Despite the name of the contract used in 95% of all sales in Florida being the “As-Is Contract” many buyers still expect the Seller to make repairs.
Does the Seller have to make repairs to the property found by the the Buyer during the inspection period?
Short Answer: NO! Unless it is NOT an AS-IS Contract.
Long Answer: 95% of the time we use as As-IS Contract. The Buyer is agreeing to buy the property (or not) in its’ AS-IS condition. Just because the Buyer found problems with the property during the inspection period does NOT obligate the Seller to make repairs or give credits or do anything other than maintain the property in the condition it was in on the Effective Date of the Contract.
Most of the time though the Buyer and Seller work something out. The reality is that they are both invested by the time this conversation comes up. In my experience, the Seller would be wise to be reasonable. Properties which come back on the market after a sale falls through typically sell for less. Remember that BOTH the Seller AND the Realtor are required to disclose all known defects which may materially affect the value of the property and are not readily observable to a Buyer. Thus, the agent must disclose any knowledge they have of any defects to the next potential Buyer.
Bottom line. Sellers, be reasonable. The Buyer only found the defects in your Property. They did not cause them. Buyers, be reasonable. All properties have defects and everything is worth owning at the right number.
