Selling a house is usually a time-consuming, extremely involved process. Just deciding to sell your house means figuring out what time of year is best for selling for your local market. Additionally, there are things that you will have to do to your house to prepare it to even be listed. If your house is in need of any repairs, those will likely need to be addressed and/or corrected even prior to listing your home for sale.
Your house will also need to be staged and updated cosmetically. If it needs interior or exterior painting, that will need to be taken care of. Many sellers also decide to invest in a professional cleaning service to give their house a deep cleaning before photographs are taken for the home to be listed.
Sometimes, however, selling your home comes out of necessity. There are multiple circumstances that can bring a homeowner to the point of selling their home out of pure necessity. Be it a looming foreclosure, a death or severe illness in the family, a need for immediate cash, or the inability to continue caring for a property, sometimes a homeowner will need to unload their house as quickly as possible. In these cases, it is best to attempt to sell your house “as-is.”
What Does it Mean to Sell Your House “As-Is”
Selling a house as is is a standard contract clause in many real estate purchase and sale agreements. It usually means that you are selling your home in the exact condition it is in, with a small allowance (typically up to $500) for repairs. However, this scenario still involves a realtor, a house that is free from major damage and is in good, clean “move in ready” condition.
A house that is truly sold “as-is” is a home that has had no repairs, no cosmetic attention or updating, and no cleaning whatsoever. The condition of the home as it is on the day before it sells is the condition in which it is purchased.
In these scenarios, homes are typically sold off market, meaning they are never listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system. You may be wondering how you’ll ever reach a buyer if your home is not listed on the MLS, and that’s a fair question. Most sellers who want to sell their home in an off-market, as is manner, choose to use a company to broker the deal for them. The broker will generally take a small fee from the sales proceeds, but the cost is typically much less than standard sales fees.
How to Sell a House As-Is
The easiest way to sell a property you no longer want to own is to sell it off market as is. By doing so, you eliminate the need to make any repairs, cosmetic updates, or even clean the property. This also saves you money, which can be a huge benefit if you don’t have the cash up front to pay for repairs and upgrades, or if you are confident the sale of the property will not yield you a return on that investment.
Once you’ve decided to sell, you will need to contact a brokerage company to have them proffer the sale. They will likely come to your home to make an assessment of your property, and from there they will find a buyer and handle your transaction from beginning to end.
Selling your home off market in as is condition is a simple, low hassle way to sell your property and net a profit quickly and efficiently. No time or money needs to be invested in your property up front in these types of transactions, therefore they are perfect for anyone who needs to liquidate the equity in their home quickly.
