How Do You Sell Your House As Is in Maryland?

Fix It First, or Price It for the Shape It's In

Decide this first. Do you spend money on repairs, or price the house for the shape it's in? Section 10-702 of Maryland's Real Property Article says you don't have to carry out or provide an independent investigation or inspection of the property to make the disclosures it requires.

The same law requires the disclosure form to tell buyers something else: that a seller's disclosure isn't a substitute for an inspection by an independent home inspection company, and that they may wish to get one. If a buyer takes that advice, assume their inspector will look at whatever you didn't fix.

Our view: if you skip the repairs, your price has to say so, because buyers walk when the price doesn't match the condition they see in person. Set your number from homes near you that sold in as-is condition, not from renovated ones.

Disclosure or Disclaimer: Pick Your Maryland Statement

Section 10-702 of Maryland's Real Property Article gives you two written statements to choose from: a residential property condition disclosure statement, or a residential property disclaimer statement, each on a form provided by the State Real Estate Commission. For a sale the law covers, you fill one out and deliver it to each buyer.

The disclaimer is Maryland's as-is statement. It says the buyer takes the house as is, with all defects, except where the contract says otherwise. But it still has to disclose every latent defect you actually know about.

A latent defect has a narrow meaning in that law. It's a material defect a buyer wouldn't reasonably be expected to find by a careful visual inspection, and one that would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of the buyer or an occupant of the house.

The disclosure statement asks for more. It covers the defects or information you actually know about for each item the law lists, from the water and sewer systems to the roof and foundation. It even asks whether your smoke alarms are over 10 years old.

The statute also sets when you hand it over. Deliver your statement before or when you and the buyer enter into the contract, and the buyer signs a dated receipt. Then the buyer can't rescind the contract based on what the statement says. Deliver it late and the buyer gets an unconditional right, by written notice, to rescind before receiving it or within 5 days after, with deposits returned right away. The buyer loses that right by not using it before closing or moving in, whichever comes first. It can end sooner in some cases tied to the buyer's mortgage application.

Find Your Own As-Is Buyer, or Weigh Our Two Offers

If keeping your repair money matters to you, Cash Flow Deals puts the Fast Cash Offer and the Premium Cash Offer in front of you, and you choose. You can take 10 to 15 minutes to read through the choices and write down your questions before you talk with us.

With the Fast Cash Offer, Cash Flow Deals buys your Maryland house as-is and closes. Our team walks through once, and the inspection period is 15 business days. You make no repairs.

With the Premium Cash Offer, you get a higher number from a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, who pays more and buys directly from you. You sign with us at a number you agree to and let us bring a buyer in our place. That buyer signs a new contract directly with you. Their lender funds the purchase, and title transfers once, from you to them. We're paid as a separate line item on the closing statement.

We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. On Premium, only what the buyer's lender requires gets fixed. Those repair costs are settled from the sale proceeds, from our share, rather than paid by you up front.

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. That could include foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring or cast-iron drain failure. We disclose what we know at offer time.

Our existing closing timeline is 45 days or less, on a date you help pick. You get the amount you agree to, and we'll handle any costs on top of that, subject to the structural exception described above.

If the Premium buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours. You can still take the Fast Cash Offer at its own number instead of continuing with the Premium Cash Offer.