Selling a house as-is means you are selling it in its current condition and will not make repairs or credit the buyer for them. It does not mean the buyer skips the inspection, and in Washington it does not get you out of the seller disclosure statement. What it changes is the price and who shows up to pay it.
I am one of the people who shows up. I buy houses in Seattle off-market, a lot of them with an open code case, and this is the version of the as-is conversation I would want if I were on the other side of the table: what the label does, what it costs, and how to sell as-is without giving away more than you have to.
If the reason you are here is a notice from the city, the building code violations guide covers what the case means and what happens if you ignore it. This post is about the exit.
What "as-is" does and does not do
| As-is sale | What people assume | |
|---|---|---|
| Repairs | You make none, and won't credit for them | Same |
| Inspection | Buyer can still inspect, and still walk | "No inspection" |
| Disclosure | You still deliver the full seller disclosure statement | "I don't have to tell them" |
| Buyer's exit | Three business days to rescind after receiving the disclosure | None |
| Price | Discounted by the repair cost plus a risk margin | Discounted by the repair cost |
| Buyer pool | Leans cash and investor | Same as any listing |
The disclosure point is the one that gets sellers in trouble. Washington's RCW 64.06.020 requires the seller of improved residential property to deliver a completed disclosure statement (the Form 17) within five business days of mutual acceptance, and the statute says nothing about as-is. The buyer then has three business days to approve it or rescind. An as-is clause sets the price expectation. It does not erase what you know about the roof.
Who buys as-is houses
Nationally, cash was 26% of existing-home sales in July 2026 and individual investors or second-home buyers were 14%. ATTOM counted 64,348 flips in the first quarter of 2026, 8% of all sales, 61.1% of them bought with cash, at a typical gross profit of $66,000 and a 25.4% gross margin. That margin is the number to hold onto, because it is roughly the gap the average flipper needs between what they pay you and what they resell for, and the repair budget comes out of it.
Locally, the pool shifts before you ever list. Of 19,067 arm's-length Seattle sales recorded between June 2024 and July 2026, 466 were houses with a code case on file before the sale date, and entity buyers (an LLC, a trust, a "Properties" or "Homes" or "Holdings") took 26% of those against 14% of all sales. Count any violation history, before or after the sale, and the entity share is 39%. A house with a case on it is already being bought by investors at nearly twice the normal rate, whether or not the listing says as-is.
The median price of those violation-history sales was $1.00 million against $1.02 million for all sales, which says more about which Seattle houses get inspected than about the discount. The discount shows up in the offers, not the medians.
What you will net: three routes, one house
Take a $600,000 house that needs $40,000 of work. The numbers below use a 5% total commission (negotiable since 2024, but still what most sellers pay), Washington's graduated real estate excise tax (1.1% to $525,000, 1.28% above it, plus a 0.5% local rate in Seattle), and about $3,000 of title and escrow. Adjust for your state.
| Repair, then list | List as-is on the MLS | Cash investor, off-market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $600,000 | $540,000 (10% off) | $380,000 (70% of $600k, minus $40k repairs) |
| Repairs you pay | $40,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Commission (5%) | $30,000 | $27,000 | $0 |
| Excise tax (state + Seattle) | $9,700 | $8,700 | $6,100 |
| Title, escrow, misc. | $3,000 | $3,000 | $1,500 |
| Time to close | 2 to 4 months | 4 to 8 weeks | 7 to 21 days |
| Net to you | ~$517,000 | ~$501,000 | ~$372,000 |
The as-is discount on the MLS is real but modest: a lender's own guidance puts as-is sales at 75% to 95% of value, and at 10% off you net about $16,000 less than repairing, which is less than the repairs cost. The cash route is a different animal. That $380,000 is the 70%-of-value rule that every flipper and wholesaler in your city uses, and it gives up about $145,000 against the repaired listing in exchange for speed and certainty.
I offer the number in the third column. It is the right number for a house a lender will not finance, a house with a deadline on it, or an owner who cannot fund the work. It is the wrong number for a house that needs paint and a dumpster, and I will tell a seller that when it is true.
When as-is is the right call
- A lender will not touch it. FHA appraisals apply HUD's minimum property requirements under Handbook 4000.1, and a house with a failed roof, no heat, or exposed wiring cannot close with a financed buyer. Your pool is cash whether you like it or not.
- There is a clock. An open code case with a compliance deadline, daily penalties accruing, or a lien about to record changes the math. Sixty days of fines and a recorded lien can cost more than the discount.
- You are far away, or it is not yours yet. Out-of-state owners and estates sell as-is because managing a renovation from a distance is its own job.
- The repair is the sale. A half-finished permit or fire damage means the buyer is buying a project, and pricing it as one is honest.
When it is not
- The problems are cosmetic. Paint, carpet, and a cleanout are a weekend and a few thousand dollars, and "as-is" in the listing will cost you 5% for saying it.
- You can fund the repairs and wait. The first column wins on money almost every time; it loses on time.
- You are being told as-is is your only option by the person making the offer. It might be. Get two more.
How to sell as-is without leaving money on the table
- Pull your own record first. Every cash buyer will look up your address before they call, and code violations are public. Read how to look up code violations and see what they see: open cases, permit history, prior sales.
- Get a real repair number. One contractor bid or a pre-listing inspection. "Needs work" gets priced at the worst case; "$38,000 of roof and electrical" gets priced at $38,000.
- Fill out the disclosure completely. Known defects, the open case, the unpermitted addition. It is the law, and it is also what keeps the deal from collapsing on day three.
- Price against value minus repairs, not against the neighbors. An as-is MLS listing at 10% off sells. One priced like a finished house sits, then takes the investor offer anyway, six months later.
- Get three offers, one of them from the open market. A cash offer looks different next to an as-is MLS listing than it does alone.
- Check the buyer is the buyer. Ask for proof of funds and read the contract for an assignment clause. I wholesale sometimes, so I will say it plainly: "and/or assigns" means the person at your table may be selling your contract to someone else, and you should price for that.
Frequently asked questions
Can you sell a house as-is without an inspection?
You can sell without ordering one yourself. You cannot stop the buyer from inspecting, and in Washington the buyer keeps a three-business-day right to rescind after receiving your disclosure statement. Cash investors often waive the inspection contingency, which is part of what they are charging you for.
Is selling a house as-is legal?
Yes, everywhere. As-is is a contract term about repairs and price. It does not override disclosure law, and knowingly hiding a defect is still fraud in an as-is sale.
Do you have to disclose problems when selling as-is?
In Washington, yes: the seller disclosure statement is required for improved residential property regardless of an as-is clause, unless the buyer waives it in writing or the transfer is exempt. Most states have an equivalent form.
How much do you lose selling a house as-is?
On the open market, typically 5% to 25% of what the repaired house would bring, depending on how bad the problems are. To a cash investor, expect an offer built from 70% of the repaired value minus the repair cost, which on a $600,000 house needing $40,000 of work is about $380,000.
Is "sold as-is" a red flag for buyers?
To financed buyers, often. To investors, it is a filter they search for. Which is why the label costs you on the MLS and costs you nothing off-market.
Is it better to fix a house up or sell as-is?
If you can fund the work and wait two to four months, fixing nets more in nearly every case. If you cannot, or the house has a deadline attached, as-is nets more than fines, a lien, or a listing that expires.
Can you sell a house as-is with a code violation?
Yes. The open case does not freeze the property. A recorded lien has to be cleared at closing and an open case has to be disclosed, but investors buy houses with active violations routinely; in Seattle they take about a quarter of them.
Before you price your house, see what an investor sees. Our free map shows every open code case across seven Puget Sound markets, your address included, with no account needed.