Using "as is" contract for regular sale in today's market? (disclosures, foreclosures)

[MovedfromFL]

My agent told us that most agents in our area (central FL) are using "As-Is" contracts these days.

Does that make sense? The contract says we have a right to walk away during the 5 day inspection period. (which has been extended because seller was on a trip out of state)

Second, the major issues that the inspection found were (a) bare, uncapped wire in attic and (b) very dirty a/c coils in garage (causing what looks like mold to shoot out of the ceiling vents)

Seller's reply back was (a) we don't know what that wire is and "you're on your own" and (b) we won't pay for the a/c coil cleaning.

I have 2 quotes to clean the coils at $350+ each.

So I guess our only recourse at this point is to cancel the entire contract or agree to pay for everything. (we already overlooked many other issues on the inspection report. I was asking to split the a/c cleaning bill 50/50) I don't think that is asking too much in this market, but the seller seems to think otherwise.

I just can't believe someone would be ok with selling a home to a couple with young children and refusing to take care of a safety issue like a live wire not capped and not secured in junction box. I guess I learn something new everytime we buy a house. If we didn't need a house right this second, I would cancel. This guy was also less than honest on the disclosure. In fact, he has the septic tank pumped and the company told him that his drainfield was bad. I happened to stumble upon that info when I called the company to get an inspection for myself. They looked up the address. So we ended up getting a different company to inspect the system and they said it is fine. I sure hope the first company was just trying to drum up some business! (but as far as I know, seller only had that first report to go on and failed to pursue it)

His agent tells us he always takes care of preventative things, like getting the septic pumped every 3 years. Ok, so why does he let the a/c coil get filthy? That shortens the life of the compressor and causes higher electric bills for starters. You also get nasty looking marks on the ceiling by the vents. It's not a cheap fix because they have to take the coils apart, soak them, and then put everything back together.

When we sold our house in GA, we spent a lot of money on fixes requested by the seller, including installing GFI outlets in the garage and capping wires in the attic. I guess we are just honest people, the last of a dying breed it seems.

[manderly6]

Seems like fairly small dollar amounts. If you cancel and start over you have to pay for another inspection anyway.

[RickTucsonHomes]

"As Is" is not the norm her in AZ for regular sales, only for distressed sales, bank owned etc. I assume you knew it was "as is" when you made your purchase offer. Your offer should have reflected that condition and figure you would have some repair expenses.

[Baba&G]

I know as-is contracts are popular with foreclosures and shortsales because either the bank doesn't want to take responsibility for fixing things or the person selling the house is already taking a huge loss and can't pay anymore. If it's a normal sale and being sold as-is I'd be concerned. The owner likely knows there is something big wrong with it and doesn't want to address or acknowledge the problem.

Who knows though, maybe the house is great otherwise and they just want a no hassle deal

[2bindenver]

"As is" does not mean we are hiding major defects. "As is" means no matter the condition the buyer agrees to buy without repairs.

[Baba&G]

Sorry, it was my understanding that as-is properties usually had disclosures that were pretty much void of any real details. Maybe I've just turned into a cynical person and am overly suspicious.

[rjrcm]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

My agent told us that most agents in our area (central FL) are using "As-Is" contracts these days....

Perhaps "most agents" are representing distressed properties like REOs and short sales? Not unusual in FL or AZ. As Rick noted above, "as-is" is common for such sales. I also would not expect as-is for a normal un-distressed sale.

Do you have a cost estimate to repair the wire? If it's just un-capped, then that's extremely easy and cheap to fix. If you need to rewire, it may be more expensive.

[QIS]

It does seem like you are in a standoff dilemma now!
If the drain field was bad, that would cost more than the amount of the other two repairs for sure. You have expressed some uncertainty regarding the honesty of the seller; so now you have to be careful!
You both are contemplating canceling over less than 1000.00 of known repairs.
I agree that your requests may be reasonable; however, he can stick to his contract if he wants to!
It sounds like you are a nice home seller! Don't compare yourself to your current seller; who knows, he may be way upside down and loosing everything or some other issue...

[Momma_bear]

"As is" is pretty normal in my area of FL (Fort Lauderdale). However, in non distress sales sellers usually agree to either fix, or give credit for MAJOR defects. AC coils needing cleaning would not qualify as a major defect, and neither would uncapped wires. Major issues would be things that cost into the thousands to fix, not hundreds. For instance, we did get a credit for a non functioning 5 ton AC unit and mold abatement.

I like an as is sale because it prevents buyers from nit picking small (sorry $350 is small) defects.

[Racelady88]

The wires can be capped with simple wire nuts that can be bought for under $10. Installation takes about a minute.

I would never pay anyone to clean A/C coils. Biggest rip-off out there. You can clean them yourself with plain old water. If the unit is in the garage you can bring the hose in and spray them down. It is just dirt coming out of the vents.

If that is the worst thing the inspection found you are lucky, the house must be in great shape.