Selling a House As-Is in New York

The short answer: yes, you can sell a New York home as-is. State law lets a buyer and seller agree to a sale “as is,” which generally means you are not undertaking to make repairs as a condition of the sale. It does not switch off disclosure: a seller of a one- to four-family home still owes the buyer the Property Condition Disclosure Statement before the contract is signed, a home built before 1978 still needs the federal lead-paint disclosure, and what you tell a buyer still has to be true. The harder question is whether you should, and that is what most of this page is about.

Fix first or sell as-is?

Decision factors, not a prediction of a sale price or a return on repairs.

What “as-is” means in a New York contract

An as-is provision generally means the seller is not undertaking to make repairs as a condition of the sale. What each side can and cannot do still depends on the rest of the contract, the disclosure laws and anything negotiated separately.

• The buyer can still inspect. On Long Island and in Queens and Brooklyn, buyers usually have the home inspected before the contract is signed, so the inspection tends to shape the offer and the contract.
• The buyer can still negotiate. Inspection-related terms, a mortgage contingency, the deposit, the closing date and the remedies if something goes wrong are worked out between the attorneys, as in any sale.
• It does not rule out every claim. As-is wording is not protection for a false statement. The disclosure form itself warns that “a knowingly false or incomplete statement by the seller on this form may subject the seller to claims by the buyer prior to or after the transfer of title.”

What happens if the buyer finds problems?

• Before the contract is signed, an accepted offer does not bind either side. After the inspection a buyer may ask for a lower price, a credit or a repair, change the offer, or not go ahead. You can agree, counter, or decline.
• After the contract is signed, the buyer’s options are whatever the contract provides, such as a mortgage contingency. The as-is wording limits what you undertook to repair; it does not rewrite the rest of the contract.
• If you learn something new before closing that makes an answer on your disclosure statement materially inaccurate, the law calls for a revised statement as soon as practicable (Real Property Law §464).

What you still have to disclose

• The Property Condition Disclosure Statement (one- to four-family homes). An as-is sale is not one of the law’s exemptions, so the statement is still completed and delivered before the buyer signs. Who gives it, what is on the form, and the 14 exempt transfers are on our New York property condition disclosure guide.
• Lead-based paint, for a home built before 1978. This is a federal rule, separate from New York’s, and as-is is not an exemption from it. Before the buyer signs, you disclose any lead-based paint or hazards you know of, hand over the records and reports you have, give the buyer EPA’s lead pamphlet, attach the Lead Warning Statement to the contract, and allow the buyer 10 days to test unless you both agree in writing to a different period or the buyer waives it.
• Selling a co-op or condo? New York’s disclosure statement does not apply to co-op apartments or condo units (why), but the federal lead-paint rule can still apply to an apartment in a building built before 1978.

How to weigh the repairs

We do not publish repair-cost or “return on repairs” figures. No reliable local data measures them, and every house is different. These are the questions that usually decide it:

• Who can buy it. Most buyers borrow, and the lender’s appraisal looks at condition. FHA-insured loans, for example, must be backed by a home that is safe, sound and secure; when the appraisal or an inspection finds conditions that fall short, the repairs have to be completed before the loan can be insured. A house with health or safety problems can narrow the field to buyers paying cash or using renovation financing.
• What you carry while the work is done. Repairs come before the listing, and the mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities keep running until the sale closes.
• Permits. Work that needs a building permit has to be permitted and closed out. A project started and not finished before listing can leave an open permit, which may turn up in the buyer’s title or municipal searches (see selling with open permits).
• What the buyer’s inspector will find anyway. A known problem is either fixed or disclosed and priced in. Doing neither does not make it disappear.

What not to fix before selling

There is no universal list. Sellers usually sort the work into three groups:

1. Safety and lending items — conditions an appraiser or inspector would flag as unsafe. These are the ones that can stop a financed buyer.
2. Small, visible fixes — the kind of minor items that would otherwise fill a buyer’s inspection report.
3. Large projects — a kitchen, a bath, a full renovation. They take the longest, need the most permits, and depend most on a buyer’s taste.

Do improvements increase your home’s value before you sell?

Sometimes, but there is no general rule for which ones. The evidence that applies to your house is local: recent sales of comparable homes nearby, updated and in original condition. Before any project, ask whether a buyer’s lender or inspector would require it, whether it can be finished, permitted and closed out before you list, and whether it is a matter of taste, where buyers’ preferences vary most.

How fast homes are selling

Whole-county figures for every closed sale, the 12 months to October 2026 — all sales, not as-is sales alone. They describe the market, not what any one house will do.

• Nassau County: median 27 days to contract (about the same pace as a year ago), sales at a median 100% of final list price.
• Suffolk County: median 26 days to contract (about the same pace as a year ago), sales at a median 100.8% of final list price.
• Queens: median 51 days to contract (about the same pace as a year ago), sales at a median 97.7% of final list price.

Days to contract: median days from listing to accepted contract. Final list price: the last asking price. The pace compares July through September 2026 with July through September 2025. Each county’s page has the monthly trend and the figures by price range.

Based on information from OneKey® MLS, for the period October 6, 2025 through October 6, 2026.

Data courtesy of OneKey® MLS as distributed by MLS GRID, October 6, 2025 – October 6, 2026.

These figures describe the local market over the period stated, not this property, and are provided for informational purposes only. Market conditions change, and past closed sales do not predict what any individual home will sell for. Independently verify this information and seek professional advice before making or accepting an offer.

Listing as-is or taking a direct offer

Selling as-is does not have to mean selling to a cash buyer. An as-is home can be listed on the MLS like any other, where buyers paying cash, investors and buyers with a mortgage can all see it and make offers. A direct offer from a company that buys houses skips the listing, so it is one offer rather than the open market’s. Whichever way you go, compare offers by what you would net after costs, and have your attorney review the contract before you sign.

Why the as-is plan matters

Condition, contract terms, the inspection, the buyer’s financing and title questions all bear on an as-is sale, and they affect each other. Joseph DeVito is a New York Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker and a real estate attorney, and that background gives him an added perspective on how those pieces fit together. As your listing agents, that is how we look at your sale. Your own attorney gives you legal advice on it.

Common questions

Can I sell my house as-is in New York?

Yes. New York law lets a buyer and seller agree to a sale "as is": Real Property Law section 462 says so in as many words. An as-is provision generally means the seller is not undertaking to make repairs as a condition of the sale; what each side may do still depends on the rest of the contract and anything negotiated separately. It does not remove disclosure duties: a seller of a one- to four-family home still gives the buyer the Property Condition Disclosure Statement before the contract is signed, a home built before 1978 still needs the federal lead-paint disclosure, and what you tell a buyer about the house still has to be true.

Do I still have to give a Property Condition Disclosure Statement if I sell as-is?

For a one- to four-family home, yes. An as-is sale is not one of the 14 exemptions in Real Property Law section 463, so the statement is still completed and delivered to the buyer before the buyer signs a contract. Co-op apartments and condo units are not covered by that law, though the federal lead-paint rule can still apply to them.

Can a buyer still inspect a house that is sold as-is?

Yes. An as-is provision limits what the seller undertakes to repair, not the buyer's ability to look. On Long Island and in Queens and Brooklyn, buyers usually have the home inspected before the contract is signed, so what the inspector finds tends to shape the offer and the contract.

Can a buyer back out of an as-is sale?

Before a contract is signed, an accepted offer does not bind either side, so a buyer can change the offer or walk away after the inspection. Once the contract is signed, the buyer's ways out are whatever that contract provides, such as a mortgage contingency. The as-is wording does not change that; the attorneys negotiate it.

Can a buyer come back after closing on an as-is sale?

An as-is clause limits repair undertakings; it does not automatically rule out every claim, and it is not protection for a false statement. The disclosure form itself warns that a knowingly false or incomplete statement by the seller may subject the seller to claims by the buyer before or after the transfer of title. Whether any particular claim would succeed depends on the facts and the contract, which is a question for the attorney handling your sale.

Can I sell as-is if the buyer needs a mortgage?

Yes, but the buyer's lender has a say in the property. The lender's appraisal reports the home's condition, and some loan programs set condition standards: an FHA-insured loan, for example, must be backed by a home that is safe, sound and secure, and repairs the appraisal or an inspection calls for have to be completed before the loan can be insured. A house with health or safety problems can therefore narrow the field to buyers paying cash or using renovation financing.

Can I sell a house as-is with open permits or code violations?

You can list it, but open permits and violations can affect a sale even when it is as-is. They may turn up in the buyer's title or municipal searches, and the buyer's attorney or lender may want them resolved, or the contract may deal with them, before closing. What it takes to close one out depends on the town or city. Raise it with the attorney handling your sale before you list, not after a buyer finds it.

Can I sell a house that needs a new roof?

Yes. The disclosure statement asks about the roof, including its age and known defects, so a known problem is disclosed either way. The buyer's inspector will look at it, and a roof problem that affects safety or soundness can be one a buyer's lender requires fixed. Whether to replace it first or sell as-is is the same weighing as any repair: what recent comparable sales nearby show, and whether the work can be finished before you list.

Can I sell a house with water damage or mold as-is?

Yes, but it is disclosed, not hidden. The disclosure statement asks about flooding and about mold, among other conditions, and your answers must reflect what you actually know. If you learn something before closing that makes an earlier answer materially inaccurate, Real Property Law section 464 calls for a revised statement as soon as practicable. Have the attorney handling your sale review your answers.

Will selling as-is lower my sale price?

Buyers make their offers knowing the work they see, but there is no fixed as-is discount, and we do not publish one because no reliable local data measures it. How condition shows up in price depends on the house, the work it needs and the local market, which is what recent sales of comparable homes nearby, updated and not, show.

What should I not fix before selling my house?

There is no single list, and we do not publish repair-cost or return-on-repair figures because no reliable local data measures them. Sellers usually weigh three groups: safety items that can stop a buyer's lender, small visible fixes that would otherwise fill an inspection report, and large projects such as a kitchen or bath, which take the longest and depend most on a buyer's taste. A project that needs a permit and is not closed out before listing can leave an open permit, which may turn up in the buyer's searches.

What home improvements add value before selling?

There is no general rule, and we do not publish payback figures for improvements because no reliable local data measures them. The evidence that applies to your home is recent sales of comparable homes nearby, updated and in original condition. Before a project, sellers usually ask whether a buyer's lender or inspector would require it, whether it can be finished, permitted and closed out before listing, and whether it is a matter of taste, where buyers' preferences vary most.

Is it better to sell as-is to an investor or list it with an agent?

It depends on what matters most to you. An as-is home can be listed on the MLS like any other, where buyers paying cash, investors and buyers using a mortgage can all see it and make offers. A direct offer from a company that buys houses skips the listing, so it is one offer rather than the open market's. Either way, compare offers by what you would net after costs, and have your attorney review the contract.

Sources: New York Real Property Law §462 and its disclosure form, and §464; U.S. EPA, Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards; HUD, FHA Minimum Property Requirements notice (May 2026). Checked 2026-10-24.

Joseph DeVito is a New York Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker and a New York attorney. He does not act as both broker and attorney on the same transaction: here he acts as a real estate broker only, and he is not your attorney. Real estate services provided through Keller Williams Realty Greater Nassau are not legal representation. Everything on this site is general information for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice, it creates no attorney-client relationship, and it should not be relied on as legal advice — for advice about your own situation, consult your own attorney.

This page is general information, not legal advice for your sale. What your contract says, what you must disclose and whether an exemption applies depend on your own facts, so confirm them with the attorney handling your sale.