As-is means the house is offered in the condition it is in today, with no promise from you to fix, paint, clear out or upgrade anything first. It describes the deal. It does not describe the house.
What as-is usually means in practice
- You do not repair the roof, the boiler, the kitchen or the cracked driveway before the sale.
- You do not stage the rooms, or professionally clean them.
- The buyer looks at the house as it is and prices the work they see.
- You may be asked to leave items you do not want, or to remove what you do.
What it does not mean
Selling as-is is not a licence to stay quiet about problems you know about. Whether and how a seller in New Jersey has to disclose known defects is a legal question this website has not reviewed, so please ask an attorney you choose before you sign a form that says anything about the condition of the house.
It also does not mean the buyer will ignore the condition. As-is shifts the work and the risk to the buyer, and a buyer takes that risk into account in the number they offer. Expect the amount to reflect it.
Five things worth having ready
When someone follows up on your request, the conversation goes faster if you already know these five facts about an as-is house:
- The big items, in your own words: roof, structure, heating, plumbing, electrical, water.
- Anything that has been damaged or has leaked, and whether it has been dealt with.
- Whether the house is lived in, empty or rented.
- What you plan to take, and what you would like to leave behind.
- Anything about the title you already know, such as a lien or a co-owner.
What stays your job until the house changes hands
- Keep the house insured and the property taxes up to date.
- Keep utilities connected if anyone needs to see the inside.
- Keep the property secure and the mail collected.
- Keep copies of anything you sign.
A common mistake
Treating as-is as a reason not to look at the paperwork. A house can be in rough shape and still have a clean title, or look fine and have a lien. Look at both.
If your house is mainly an as-is case because of repairs, the page about selling a house that needs repairs goes into the repair side in detail, and the general trade-offs of a cash sale are on the sell my house fast page.