‘As-Is’: What Sellers Expect vs. How Buyers Actually React

There’s something about the phrase “as-is” that feels powerful when you’re selling a house. Two little words, and—poof!—no more haggling, no more repair requests, no more back-and-forth. Just agree on a price up front, collect every penny at closing, and let the buyer handle any issues once they own it.

At least, that’s what many sellers hope will happen…

Unfortunately, “as-is” doesn’t always have the effect sellers imagine. The way it comes across depends entirely on the buyer’s mindset—and in some cases, it might even scare off the perfect one.

Here’s a look at 7 ways buyers might interpret those two little words, so you can decide if it’s the right move for you:

1) “As-If! We’ll See About That…”

Some buyers will treat as-is as a challenge. They may agree to take the house “as-is,” but also retain their right to a home inspection saying they just want to make sure there’s nothing major wrong with the house. In theory, this just lets them walk away if the issues are too much to handle. However, don’t be surprised if they present a list of things they want you to repair or give them a credit to fix themselves. You can always say no, but it may make sense to work with them on the issues, because you could end up getting the same requests with another buyer anyway.

2) “Ahhh, So you want Me to Come in With a Lowball Offer, Right?”

Other buyers will immediately knock 30% off the price in their head—before even seeing the house. Even if the home is perfectly livable, they’ll assume it’s a financial disaster waiting to happen. Rather than let them do fictional math in their head before making an offer, you may be better off letting them do some actual repair calculations once they get a home inspection done.

3) “Nope.”

It could also entirely scare a buyer off before they even click past the first photo online. If they’re not handy, and don’t have the budget (or desire) to fix things that may be wrong with the house, you might never know they could have been interested in your house if it weren’t for those two little words in your listing.

4) “For That Amount of Money?”

There are also buyers who don’t mind a fixer-upper, but they’ll expect a break on the price in return. Unlike the lowballers, these buyers won’t even bother making an offer—they’ll just wait until the price drops to what they feel is reasonable.

5) “What Are They Trying To Hide?”

It could also cause some buyers to assume you’re trying to hide something. They may not be entirely scared away—and they may even offer you a great price for the house—but don’t be surprised if they’re skeptical and just looking for problems that may not even exist.

6) “How Bad Could It Be?”

This type of buyer is misleading. They start out optimistic, but deep down they’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Honestly, it can go either way for this type of buyer. They’re hopeful enough to come look at your house, but they’re also kind of looking to see if they can answer their own question with something along the lines of, “Oh it can be bad… really bad!”

7) “Perfect… I’ll Take It!”

These are the buyers every as-is seller hopes to attract. So there’s always a chance that putting “as-is” in your listing won’t bother some buyers a bit. But are they truly the best buyer you could’ve gotten—or did those two little words scare off an even better one?