Is Selling a House As-Is Legal in Florida?

What "As-Is" Actually Means in Florida

An as-is sale means you sell the home in its current condition. You agree to make no repairs. The buyer takes the property with whatever flaws it has. Florida real estate contracts include a standard as-is form for exactly this purpose, used in deals across the state every day. The trade-off is built into the price. A buyer who accepts an as-is home knows they own the repair list, so the deal is structured around that from the start. As-is does not mean you hide problems. It means you are not obligated to fix them. The roof's condition, the AC's age, a cracked slab, an old water heater: all of it stays the buyer's responsibility once they sign with full knowledge. That is the core of why as-is selling is both legal and common in Florida.

Your Disclosure Duties Still Apply

Selling as-is does not erase your duty to be honest. Under Florida law, a seller must disclose known facts that materially affect the property's value and are not readily observable by the buyer. This standard comes from long-settled Florida case law. It applies whether the sale is as-is or not. So if you know the home floods, has active leaks, a failing foundation, or past structural damage, you tell the buyer. You do not have to inspect for problems you don't know about. You are not on the hook for issues a buyer could plainly see for themselves. The line is simple: as-is protects you from having to repair, not from having to be truthful. Hiding a known major defect is where as-is sellers get into legal trouble. Disclose what you know, and you stay protected.

As-Is Is Not the Same as No Inspection

A common mix-up: people think as-is means the buyer can't inspect. Wrong. In most as-is contracts, the buyer keeps an inspection period and can walk away if they don't like what they find. The difference is that you, the seller, are not required to fix anything they discover. With a traditional MLS sale, an inspection often turns into a second round of price haggling or a repair demand. Your price can slide after you already accepted. That is the part that costs sellers time and money. The repair list shows up late, the closing date moves, and the number you agreed to is no longer the number you get. That is exactly why many Florida homeowners look for a buyer who commits to as-is up front and holds the price.

How Cash Flow Deals Handles As-Is

With Cash Flow Deals, you choose the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your home as-is and close, or the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. You still disclose known material defects. With Fast Cash, you make no repairs. With Premium, only what the buyer's lender requires gets fixed. We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket; those costs are settled from the sale proceeds, from our share. The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens. The sale closes through one title transfer handled by Title Guaranty of South Florida, a licensed Florida title company. On Premium, your buyer signs a new contract directly with you, and their lender funds the purchase. Anything owed against the house is paid first from the sale proceeds, then you receive your agreed number, and we are paid last from what remains as a separate line on the closing statement. You pay nothing out of pocket. If the buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still choose the Fast Cash Offer at its own number instead of the Premium Cash Offer.

When Selling As-Is Makes Sense

Selling without managing repairs can fit your situation when your home needs work, you inherited a property, you're behind on payments, or you don't want to manage contractors. With the Fast Cash Offer, we buy your house as-is and close. With the Premium Cash Offer, a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. You choose. We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. Premium repairs are limited to what the buyer's lender requires and are settled from the sale proceeds, from our share; Fast Cash requires no repairs from you. The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens. You disclose what you know, and title transfers once to the buyer you sell to. If the Premium buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still take the Fast Cash Offer at its own number instead of the Premium Cash Offer.

What Florida Law Actually Says About As-Is Disclosure

Florida does not have a single as-is disclosure statute. The duty to disclose sits in two places: F.S. § 475.278 and the common-law rule from Johnson v. Davis (1985), which the Florida Supreme Court made the baseline for all residential sales. Under § 475.278, any real estate licensee in a transaction must inform a buyer of all known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property and are not readily observable. Johnson v. Davis extends that same standard directly to sellers. If you know about a defect, you cannot stay silent just because the contract says as-is.

Here is what that means in practice. The as-is clause removes your obligation to repair, not your obligation to tell. If you know the roof leaks, the slab has active cracking, or the property flooded after a storm, you disclose it. If you have no knowledge of a defect, and it would not be visible to a reasonable buyer walking through, you are not required to hunt for it.

As-is does not protect you from a fraud claim. Sellers who deliberately hide a known defect can face claims for misrepresentation even under an as-is contract. The protection is narrower than it sounds. It is a repair shield, not a disclosure shield.

How Polk County and the Standard As-Is Contract Work Together

In Polk County and across Florida, most residential as-is sales use the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase. That contract states the seller has no obligation to repair and separately establishes the buyer's inspection-period right.

At the Polk County Clerk's office, the deed that closes the as-is sale is recorded under F.S. § 689.01 and carries the documentary stamp tax at $0.70 per $100 of consideration per F.S. § 201.02. A $200,000 as-is sale carries a $1,400 doc stamp on the deed.

One FL-specific edge case: if the property has a history of flood damage, F.S. § 627.7011 requires the seller to disclose prior flood insurance claims on a home sold in a Special Flood Hazard Area. That duty runs parallel to the as-is contract. It cannot be waived by it.

With Cash Flow Deals, you choose between the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your house as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. On Premium, your home may be listed through Silver Door Realty, a licensed Florida brokerage, with a licensed agent and scheduled showings.

Cash Flow Deals' Offer Process:

1. Cash Flow Deals reviews your Polk County (or any Florida county) property against the same Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS Residential Contract used statewide, and sends a written offer within 24 hours of your first call. You compare both offers and choose.

2. You disclose known material defects as Florida law requires. The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens. We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. With Premium, only what the buyer's lender requires gets fixed, with costs settled from the sale proceeds, from our share. With Fast Cash, you make no repairs. If the Premium buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still take the Fast Cash Offer at its own number instead of the Premium Cash Offer.

3. The sale closes through one title transfer handled by Title Guaranty of South Florida, with the deed recorded at the Polk County Clerk's office. The existing closing description is 45 days or less, on a date you help pick; your written contract sets the timing for the offer you choose. On Premium, the buyer signs a new contract directly with you and their lender funds the purchase. Anything owed is paid first from the sale proceeds, then you receive your agreed number, and Cash Flow Deals is paid last from what remains as a separate closing-statement line.