Selling a House "As Is" in California: What It Does and Doesn't Mean

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

Selling a house “as is” in California means you are offering it in its present physical condition and are not agreeing to make repairs. It does not mean you can skip the seller disclosures, hide known defects or stop the buyer from inspecting. California’s standard purchase contract already treats the home as sold in its present condition unless the parties agree otherwise, so “as is” mostly sets expectations about repairs and price.

Sellers of estate homes, long-held rentals and houses that need work often hear “sell it as is” as if it were a separate kind of sale. It isn’t. The disclosure statutes, the buyer’s investigation rights and the general duty not to conceal still apply. This guide explains what the term does and doesn’t change, how buyers respond to it, and how to decide between selling as is and fixing first. For the full sequence of a sale, see our guide to the California selling process.

What “as is” means in a California purchase contract

The California Department of Real Estate’s reference book summarizes the standard contract terms this way: unless otherwise agreed in writing, the property is sold in its present physical (“as is”) condition, subject to the buyer’s right to inspect and investigate, including the property’s insurability. The same summary says the seller must disclose all material facts and defects, including known insurance claims.

In other words, an as-is sale under the standard form is the default, not an exception. What a seller adds by advertising “as is” is a signal that:

the price already reflects the condition;
the seller doesn’t plan to make repairs or give credits; and
buyers should do their homework during the investigation period rather than expect to renegotiate later.

The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) publishes the standard form, the California Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA-CA, revised December 2024 on C.A.R.’s June 2026 forms list). Our guide to the California purchase agreement explains how its sections fit together.

What “as is” does not change: disclosures

An as-is label has no effect on the statutory disclosure package. For single-family residential property, Civil Code 1102 requires the Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS), and it says any waiver of those requirements is void as against public policy. Civil Code 1102.1 goes further: delivery of the disclosure statement cannot be waived in an “as is” sale.

The rest of the package stays in place as well:

the natural hazard disclosure under Civil Code 1103, which our natural hazard disclosure guide explains;
the federal lead-based paint disclosure for housing built before 1978, with the buyer’s ten-day inspection opportunity unless changed or waived in writing (see our lead-based paint disclosure guide);
the agents’ own visual inspection disclosures for one-to-four-unit homes; and
local point-of-sale items such as sewer lateral reports or city resale reports.

Most sellers also complete C.A.R.’s Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ). Our California seller disclosures guide walks through each document and the timing rules.

The duty not to hide what you know

The leading California case is Lingsch v. Savage (1963) 213 Cal.App.2d 729. The buyers of a San Francisco rental building alleged that the sellers and their broker knew the building was in disrepair, that some units were illegal and that the city had marked it for condemnation, and said nothing. The sale was in “its present state and condition.”

The Court of Appeal held that a seller who knows of material facts affecting value or desirability, which are known only to the seller, must disclose them, and that the seller’s broker shares that duty. It said an as-is provision generally means the buyer takes the property in the condition visible to the buyer, and that such a clause does not protect a seller who misrepresents the property or conceals material facts the buyer can’t reach.

The practical rule for an as-is seller is simple: disclose everything you know, attach the reports you have, and let the price carry the condition.

Sellers who are exempt from the TDS

Civil Code 1102.2 exempts certain transfers from the TDS form, including court-ordered sales such as probate sales, foreclosure-related transfers, and most sales by a fiduciary administering a trust, conservatorship or estate. The fiduciary exemption doesn’t cover an individual trustee of a revocable trust who is a former owner of the property or lived in it within the prior year.

An exemption from the form is not an exemption from honesty: the duty described in Lingsch still applies, and C.A.R. publishes an Exempt Seller Disclosure (ESD) for these sellers. Our guide to selling a house in probate covers how court sales handle condition.

The buyer’s right to inspect, and what happens next

As-is sellers sometimes expect buyers to skip inspections. Under the standard contract, buyers keep their investigation rights. The DRE reference book describes the main terms:

Access. The seller makes the property available for the buyer’s inspections, with utilities on.
Inspections at the buyer’s expense. The buyer keeps the property free of liens from the work and repairs any damage the inspections cause.
Copies to the seller. The buyer gives the seller complete copies of the investigation reports.
Approve, request or cancel. The buyer approves the condition or asks the seller to make repairs or take other action. The parties then have time to negotiate. If the seller is unable or unwilling to correct the items, the buyer either goes ahead or cancels.
Final verification. The buyer may inspect within five days before closing, not as a contingency, but solely to confirm the property is in the same condition.

Point 3 matters more than many sellers realize. Once you have a buyer’s inspection report, you know what it says. If that buyer cancels, expect to disclose the report’s material findings to the next buyer.

Repair requests on an as-is listing

An as-is label doesn’t stop a buyer from asking. C.A.R.’s forms include a Request for Repair (RR, revised December 2023) and a Seller Response and Buyer Reply to Request for Repair (RRRR). A seller can say no, offer a credit instead, or negotiate a lower price. Our guide to requests for repair in California explains how the forms work.

What “as is” usually changes is the conversation. A buyer who knew from the listing that the seller wouldn’t do repairs, and who saw the disclosures and any pre-listing reports before writing an offer, has less room to argue that the inspection revealed a surprise. Requests still come in when an inspection finds something nobody knew about, such as a failing sewer line or active leak.

Two things an as-is clause can’t control:

Lender conditions. A financed buyer’s lender or appraiser can require work before funding the loan. An as-is clause between buyer and seller doesn’t bind the lender.
Insurance. Insurability is part of what the buyer may investigate, so a buyer who can’t get coverage on workable terms can raise it while the investigation contingency is still in place.

Selling as is or fixing first: how to decide

There is no rule of thumb that makes one answer right. Work through these questions with real numbers:

What is wrong, in writing? A pre-listing inspection, and a pest report if the house is older, turns guesses into a list. Our guide to pre-listing inspections covers what to order.
What would the work cost, and how long would it take? Get contractor bids, and include permits. Carrying costs, such as the mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities, run every month the house sits empty.
Who is the likely buyer? Some repairs, such as roof or foundation work, can widen the buyer pool to people who need conventional financing. Cosmetic work often matters less to a buyer planning a remodel.
What would each path net? Compare price minus repairs, carrying costs, commissions and closing costs. A seller net sheet keeps the comparison honest.

For estates, the decision often turns on time and cash: heirs may not want to fund repairs, and a court or trust timetable may favor a cleaner sale. For a long-held rental, unpermitted work and deferred maintenance are the usual issues. In both cases, pricing from sales of homes in similar condition, not from renovated comparables, is what keeps an as-is listing from sitting.

Cash buyers, investors and instant offers

Many “we buy houses as is” offers come from investors and companies that make instant or guaranteed offers. They can make sense when speed, privacy or avoiding showings matters more than the highest price. The trade-offs to check in writing:

the offer price and any fees or service charges deducted from it;
whether the offer can change after the buyer’s own inspection;
the closing date and whether you can stay after closing; and
which disclosures you still provide, which is usually all of them.

An open-market listing marketed as is can attract the same investors plus owner-occupant buyers, and with several offers you can compare price against certainty. Our guide to comparing multiple offers shows how to weigh cash against financed offers. If you’d like to see a cash offer next to a listing, our cash offer comparison page explains how we set that up, and sellers behind on payments should read our guide to selling quickly for cash.

This is general information, not legal advice; if you are unsure what you must disclose in an as-is sale, or whether an exemption applies, talk to a California real estate attorney before you list.

Questions people ask

Do you have to disclose problems when selling a house as is in California?

Yes. Civil Code 1102.1 says delivery of the Transfer Disclosure Statement can’t be waived in an as-is sale, and courts have held that an as-is clause doesn’t protect a seller who conceals known material facts.

Can a buyer still inspect an as-is house?

Yes. The standard contract gives the buyer the right to inspect and investigate at the buyer’s expense, and to cancel during the investigation period if the condition isn’t acceptable.

Can a buyer ask for repairs on an as-is sale?

A buyer can ask, usually with C.A.R.’s Request for Repair form. The seller can refuse, offer a credit or renegotiate the price. If the seller won’t correct the items, the buyer chooses to proceed or cancel.

Is the California purchase agreement an as-is contract?

By default, yes. As summarized by the Department of Real Estate, unless otherwise agreed in writing, the property is sold in its present physical condition, subject to the buyer’s investigation rights and the seller’s duty to disclose material facts.

Are probate and trust sales as is?

They usually are, and court-ordered probate sales and most fiduciary sales are exempt from the TDS form. The duty not to conceal known material facts still applies, and other disclosures, such as the lead-based paint disclosure, may apply too.

Will I get less money selling as is?

Often the price is lower than for a repaired house, but the net may not be. Compare the as-is price with the repaired price minus repair costs, permits, time and carrying costs before deciding.

Does as is protect me from being sued?

Not for concealing known defects. It limits expectations about repairs, but the disclosure laws and the duty to disclose known material facts still apply. Full, written disclosure is the best protection.

If you’re deciding whether to fix up a house or sell it as is, we can price both paths from local sales of homes in similar condition and lay out the net figures side by side. Start with a home valuation.

Sources & notes

C.A.R.’s form text is available to members only, so this page relies on the Department of Real Estate’s summary of standard contract terms. Check the paragraphs in the version you sign.

Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.