[Ask the agent] What does as-is, where-is mean
I've received several calls from buyers who wanted to know what as-is, where-is means.
Basically, it's fairly common language for lender owned property listings in the Charleston MLS meaning that the owner (the bank) will not do any repairs in order to sell the home.
That doesn't mean that the seller won't do any repairs but it's their preference to not do any. But repairs are a negotiated item in any real estate transaction.
This home might need just a few repairs to make it comfortable to live in.
A recent caller wanted to know what repairs might be required of a particular house that they found online. Well, of course, not all 10,000 available listings of homes for sale in Charleston that you can view on my website are my personal listings. But anyone calling the listing agent (or me, thinking that I am the listing agent for every single home for sale in Charleston) is not going to get a list of all the repairs that a home may require. The reason is that it would be a breach of the agent's fiduciary duty to provide you with such a list if it would be available which it most likely isn't. Their duty is to represent the interests of their client, the seller, not yours.
What you need is an agent to represent your interests in the transaction, not the seller's.
There is a way to determine what repairs might be necessary but it actually requires writing a contract, having the contract contingent upon your satisfaction with a home inspection and then actually inspecting the home. You're not going to have the right to perform a home inspection without having a ratified contract to purchase the home.
While I'm on the subject of foreclosures, sometimes I think that people may be buying a home for the wrong reasons.
I've noticed there is so much interest in foreclosures that I'm beginning to wonder if buyers might be more interested in buying a cheap house rather than the nicest possible home. Other than real estate investors who might evaluate property simply on a financial basis, if you are buying a home to live in, do you want the cheapest house or the best home for you and your family. After all, you're supposed to live there.
Foreclosures have generally brought the prices down of all homes because anyone selling a home today has to try to compete with the low prices of available foreclosures. And while there are some very nice lender owned homes available for sale, in today's Charleston real estate market, you don't have to buy a foreclosure just to be able to get a low price for a home you really want.