Sell Your House As-Is in Rochester, NY

What "as-is" legally means in New York

An as-is clause in a contract shifts responsibility for the property's condition to the buyer. It is not a shield against having lied. New York follows a broadly caveat-emptor rule for residential sales, but a seller who actively conceals a defect can still be liable, and the disclosure obligations below apply regardless of what the contract says about condition.

The practical consequence for you is a good one: if we buy as-is and later find the sewer lateral is collapsed, that is our problem, not a reason to come back to you. What we do ask is that you tell us what you know. It is faster, and it is what keeps the offer from moving.

The 2024 disclosure change that caught sellers out

New York amended the Property Condition Disclosure Act (Real Property Law Article 14) effective 20 March 2024. Two things changed and both matter.

The $500 credit option is gone. Sellers used to be able to skip the Property Condition Disclosure Statement entirely and give the buyer a $500 credit at closing instead. Many attorneys advised exactly that. That option was removed — completing and delivering the PCDS before the buyer signs the contract is now the default requirement.

Flood questions were added. The amended form added seven questions covering FEMA-designated floodplains, whether the property sits in a 100-year or 500-year flood hazard area, whether flood insurance is required or in force, whether federal disaster assistance has been received, and whether a flood claim has been filed. The form went from roughly 48 questions to 56.

The exemptions did not change. Sales by a fiduciary administering an estate — an executor or administrator — remain outside the requirement, which is why an inherited house is usually sold without a PCDS. If you are unsure whether you are exempt, that is a question for your attorney, not for us.

What you must still disclose

Whatever you actually know. The disclosure statement asks direct questions and the honest answer to many of them is "unknown" — that is a legitimate answer when it is true. What creates liability is knowing about the wet basement and papering over it.

Things Rochester sellers routinely forget to mention, and should: known water in the basement, a roof leak that was patched rather than fixed, knob-and-tube wiring, an oil tank in the ground, an open permit, a code violation notice, and any claim ever filed on the property. None of these change whether we will buy. Most do not meaningfully change the price either, because we are pricing the repair anyway. What they do change is whether the closing goes smoothly.

You can leave the belongings

This is the sentence most sellers are actually looking for. A genuine as-is purchase includes the contents. Furniture, the garage, the basement, the attic, a shed full of things somebody meant to sort out in 2009 — leave it. We clear it.

Clearing out a full Rochester house is a real job: multiple truckloads, tipping fees, and days of work, all of which is a cost and a fortnight you would otherwise be paying for yourself. If there is a financed buyer involved instead, the house generally has to be empty and broom-clean for closing, and that work falls to you.

The only thing we ask is that you take what matters before closing. Photographs, documents, jewellery, the things in the back of a drawer that nobody else would recognise as important. Once the house transfers, the contents transfer with it, and we would much rather you had a weekend with the place than a phone call afterwards. If you want, take what you want, close the door, and hand us the keys.

How we handle it

• We price the repairs at the walkthrough and hold the number — the offer is not re-traded after an "inspection".
• Nothing needs to be cleaned, emptied, repaired or staged. Take what matters to you and leave the rest.
• Tell us what you know about the house and we will work with it. Surprises found at title are what cost time, not condition.

Questions