Writing "as-is" into a contract tells a buyer you will not make repairs. It is not permission to conceal a known defect. New Jersey courts have held sellers responsible for concealing serious problems a buyer could not reasonably spot, so list what you know, even when the buyer says it does not matter.
What "As-Is" Means Under New Jersey Law
An as-is sale shifts the job of judging condition to the buyer. You agree on a price for the house the way it stands, and the buyer agrees not to come back asking you to fix or pay for what an inspection turns up. Most sellers who go this way have a reason: no money for repairs, no time, or a house so far behind that fixing one system exposes three more.
New Jersey's Supreme Court set the limit on that arrangement in 1974, in Weintraub v. Krobatsch, a case about a hidden infestation the buyers found only after the sale. The court said a seller who knows of a significant defect that is not readily observable has a duty to disclose it, and that silence in that situation can amount to fraud. The practical lesson for an as-is seller is simple: the contract can limit what you will repair, but it should not be used to keep a buyer in the dark.
The Flood Question Every Seller Must Answer
Since March 20, 2024, every seller of real property in New Jersey must include flood risk details in the seller's property condition disclosure, and must hand it over before the buyer is committed to the purchase. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, that means stating whether the property lies in FEMA's Special Flood Hazard Area or Moderate Flood Hazard Area, and sharing what you actually know about its flood risk.
This applies to as-is sales too. If a basement has taken water in a storm, or you have filed a flood claim, say so. For many buyers, including us, a flood history changes the price rather than ending the conversation.
Papers a Sale Needs Even When Nothing Is Fixed
- Every 1-2 family sale
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm certificate
No one- or two-family home may change owners until the local fire official has issued it. Even on an as-is sale, getting the alarms right is a small job that keeps the closing on schedule. A town's own resale inspection can stand in for this certificate where the town runs one.
- Where the town requires it
Resale certificate of occupancy or compliance
Some municipalities inspect homes before a resale. In Newark, every residential sale needs a Certificate of Continued Compliance, covering a building inspection, a zoning review and a fire safety check, at $400 for one or two units and $500 for three to ten, valid for 90 days.
- If a violation is found
Ask the town what it will accept
The municipality decides what must be corrected before it issues its certificate. Ask whether the buyer may take responsibility for the items, rather than assuming you must fix them first.
- Contract
Disclosure, then attorney review
Your disclosure statement goes with the contract. If an agent drafts it, each side's attorney has three business days to review it.
- Settlement
Transfer fee and payoffs
New Jersey's Realty Transfer Fee is the seller's cost, collected at recording, and any mortgage or lien is paid from the price.
Common Problems, and What They Mean for a Sale
| Problem | Why a financed buyer balks | What we do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Old heating oil tank, buried or in the basement | Inspectors flag it, and insurers and lenders may want it tested or removed | We price in testing or removal and handle it after closing |
| Water in the basement | Mold, foundation and flood-history questions | Disclose what you know; we account for it in the offer |
| Roof at the end of its life | Lenders and insurers may refuse the house until it is replaced | No roof needed before settlement |
| Older wiring or a small electric service | Insurance and safety concerns on inspection | We replace it during our renovation |
| Work done without permits, or open permits | Title and town inspections can stall the closing | Tell us early so the title search and town can be checked |
| Lead paint in a pre-1978 house | A serious concern for buyers with young children | Disclose it; if you rent units, see the state's lead-safe rules |
| Fire, storm or long-term vacancy damage | Often uninsurable for a new owner as it stands | We take it on without repairs first |
Your Options, Side by Side
| Option | In practice | Suits you if | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repair, then list | Fix the major systems, freshen the finishes, sell to a financed buyer | You have the cash, the contractors and the patience | Costs often run over, and the inspection can still find more |
| List as-is with an agent | Market sale priced for the condition | The problems are cosmetic or modest | Lender rules can kill a deal over roofs, wiring or safety items |
| Fix only the must-dos | Alarms, any town-ordered items, then sell | The house is sound apart from a short list | Each fix needs a contractor, and possibly a permit and inspection |
| Sell to a cash buyer like us | A price set on today's condition, with no repair list later | Repairs are large, or you would rather not manage them | The price reflects the work; ask an agent what it would sell for repaired |
What to Gather Before You Call
- A list of what you know is wrong, however long, and any repair estimates you already have
- Any flood insurance policy, claim or disaster aid paperwork
- Records of an oil tank: removal certificate, soil test, or simply a note that one exists
- Town letters about violations, open permits or an unregistered vacancy
- The mortgage statement, so we can confirm the house can be sold for more than is owed
How an As-Is Sale to Us Works
We walk through the house once with you or your agent. You show us the problems rather than hiding them, because we will find them anyway and our offer already assumes the house needs work. The written offer that follows has one number, lists every closing cost, and does not reserve a right to cut the price after a later inspection.
You sign the flood and condition disclosures with what you know. You arrange the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm certificate, or we help you book the visit, and we work with the town on any resale inspection. Items the inspection flags are dealt with in the contract. Anything you leave behind at settlement, from a garage full of tools to a basement of old furniture, becomes ours to clear.
If the repairs piled up because the house was inherited, see our inherited house page. If the house is a rental with code issues and tenants, read selling a rental property.
The NJ Department of Environmental Protection publishes plain-language guidance on the flood disclosure law and the FEMA map terms it uses. Your municipal construction office can tell you about open permits on your address, and the local fire official schedules the alarm inspection.