Selling a House As-Is in California
A couple’s grandmother left them a property in Riverside. By the time they called us the front unit had been gutted to drywall by family members who’d moved in, stopped paying rent, and eventually had to be removed.
Power had been shut off and whoever was still in the back unit had run an extension cord to the neighbor’s house. The lot had travel trailers and jet skis scattered around and the eviction was still in process.
We bought the property at 9073 56th St in Riverside for $215,000 and the deal closed in about three weeks.
That’s one version of as-is. The range of what gets sold this way is pretty wide.
I buy as-is properties for a living, so I have an obvious stake in sellers going that route. Worth knowing that going in.
What As-Is Means in California
Selling as-is means the buyer takes the property in whatever condition it’s in and agrees to that in writing before close. They don’t get to renegotiate because the inspection turned up a problem with the roof or the foundation.
That’s the core of the agreement.
What it doesn’t mean is that you’re off the hook on disclosures. California Civil Code § 1102 requires sellers to reveal known material defects regardless of how the sale is structured, known roof leaks, foundation issues, water damage, mold, anything that materially affects value or desirability still has to go on the forms.
Selling as-is affects who’s responsible for fixing things after close, not what you have to tell buyers before they sign.
I’ve had sellers come in thinking an as-is designation means they’re protected from any claim after close, and it’s more limited than that. I tell them the as-is part means the buyer can’t come back after close on condition issues they agreed to accept, but a seller who knew about a material defect and didn’t put it on the disclosure is still exposed regardless of how the contract was written.
I’ve seen sellers go under contract on as-is terms and assume the deal is locked once the buyer signs, which usually isn’t how it works. Under the standard California purchase agreement, the buyer typically has 17 days to inspect, and a buyer who cancels during that window gets their deposit back even on an as-is sale, the as-is terms are about the seller’s repair obligations after the contingency period ends.
An heir inherited a property in North Tustin from his aunt, good neighborhood, comparable sales in the mid-$2M range. Two deaths on the property weren’t known to anyone until they surfaced during escrow.
California Civil Code § 1710.2 requires disclosure of deaths on a property within the past three years and when that information came out investor interest dropped and the deal had to be repriced by $200,000 to close.
That kind of thing can surface even when the seller had no idea going in, and as-is terms don’t change how it gets handled once it does.
The natural hazard disclosure report falls into the same category. The escrow officer orders it on every California residential sale, as-is included, covering fire severity zones and other state-mapped hazard areas.
A lot of sellers I’ve worked with didn’t know it was part of the process until the escrow officer mentioned it, and the vendor charge runs $70 to $150 on the seller’s side.
I’ve seen CLUE reports come up on more as-is transactions in recent years, especially on properties in fire hazard zones or areas where prior water damage is a concern. It’s a seven-year claim history on the property maintained by LexisNexis, and buyers use it to get a read on insurability before they commit.
The Condition Range Is Wider Than Most People Expect
Extreme Condition: The Hoarder Situation
We got a call about a property in Lamont that had been inherited from the original owners. It was already a hoarder situation when the next generation got it and had gotten progressively worse over the years.
Roof actively leaking, swamp cooler dead for a decade, four cars on the lot with unclear ownership on at least a couple of them. The family was just starting to go through everything, moving Sylvia up to Washington.
That’s one end of the range. The North Tustin property was in good working order, just cosmetically dated, original appliances and cabinets that needed replacing.
Both were sold as-is but the buyer type and the pricing math on each looked nothing like the other.
Typical As-Is Sales
What most sellers picture when they hear as-is is the extreme end, hoarder situations, fire damage, properties that haven’t been touched in years. But plenty of as-is sales are just sellers who don’t want to manage repairs before close, or properties with one significant issue that complicates a standard listing.
A property that needs a new roof and has dated interiors is a different conversation than one that’s been gutted and abandoned, and buyers price those two situations very differently.
Who Buys As-Is Properties in California
The buyer pool narrows pretty fast once a property has real condition issues. Traditional mortgage lenders have minimum property condition standards and they’ll pull financing if the inspection turns up something significant, which means even a willing retail buyer can lose their loan mid-escrow if the condition is bad enough.
Most as-is sales with serious condition issues end up with cash buyers or investors who aren’t depending on a lender’s approval to close.
The investor calculation works backward from what the property will be worth once it’s fixed. What will the finished product sell for, what will repairs cost, what margin does the investor need to make the deal work, and whatever’s left is roughly what they can pay.
I spent seven years as a certified residential appraiser, starting in 2003, before I got into acquisitions. The “what will this be worth repaired” part of that math is the number that drives everything else.
Location still matters a lot on as-is properties. A gutted property in a strong part of Riverside or LA county holds its value differently than the same condition in a market with softer fundamentals and buyers price accordingly.
If the property has a tenant in place on top of the condition issues, there are separate California rules around how that affects the sale but it’s a different question from the as-is piece.
When Selling As-Is Makes More Sense Than Doing Repairs First
When You Get Into a Renovation and Can’t Finish
A seller’s father left her a few properties when he passed. The house in North Palm Springs had been partially gutted by the family because they’d been planning to fix it up themselves, kitchen and bathrooms already torn out, non-permitted additions that would need to come down, new roof needed on top of everything else.
At some point they just decided they weren’t going to finish it. We bought it as-is for $65,000 and the seller sold a vacant lot next door at the same time.
That situation is common. Someone inherits a property with a renovation plan, gets into it, and runs into what a full rehab actually takes.
The contractor coordination, the decisions that keep coming up, the cost overruns that come with them add up quickly.
Somewhere in there the money they’d net from fixing it stops feeling worth what it would take to get there, and selling at whatever the as-is number is becomes the cleaner outcome.
When Time Pressure Overrides the Math
The other common one is time. A financial deadline, a divorce settlement, a relocation, or just a situation where carrying the property through a renovation isn’t viable.
The timeline alone can make an as-is sale the right call even when the repair math might technically work out in your favor under different circumstances. Repairs take time and time has a cost in property taxes, insurance, and everything else that keeps running while you wait.
Selling Your As-Is Property in Southern California
We’ve been buying as-is properties across Riverside, San Bernardino, LA, Orange and San Diego counties for years. Hoarder situations, properties gutted by family members who stopped paying rent, inherited houses that haven’t been touched in decades, tenant situations that add a layer of complexity on top of the condition.
Every offer we make is built from what the property is worth in its repaired state, not from guessing at value to protect a margin. My background was in residential appraisals, so that valuation work is built into how a number gets put together.
We’re not the right answer for every situation and we’ll tell you that upfront. If you want to know what we’d pay for your property, here’s how our process works or call us at (951) 331-3844.
We buy as-is, no agent commission, and we close around 10 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I still have to fill out disclosures when selling as-is?
Yes, and that’s probably the most common thing people get wrong about as-is sales. The as-is part means the buyer knows what they’re taking on and agrees to it before close.
It doesn’t touch the disclosure requirements at all.
Roof leak, foundation problem, water damage, mold, anything you’re aware of that affects the value or livability of the property still has to go on the forms. We’ve closed enough deals to know that part can surface complications even when the seller was pretty sure they were in the clear going in.
If you’re uncertain about what you’re required to disclose, consult an attorney before taking action.
Will buyers still inspect an as-is property?
Yeah, most buyers will still inspect. On a normal sale the inspection kind of turns into a negotiation, buyer sends over a repair list, seller pushes back, and you end up going back and forth on credits or price.
On an as-is sale that’s not really how it works. The buyer is inspecting to understand what they’re taking on, so if something comes up that changes their view of the deal they can still walk.
But the seller isn’t sitting there waiting to get a punch list.
Can I sell an as-is property if a tenant is living in it?
Yes, we’ve done plenty of those. The property condition and the tenant situation are really two separate things running alongside each other.
Whoever buys it steps into the landlord role, the lease transfers with the property, California has specific rules around how the tenancy plays out during a sale and there’s more detail on that if you need it. But having a tenant in place doesn’t block the as-is part of the transaction.
Why is an as-is offer lower than a retail listing price?
It comes down to how investors run the math. They’re working backward from what the property is worth once it’s fixed up, what the realistic repair number is, and what margin they need to make the deal pencil.
Whatever’s left is what they can pay.
That number is going to come in lower than a retail sale most of the time. But the gap isn’t always what sellers picture.
Once you’re actually accounting for agent commissions, the repair list that comes out of the inspection, and a few months of carrying costs while the listing sits, some sellers end up pretty close either way.
I’ve seen it go both directions depending on the property and the market.
Does as-is make sense if the house is in decent shape?
It can, yeah. The part people don’t always think through is what a normal listing involves.
Inspector comes through and sends a repair list, buyer’s appraiser comes in low and suddenly you’re renegotiating.
The whole thing is open for two or three months while taxes and insurance keep running, and some sellers would rather take a number that’s a little lower and have it done. I’ve watched people run the math on both options and pick certainty when it made sense for their situation.
Doesn’t work that way for everyone, but it’s worth running the numbers before assuming the traditional route is the obvious call.
How fast can an as-is cash sale close?
Usually around 10 days from a signed contract. The breakdown on cash close timelines has more detail if you’re trying to plan around it.
Doug Van Soest spent seven years as a certified residential appraiser starting in 2003 before co-founding SoCal Home Buyers with his wife Andrea Van Soest, CA DRE #01505854. Together they have closed over 400 transactions across Southern California.
