Buying A Charlottesville Foreclosure - What Does "As Is" Mean?
You have been looking at bank owned properties for sale and see that most of them say "sold as Is" or "sold as is where is" on the listing. What exactly does that mean when you are buying a Charlottesville foreclosed home?
REO's can range in condition from homes that are move in ready to homes that have been trashed with holes in the walls, the appliances and light fixtures ripped out, and all stages in between. The one thing that they have in common is that they will be sold "as is". Sometimes the home may look okay at initial perusal but there are problems that you may not be able to see at first glance.
This is a picture of a Charlottesville foreclosure that I sold to one of my buyer clients last year. This home was in perfect condition and they were able to get a great deal.
Whatever the status of the Charlottesville foreclosure, one thing that you can be sure of is that whatever shape it is in is how the bank is selling it. Don't expect the seller to make any repairs or to replace any of the missing fixtures. Usually you will be allowed to have a home inspection but it will be for information only. You may want to have your real estate agent write an offer that is contingent on a satisfactory inspection. This means that although you realize that the seller will not make any repairs, if something comes up in the inspection that is unacceptable, you will be able to void the contract without penalty. Sometimes a client brings a contractor with them when we initially look at a foreclosed home, instead of having an inspection later. Then we were able to write an offer without a home inspection contingency. Many of these homes are winterized and you will have to pay a plumber to dewinterize the home before the inspection and to rewinterize the house after your inspector is finished. Occasionally I have been able to get the bank to agree to perform the termite, well and septic inspection and also to agree to mitigate up to $1,000.
Of course it is important to remember when you are buying a Charlottesville foreclosure that the seller bank will look the most favorably on an offer that is cash, with a quick closing and no contingencies. At the same time you need to be careful that you don't end up with a problem that you can't live with.
Copyright 2011 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved, "Buying A Charlottesville Foreclosure - What Does "As Is" Mean?"
