Selling Your House As-Is in Florida (How To Get the Best Deal)

Selling Your House As-Is in Florida (How To Get the Best Deal)

Yes, selling “as-is” is the most simple choice, but you may be wondering whether selling your home “as-is” is the best choice for you. 

Here’s the good news…

I will show you how you can determine the answer with simple math (and in only a few minutes).

By the end of this article you will be able to precisely calculate what option will equal the most dollars in your bank account when selling your home (which I know is the only reason you’d care to continue reading on). 

In addition, we will explain exactly what situations are best for you to sell as-is and what situations you’d be better off choosing another option such as putting it on the market with a realtor.

Every situation is different. Here are just a few that come to mind:

• Recently inheriting a home
• It’s been 20+ years since any fixing up
• We’re moving across the country

You name it, we’ve heard it – at the end of the day we’ve bought and sold 500+ houses all across the US.

so we’ve got a bit of experience 🙂 

P.S.  If you’re still a bit unsure after reading the article, you can reach out to us by filling out a form. We’d be happy to get you the down and dirty numbers and then you can make your decision from there.

Okay, let’s figure out your best option…

What does it mean to sell a house “as is” in the State of FL?

Selling a house “as-is” means just what it sounds like, the Seller, YOU,  are not going to do any repairs to the property during the sale process and you just want your money – no fussing with contractors taking payment and not doing the work, no picky buyers complaining about a toilet in the second bathroom not flushing properly and demanding that must be fixed before they move forward. 

In the state of Florida, Selling a property “as-is” means the burden is on the Buyer to do their inspection and shall the Buyer be satisfied with the inspection no further disclosure from the Seller shall be required, unless there is a material defect that the Buyer would never be able to determine from the inspection. For example, the home has mold but just before the Buyer’s inspection the Seller painted over the mold to hide the situation (but more about disclosure requirements later). I’m sure that example doesn’t come as a shock to you, although “as-is sales” lower the burden of disclosure on the Seller – as is condition real estate does not mean the Seller can actively attempt to deceive the Buyer by hiding defects in the property.  

What is an as-is offer in Florida? Well, first off an offer always comes from the Buyer, so an as-is offer in Florida means the Buyer is waiving the fact that there might be material issues with the property that need fixing and is willing to accept the property in its present condition. This generally comes at a price to the Seller but exactly how much or if it’s even the case at all that depends on a few factors such as the median sales price for your particular neighborhood and your competition. Remember that stuff from high school, well here it is again – supply and demand. Let’s do a quick example but we’ll cover more of this later:

• The median sales price for a home in FL is $411,000*
• Let’s dive in: Tampa Thomas for example lives in Brandon, FL 33511
  • There are 112 active listings ; last month 79 homes sold
  • Now divide the active listings by the # of homes sold last month 
  • 112 / 79 = 1.4 
  • This means there is 1.4 months of inventory in 33511
  • Tampa Thomas’s home likely would take less of a discount than other parts of the US where inventory is 6+ months.
  • Data as of the writing from https://www.redfin.com/state/Florida/housing-market

What are the rules for selling a house as is” in Florida

We began to touch on this topic a little earlier, but now we’ll do a little Q&A regarding the rules around as-is home sales. The general answer is there is always a price that your house can be sold at and that price will take into account the various factors and situations that may arise. 

Before we jump in the Q&A, I’d like to present two  situations because they make all the difference in the answers:

1. Investor Isabelle is the purchaser and he will be purchasing the home without bank financing
2. Betty Buyer is the purchaser and she will be getting financing from a bank like Wells Fargo..

Question: Must the home I’m selling be fit to live in?

Answer: 

For investor Isabelle – NO the home does not need to be fit to live in

For Betty Buyer – YES, more likely than not unless the home can pass an inspection her financing will not be approved

Question: What makes a house unsellable?

Answer:

For investor Isabelle – NOTHING

For Betty Buyer – A LOT OF THINGS, but generally anything that will cause the home to fail an inspection such as the roof being past its useful life (ouch ! that roof could cost $30,000 to be replaced)

Question: What can you do with an unsellable house?

Answer: 

For investor Isabelle – fill out the form below and get an offer, I PROMISE WE’LL MAKE YOU AN OFFER

For Betty Buyer – Tell Betty Buyer she has to come out of her own pocket to make the repairs so the home will pass the inspection

Question: Can you sell a house fast with code violations? 

Answer: 

For investor Isabelle – YES, she will buy the house without you needing to fix the violations – not because she’s nicer than Betty but just because she’s purchasing cash so she gets to make the rules 🙂

For Betty Buyer – ABSOLUTELY NOT, no bank will finance Betty Buyer to purchase a home with active code violations

Question: Can you Sell a condemned house?

Answer: 

Well, this depends on a many factors that are outside the scope of this article but if you fill out a form and explain your situation our sales rep will connect you with our attorney to discuss the situation in more detail and get you an answer

Question: Can you sell a house without a certificate of occupancy?

Answer: 

Same as the last one, this depends on a many factors that are outside the scope of this article but if you fill out a form and explain your situation our sales rep will connect you with our attorney to discuss the situation in more detail and get you an answer

<h2>What Florida Home Sellers Need to Disclose

Create a Numbered List of Items:

1. Item #1: 1-4 sentence description. 
2. Item #2: 1-4 sentence description. 
3. Item #3: 1-4 sentence description. 
4. Item #4: 1-4 sentence description. 
5. etc.

(legal citation if possible for this section AND/OR Link Below)

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/selling-a-home-in-florida-key-legal-requirements.html

https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/research/florida/selling-a-house-in-florida.html

Pros & Cons: Is it better to sell as-is or make repairs?

IT DEPENDS. It depends on many factors but the most important factor is whether the home will pass an inspection and whether you have the time (82+days) to wait for it to be sold and closed. Selling a house or accepting an offer is just the beginning of the transaction. That Buyer must still close – meaning they must do their inspections, they must get approved for their financing, their financing must continue to be approved throughout the entire process, and finally the house must appraise for the value it was sold for OR else the price will change to the appraised value. 

Here is a list of situations when you SHOULD NOT MAKE REPAIRS BEFORE SELLING:

1. 1. Your Live Far Away – You do not live within 20 minutes driving distance of the property (i.e. Inherited property, second home, etc.)

• Excessive renovations to pass an inspection – Such as a new roof, plumbing, structural issues, etc.

1. You Need Cash Fast – You need the money from the sale within a strict timeline. For example, let’s say you’re moving to a new home and need the money for a down payment and must close on a certain date or you’ll lose your deposit on that property
2. Weakening Housing Market or Crash – You cannot risk getting less for the house if the market were to change. If the house sells for less in 82 days  + you put $ into renovations you won’t get back
3. No Trusted Contractors – You do not have a trusted contractor whom you’ve worked with before on large projects. We love our contractors but we’ve also heard horror stories about contractors running off with $30,000 deposits for a home renovation, YIKES !
4. Code Violations – You have code violations or other issues with “clean title” that will not allow a conventional buyer to purchase the home

In general, it may always seem “better” to make the renovations yourself rather than sell as-is but there is a strong argument for selling as-is depending on your situation. By doing the renovations and not selling as-is there is the risk of things not going as planned in addition to the time you must wait to do the renovations and sell the property on the market. 

Here’s the BEST answer – the rational decision for when to  sell your home as-is would be when you CANNOT RISK PUTTING LESS MONEY IN YOUR POCKET WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE. The best way to explain is with an example:

Let’s start with Reasonable Rachel (RR). RR purchased her home in 2001 for $100,000 and has not made any renovations since – in fact there is a roof leak in two places and the plumbing needs to be replaced. RR currently owes $30,000 on her mortgage and she received a quote from Handyman Harry for $25,000 for the roof and $14,000 for the plumbing. We will assume RR has the $39,000 needed to do the renovations. RR’s home would be worth $200,000 now if it was in tip top shape like her neighbor, Nancy,  who just sold for $205,000. RR just received a cash offer from Investor Ivan for $110,000 – should she sell to Ivan or do the renovations ???

What should Reasonable Rachel Do? Let’s find out how much $ RR will make at the end of the day 

Scenario 1 – Sell to Investor Ivan for $110,000. Profit = $80,000 in 14 days

• Sale Price = $110,000 – ($30,000 mortgage) = $80,000* in RR pocket in 14 days
  • Ivan pays all closing costs, fees, and closes in 14 days

Scenario 2 – Do the renovations and all goes perfectly. Profit = $105,000 in 7 months

• Sale Price – $200,000 – ($30,000 mortgage) – ($39,000 renovations) – ($18,000 closing costs, fees, realtors commissions, etc.) – ($8,000 7 months of property taxes, water, electric, mortgage payments) = $105,000 in RR pocket after 7 months

Scenario 3 – Things change during the 7 months. Profit = $66,800 in 7 months

• Sale Price – $180,000 (housing market went down) – ($30,000 mortgage) – ($59,000 renovations because Harry misquoted you and demanded more money or he’ll stop working)) – ($16,200 closing costs, fees, realtors commissions, etc.) – ($8,000 7 months of property taxes, water, electric, mortgage payments) = $66,800 in RR pocket after 7 months

Benefits of Selling a home As Is – when the situation calls for it (Pros)

• Sell Quickly – Investors can close in 14 days OR LESS. With a traditional home sale you’d be lucky to close in 45 days after a signed purchase agreement  IF all goes smoothly ; national average closer to 82 days.
• Save Money on Repairs – Investors will take the property as-is. You spend $0.00 on repairs. A penny saved is a penny earned. In Florida, we have seen buyers requesting $9,723 on average in Repair Concessions.
• Avoid Commissions & Fees – Pay $0.00 in commissions or fees. The investor will pay them for you. The average cost we are seeing in Florida is 9% including realtor commissions, closing costs & fees
• Flexibility – You tell her when you want to close and it happens. A traditional buyer tells you when closing will happen, how it will happen, and you must be out of the property before you get your money from the sale.
• IF PROPERLY ANALYZED – YOU MIGHT EVEN GET MORE MONEY AS-IS and not take the risk of getting less
  • See example from above when Reasonable Rachel got more from selling as-is

Now, I know you might be thinking “well…

• I don’t fit all four of those situations

• I really have plenty of time

• I don’t need to sell my house quickly

• Am I a good fit to sell to an investment company?

Even if you do fit all the situations above, that doesn’t mean that your house is automatically a good fit for an investment company. THIS SHOULD BE A CASE BY CASE ANALYSIS. 

To further illustrate the point we’ll use a real life case study:

Mr. Reasonable Ron (RR) had a home in Fort Walton Beach, FL. RR originally contacted us in 2021 but he didn’t like the price we were offering. Then in 2022 we got back in contact with RR and he was ready to sell. The house needed extensive repairs, the quotes were coming back at $55,000+ 

So here we go, again there are 3 ways this could have played out

1. Sell to us – as is – walk away with X
2. List it on the market and sell to betty buyer as-is
3. Fix up the property and sell to Top Dollar Tom

WELL, Reasonable Ron chose us. Why?

Simple, he didn’t want to take the risk of a $55,000 renovation project that could’ve very easily increased in cost during the renovations due to rising material costs. Instead RR took the safe bet, a fair cash offer for $138,000. Don’t take it from us – here’s a testimonial from RR himself !

Drawbacks of Selling a home As Is (Cons)

• • Fewer Buyers Interested in the property – You miss out on buyer competition driving up the price. Your Buyer likely will not be able to get a bank loan if you’re selling as-is, UNLESS the Buyer is willing to make the renovation the bank requires 

• Lower Sales Price – You will 100% have a lower sales price than if you did the renovations because if you do not do them the Buyer must do them and they’ll want a discount for that

• Miss out on the Potential to put more money in your pocket – Remember there are NO GUARANTEES HERE , but if you make the renovations and things go smoothly you do have an opportunity to get more in your pocket

Tips to Get The Best Deal When Selling As Is In Florida

1. Get Familiar with the Local Market: Determine how many months of inventory are there in my zip code, what about my neighborhood. If there’s not much inventory you won’t be taking as much of a discount EVEN selling as-is. 
2. Get The Right Price: You gotta have the proper asking price – if its too high Buyers won’t even pay you any attention but if there’s not much inventory you don’t want to under price it either. 
3. Be Honest About the Current Condition: Disclose what you know about when major items were done such as the roof, hvac, plumbing and require the Buyer to complete their inspection within 7 days. If you wait too long for the inspection the Buyer might try to change the price 3 days before closing because you waited until then to do the inspection.
4. De-Clutter & Clean: For an as-is sale to an investor, save yourself the time and effort we’re not even paying any attention to these things.
5. Be Transparent about Loans & Liens:  Be open and honest in making disclosures because they’re going to surface at some point in the transaction it’s better to be ahead of them. The Buyer will perform a Title Search and that’s where this stuff will appear if it exists. Ask the Buyer to see the results of the Title Search if you’re unsure whether any liens or loan balances exist or their amounts.
6. Work with someone you trust: Probably the most important – if you’re going to sell your home without representation – YOU NEED TO TRUST THAT BUYER. Ask the Buyer for testimonials, for recent transactions, talk to the Title Company about the Buyer and find out how many properties are they buying.

Conclusion

Hopefully this article has provided you with information where you can make an informed decision on whether to sell your house as-is or to get down and dirty and do those renovations. Remember, the answer is IT DEPENDS, it depends on your individual circumstances and tolerance of risk.

Ask yourself the question – can I risk getting less money in my pocket at the end of the day ? If you’re willing to endure that risk, it might be worth doing the renovations to make the extra money but if you’re just fed up with the house or the area or have way too much stuff going on in your life and want to press the easy button and have the $$ in your pocket in 14 days – submit a form and we’ll handle it from there. 

P.S. If you’ve read and understood this article you should still fill out a form to get a quote for your particular situation because without a quote you cannot do the math to see if you’d put more money in your pocket by doing the renovations or by selling as-is 🙂