How to sell a house in As Is condition

If your house is old or needs repairs it is often best to sell it in As Is condition so you don’t need to make repairs and are can not be held responsible for any deficiencies in the home after you sell it. We get a lot of questions about how to sell a house As Is and what is involved in the process so put together these frequently asked questions about selling your house As Is. If you have any other questions or would like to discuss this in more detail don’t hesitate to give us a call. 

We buy houses As Is, but what does As Is actually mean? 

Selling your house as is means that you are selling the home in its current condition, will not make repairs before the sale and will not offer any credits to fund these repairs. When you sell your house As Is you are not  making any warranties on the condition of the property and the buyer has no legal recourse to come back and sue you if there are more issues than they first expected. Basically when you sell your As Is, all your problems become the buyers problems.

How can you sell your house As Is?

You will generally need to find a cash buyer. If somebody is getting bank financing for the house an As Is house is going to struggle to get through all the inspection reports and requirements the banks have when they lend money on a property. A home owner is generally not going to be the buyer of an As Is property unless the buyer is a contractor or handyman. Generally an investor is going to buy your house. An investor isn’t put off by repairs and often likes houses with some issues as what it costs them to repair it is probably less than what it would cost you to fix it. This creates an opportunity for the investor to buy your house, put some time and money into it and then sell it for a profit to a home owner. 

Can I sell a hurricane damaged house?

Yes you can sell a home with hurricane damage in As Is condition. Depending on the extent of the hurricane damage a bank may not be willing to finance the property to a buyer but you can still the house to a cash buyer like Home Buyer Louisiana. Unfortunately hurricane damage is a part of life in Louisiana so we are used to these type of houses. It is common for people to have insurance payouts but they don’t want to rehab the house. In those cases we buy the hurricane damaged property for cash and they combine that with their insurance money to start again. Or maybe you don’t have insurance and just want to get as much from your damaged property as possible so you can start over? We are happy to help and try and make you the best cash offer on your hurricane damaged home. We will then restore the house for a new homeowner or a tenant.

Can I sell my house in any condition?

You can sell a house in pretty much any condition. It might be fire damaged, have active termites, foundation issues, be full of junk, have water damage, been vacant since Katrina, leaking roof, no roof, you name the problem and I bet you we have bought something like that in As Is condition. Worst case scenario if the house needs to torn down there should still be value in the land.

Can you leave stuff behind when you sell your house?

You can leave your furniture and unwanted belongings behind when you sell your house As Is. We know it can be hard to get a house totally clean, particularly when you have lived here there for awhile. The benefit of selling As Is, is that you can take what you want and leave the rest of your stuff behind. No need to clean up the house, you can even leave your rubbish behind. We try and donate what we can to charity and the rest will just go in a dumpster as part of our renovation process.

Can you sell a house with code violations?

Yes you can sell a house that has building code violations. Even if the city has put code enforcement liens on your property you are still able to sell it As Is. The buyer will have to address the code violations when they purchase it to avoid further fines from code enforcement. We buy houses with code violations regularly and our title attorneys know how to get these liens removed as part of the sales process.

Can I sell a house with foundation issues?

Selling a house with foundation issues can be hard is you are selling to a homeowner. Most house buyers get scared off by a foundation problem. Unfortunately foundation issues are very common in New Orleans. If you are able to you are best to get a foundation company to fix the foundation before you sell your house. If you don’t have the time, money or inclination to do this you can sell your house in As Is condition to an investor like us. We deal with foundation issues all the time so aren’t scared off by this and it gives us the opportunity to use our expertise to add value to the property. While a bank probably won’t approve a loan on a house with a foundation issue we buy our houses with cash so don’t need to worry about bank approvals so can close quickly and easily.

Can I sell a flood damaged property?

Yes you can sell a house with flood damage. We are no strangers to floods in Louisiana and unfortunately it is part of life. If your house is damaged in a flood you can still sell it to a cash home buyer in As Is condition. We know how to restore flood damaged properties and so you can sell your flood damaged property to us and move on to another property. Lots of people will get their flood insurance payout but not want to rebuild so combine the payout with the sale to us so they can start over with a new home.

Can I sell a house As Is with mold?

Mold can be a big turn off for house buyers, particularly black mold. This makes it very hard to sell a house with Mold to a homeowner, particularly if they are using bank financing and need to meet all the inspection requirements. You can still sell a house with Mold if you sell it in As Is condition to a cash buyer. This will most likely be an investor who will remediate the mold, make any necessary repairs to flip the property to a new home owner or get it ready for a tenant. We are no strangers to mold so you can sell your house with mold to us.

Can I sell a house As Is without an inspection?

It is hard to sell a house in As Is condition without any inspection. It is possible but the buyer would assume the absolute worst for everything to be comfortable which would most likely mean that you would be leaving cash on the table. If you sell to an experienced cash buyer they would still want to inspect the property but the inspection is likely to be a 10 minute walk through. It won’t be like bank inspections and they are not going to come back expecting you to make repairs. They are just going to confirm what work is needed so they can ensure that their number works.

Should I sell a house As Is or fix it up?

That is really a personal question and there is no right or wrong answer. If you do fix the house up to a point where it is modern and ready for a homeowner to move in (and get bank finance approved) you will definitely get more money for the house. If you have the time and money for this as well as a desire to put in the work then you should go for it. If you don’t have the time and money or you just won’t enjoy dealing with the rehab and problems that arise then you are probably best to just sell it As Is for cash. For some people just turning the house into cash without having to lift a finger is more valuable than the extra money they would get by renovating the house.

If you want to sell your house but don’t want to make all the repairs then selling your house As Is would be a good option for you. Home Buyer Louisiana buys houses as is for cash and would be happy to give you an obligation free cash offer on your home.