Realtors and home buying practices

[George Chong]

Originally Posted by ffej

I will certainly clarify that with my realtor George. Perhaps I misunderstood him. How are homes sold 'as is' treated in GA? I purchased my home 'as is' in CA which meant that the buyer did not want to do any repairs but the sale was still contingent on a home inspection. Even though it was 'as is' they did end up repairing a few small items and giving cash at closing for a few others.

In a nutshell, if you put an offer on an 'as is' home in GA and the inspection comes back with some issues that the seller (or bank) will not repair or credit, can you freely back out of the deal?

There are 2 "As Is" choices on the GAR Contract.

The first "As Is" gives you a due diligence period where you have a set number of days to inspect the property, conduct surveys, testing etc... You name the number of days that you would like to have. At the end of the deadline, you have to make a decision to either purchase it or walk from the deal with your earnest money. Consider this as the "free look period".

The second "As Is" is truly as is. You accept the property with all it's faults including but not limited to termites.

The second "As Is" is the strongest one for the Seller. The Buyer basically says let's go to closing if you accept this amount for the property.

The first "As Is" is the option that I would suggest for any Buyer so that you can determine what if anything is a deal breaker. At the Buyer(s) costs, you can have the property inspected by a home inspector. Unless a Buyer is very experienced in home renovations/inspections or brings along a home inspector or contractor, I would advise to do the first as is option.

Seller(s) often use the as is option if they are trying to communicate to the potential Buyer(s) that they want to sell the house but there is no room for the negotiation of any potential repairs.

I once sold the home of one of Grant's daughters of Grant Park fame. The house was built in 1905 (?) and was in need of restoration. We priced the house to sell "as is" because the current owner knew there were lots of repairs needed and she did not want to repair anything.

[ffej]

Thanks for the clarification George! I don't have the stomach to purchase a house without an inspection. I'm assuming that just because you buy a bank owned or a short sale property, you can still buy 'as is' with the contingency for an inspection and other due diligence, correct? I was considering a short sale home, but between the stucco (hardcoat) and dealing with the bank, my search continues.

[George Chong]

Originally Posted by ffej

Thanks for the clarification George! I don't have the stomach to purchase a house without an inspection. I'm assuming that just because you buy a bank owned or a short sale property, you can still buy 'as is' with the contingency for an inspection and other due diligence, correct? I was considering a short sale home, but between the stucco (hardcoat) and dealing with the bank, my search continues.

I always ask the Listing Agent on which "As Is" they are offering. I once wrote an offer on a foreclosure that was literally as is so we just had to get all our duckies in a row to make sure this would be the house for my Buyers. I know that the bank wants to make a sale as short as possible as they are not in the business to own real estate, but they are still painfully slow. I was at a continuing education class this past week and the instructor stated that he spoke with a bank rep the other day and she had over 300 offers to review!

You would think that they could speed up the process since it's just a numbers game to them and there are no emotional attachments in the sale. But what do I know, I am not sitting behind a desk with 300 offers to look at!