away. If the problem is safety related and not just cosmetic, they should go for it or they will have to disclose it to the next buyer. Worked for me.
What's important is the offer. The seller is just saying that it is offering the house "as-is," meaning the seller does not intend to offer any credit for, or perform, any repairs. This listing is simply an offer to you to make an offer to buy the house. Your offer is the one that is important. If you include a contingency that you can walk away based on the inspection results, and the seller accepts that, the seller can't force you to buy the house.
Exactly. If you decide to make an offer and since it's not 'cosmetic issues' you're worried about, put in your offer the contingency about inspection so you don't get in over your head if you found out there was much more that needed to be repaired than just cosmetic - plaster/paint one thing; new roof, structural defects, etc. another. Like Chet posted, use not only an inspector, but have a good contractor give it a thorough once over so you know structural integrity is OK and give you a ballpark on the 'fix up costs'. Just have your Realtor put a good contingency clause in the offer.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Fine print
