Selling a Home As Is in Mississippi (A-to-Z Guide)

An ‘as is’ listing is one where the seller offers a house for sale with the intention of not fixing or repairing any defects or damage.

The ‘as is’ homeowner also doesn’t want to pay the buyer to have the repairs done before the sale closes.

Mississippi buyers purchase an ‘as is’ listing in the condition presented on the day the sales contract is signed.

The sales contract used by Mississippi Realtors specifies the buyer agrees to accept the property in the condition as found on the day of the purchase contract.

This is referred to as an ‘as is’ condition clause.

Yes, you can sell a home ‘as is’ in Mississippi, but buyers have the right to have the property examined by professional inspectors to discover any material defects.

How does selling a house ‘as is’ work in Mississippi? The first step sellers need to take is to complete the real estate property disclosure form. Let’s look at the disclosure requirements.

The Mississippi Real Estate Commission requires sellers to complete a Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS) for owners selling a home.

Owners who haven’t lived in the property or have no knowledge of the condition can use the boxes on the form to indicate that they have limited knowledge of the property condition.

These owners still must complete the applicable parts of the form, sign it, and provide it to prospective buyers.

Some owners are totally exempted. Probate court transfers, foreclosures, transfers between co-owners, land sales, bankruptcy transfers, eminent domain, and fiduciary transfers are some of those exemptions.

Sellers must complete the PCDS based on personal knowledge. Owners need not hire a professional home inspector to provide information to complete the form.

The disclosure is specific on the topics of radon, septic system failure, foundation issues, unpermitted work, mold, selling a house with fire damage, after a termite infestation or with water damage, and selling a house in a flood zone. These all need to be disclosed.

Selling a house with polybutylene pipes, lead pipes, asbestos, bed bugs, or a haunted house aren’t specifically mentioned on the PCDS.

A Mississippi house built before 1978 requires sellers to complete a federal lead paint disclosure. The federal information explains the risks of exposure to lead paint.

You can leave stuff behind when you sell your Mississippi house ‘as is’, but only if the seller and the buyer agree on the terms to do that.

The first question sellers need to answer is, “Should you sell your Mississippi house ‘as is’ or fix it up?” The answer depends on your personal circumstances.

Do you have the time and the skills to repair items yourself, or will you need to hire a professional to do the work?

How long will that take? How much do you want to pay to have the repairs done?

Let’s consider the advantages and disadvantages to help you make the decision to fix or sell ‘as is’.

Why sell a Mississippi house ‘as is’? There are a number of advantages.

Pros of Selling Your House As Is

• You’ll skip the chore of finding repairpeople and overseeing the work on your house.

• You’ll save the cash that would be spent on repairs.

• ‘As is’ sales move quickly, particularly when you sell to a Mississippi cash house buyer. Cash allows you to eliminate the weeks of waiting for a mortgage loan to work through the system for approvals.

• Mississippi home inspector reports are a headache for sellers who must negotiate with buyers over sometimes nitpicky repairs. Most ‘as is’ buyers understand that a fixer needs repairs. They won’t sweat all the small items that need to be fixed.

• Many ‘as is’ buyers will allow you to simply walk away from the property after the sale. That includes leaving items behind for the new buyer to deal with.

Cons of Selling Your House As Is

• You won’t receive a turnkey price for your fixer. ‘As is’ buyers deduct the cost of the repairs from their purchase offer. Looking at the estimated closing costs for sellers is a way to decide if your offers are in the ballpark of your ideal final price.

• Most buyers aren’t interested in fixers. They want to buy turnkey properties that require few repairs. This immediately limits your pool of prospective buyers.

If you’ve decided to sell ‘as is’, the next step is to decide on the way you want to list.

“How do I go about selling my house ‘as is’ in Mississippi?” You have several sales options to choose from.

Let’s start with selling to a Mississippi cash real estate buyer.

How to Sell a House As Is, Fast and For Cash Directly to an Investor

Who Are Cash House Buyers?

Cash house buyers invest in real estate. They are individuals or companies that advertise fast and easy home buying as a service.

Rather than borrowing loans from banks or savings and loans to buy your house, an investor will either use their own cash or finance the purchase with the help of private lenders.

Private lenders don’t have all the hoops that banks require buyers to jump through to obtain a loan. That’s why investors can close on your home faster than buyers who use a traditional mortgage from a bank.

Cash buyers especially buy investment homes in Mississippi that need repair. The investor then fixes the property to resell to other buyers (this is called “house flipping”).

Some real estate investors in Mississippi focus on buying rental properties to hold and to use as rentals. These investors also look for residential homes to convert into rentals.

When you sell your house to an investor, the cash buyer uses their experience to guide the sale to a speedy closing.

Cash house investors can assist:

• heirs selling a house in an estate
• homeowners selling a house in poor condition
• couples selling a marital property during divorce
• empty nesters looking to downsize
• workers selling a house for job relocation
• owners facing a foreclosure sale
• homeowners selling a house with back taxes owed

and other people who need to sell quickly and easily rather than at the highest price.

Cash buyers typically work with local Mississippi investor-friendly title companies with experience in closing cash sales.

Pros of Selling Your House As Is Directly to an Investor

• A cash home buyer is an investor whose buying process is optimized for a quick sale.

• Cash sales eliminate the need for buyer qualifications, house appraisals, and often even for inspections. You save yourself a lot of inconvenience by skipping all these appointments and negotiations.

• Investor sales eliminate the seller’s bill for real estate agent commissions. Mississippi agents earn a commission of 5-6% of the sales price. Buyers and sellers split that cost, but it’s still significant savings.

• Cash buyers generally pick up the tab for the seller’s closing costs. That’s another savings for the seller.

Cons of Selling Your House As Is Directly to an Investor

• You won’t be guaranteed market price when you sell to an investor who deducts the cost of repairs and their resale profit margin from the offer.

• Working without an agent means you’ll need to act as your own representative in the transaction. But if you do the work to research the investor, you’ll have a seasoned expert who will work fairly and honestly in the transaction. Investors don’t stay in business long when they fail to operate ethically.

So, how do you find an investor who is fair and honest? Let’s answer that question in the next section.

Finding the Best Cash House Buying Company

The easiest way to locate cash house buying companies is to use the internet. Use your browser and the following search terms, substituting your city for “Jackson, MS”.

If you live in a rural area, use the closest metro area near your house as a search term.

• we buy houses Jackson MS
• sell my house fast Jackson MS
• cash house buyers Jackson MS
• sell my house for cash Jackson MS
• iBuyer companies Jackson MS

Once you’ve located a number of prospects, it’s time to vet each one.

How to Choose an Ethical Investor?

Search the investor’s website for the “About Us” page. This should provide information about the investor and their experience in property investments.

If the website doesn’t include this information, it’s probably not someone you want to select to buy your property.

The investor also should have a list of people who offer recommendations. Contact a few of these people to ensure they’re bonafide referrals.

The Mississippi Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a forum for consumers to file complaints against businesses and companies offering services and vendors.

Locate the local BBB branch to inquire if complaints have been filed against your prospective investors.

Look at local consumer complaint websites to see if anyone has made comments about anyone on your list of investor prospects.

If you’re seeing complaints, it’s time to move on and select a different investor.

If you want an easier route to vet investors, you can request a cash offer from up to five investors with just one online request by using the HouseCashin website.

HouseCashin pre-screens its partner companies and sends your request to reputable investors for you. Request a cash offer on your house with just a few clicks.

There’s no fee to request offers, and you’re not committed to selling to anyone who makes an offer.

How to Sell a House As Is by Listing It by Owner

You may also want to sell your house to a non-investor buyer while still avoiding a realtor commission.

A listing of a house sold by the owner (without an agent) is known as FSBO – for sale by owner.

When listing your own property, one of the most important steps is to find the current market value of your home — this ensures you’re pricing it just right.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll be better equipped to handle the other aspects, like preparing your home for showings, advertising it effectively, and managing negotiations.

Where Can You List a House For Sale by Owner?

You’ll need to market your listing to potential buyers. For sale by owner sites offer a way to put your house listing on the internet. Many sites are free, but some charge a small fee.

The easiest way to promote your listing is to place a sign in the yard. In a fast-moving real estate market, this may work to attract buyers.

Create advertisements, or hire someone to do this, and distribute them to your neighbors. They may have friends or relatives who want to move close by.

Make a video that tours your home and post it on the internet on sites like YouTube. Share a link to it in your ads on home listing sites.

This may attract buyers who are interested in flipping homes or rehabbing an ‘as is’ home.

Pros of Selling Your House by Listing It by Owner

• Mississippi real estate commission fees vary with your geographic location. They’re negotiable, but the fees average between 5-6% for the state. You’ll skip any seller’s commission fees when you represent yourself instead of a listing agent.

• You are in charge of everything related to your listing, from the time you list the house to the calendar for the closing. You’ll vet your own purchase offers and do your own marketing of your listing.

• Real estate agents generally have multiple clients that need attention. You are your only client. You can put all your energies into selling your house in Mississippi without any other obligations.

Cons of Selling Your House by Listing It by Owner

• Most buyers for your property will require a mortgage to purchase your house. That means waiting for the buyer to qualify for a loan. You’ll also have to wait for a property appraisal. This can be difficult for a fixer. The appraiser may not see the same value as your buyer is willing to pay.

• You won’t have any professionals representing your fiduciary interests when operating as an FSBO listing. You may not have the education, training, and experience in real estate sales that matches a licensed agent.

• You may make a mistake in listing and handling your sale. A small mistake could mean delays. A larger mistake might see your buyer walk away from the sale. A major mistake just might put you in court when a buyer believes your mistake should pay them damages. Understanding the closing costs when selling a home by owner is just one of the many things you’ll need to master when selling as an FSBO.

Who Are Real Estate Agents?

A real estate agent is your personal representative in a sales transaction. They are your fiduciary and must place your interests first.

An agent will advertise your property for sale, help you set the right price, negotiate with buyers, handle paperwork and legal details of the transaction.

A real estate agent who uses the title “Realtor” is a member of the Mississippi Association of Realtors (MAR).

MAR is a state branch of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), a professional trade group that promotes ethical real estate practices.

Every member of the MAR takes an oath to follow a strict code of ethics in representing clients.

The association enforces that code with fines, suspensions, and revoking membership for members who fail to follow the ethics code.

Pros of Selling Your House As Is with a Real Estate Agent

• Analyzing comparative sales in your neighborhood helps you determine a competitive price for your listing. Realtors have a shared database of homes that have sold. These are known as comparative sales, or ‘comps’.

• A real estate agent is your fiduciary, and will use their education, training, and experience to make sure your interests are placed first and foremost in the transaction.

Cons of Selling Your House As Is with a Real Estate Agent

• While real estate commissions in Mississippi are negotiable, the seller will be on the hook for between 2.75-3% of the sales price. Seller’s agents typically earn a bit more compared with buyer’s agents. The average Realtor cost to sell a home is the largest part of the closing costs in Mississippi.

• You’ll be one of many clients for your real estate agent. An ‘as is’ listing has a limited buyer pool, so your agent may not spend as much time marketing your property compared with other turnkey listings that attract more prospective buyers.

• Real estate agents generally market to clients who need a mortgage to purchase a house. This means your prospective buyers will need to take time to qualify for a loan, and your house to appraise at a value that matches with the sales price. These requirements delay your closing time.

How to Choose an Ethical Real Estate Agent?

Mississippi has a large number of real estate agents who work in residential sales. Selecting the best one requires some research.

The first step in vetting someone to represent you is to make sure the agent is licensed in the state of Mississippi to list your house.

Use the Mississippi Real Estate Commission search tool to confirm the prospective agents on your list have a valid and active real estate license.

Contact the local board of the Mississippi Association of Realtors to ask if any of your prospective agents has had consumer complaints filed against them.

Review local consumer websites for any comments by unhappy clients. Also check for comments by satisfied clients.

Ask family and friends for their recommendations. Vet the list for agents who have sold houses in your neighborhood and have marketed fixers.