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

When a homeowner lists a property in ‘as is condition’, it means the owner isn’t interested in repairing, rehabbing, or remodeling anything in the house.

What you see when you tour the residence is exactly what you’ll be buying when signing the closing paperwork.

Badger State real estate contracts include an ‘as is’ condition clause for sellers who aren’t interested in fixing, or don’t have the cash to do home repairs.

Absolutely, you can sell a home ‘as is’ in Wisconsin!

We’ll answer the question “How does selling a house ‘as is’ work in Wisconsin?” in the next segments of this guide.

Sellers must provide prospective buyers with a Real Estate Condition Report (RECR) within 10 days of the presentation of the offer to buy, unless both parties agree to pass on this disclosure as part of an as is sales transaction.

Even when buyer and seller forgo the RECR, both have obligations regarding the condition of the property.

Buyers have the right, and are encouraged, to hire professional inspectors to examine the house to find any defects or material damage.

Sellers must share information about known damages that are difficult to discover, even during property inspections.

When sellers are represented by a licensed real estate agent, the Realtor must make “reasonably competent and diligent property inspections” and complete a disclosure for the listing.

This written report is done after completing an extensive walkthrough and interviewing the homeowners.

If the owner refuses to submit a written disclosure, and also won’t cooperate with the agent in completing their RECR, the Realtor must complete an SRR form noting that refusal.

The Wisconsin RECR covers information that buyers need to know before making an offer on a property.

It asks the seller to list defects that significantly reduce the value of the property or conditions that risk the health and safety of the homeowner.

Defects that would accelerate the normal life of the property also need to be included on the disclosure.

Selling a house with abnormal levels of asbestos, mold, or radon must be disclosed.

The language on the disclosure asks owners to list specific damages or defects, but not necessarily the cause of those problems.

Prospective buyers need to investigate the causes that created the conditions that lead to the damage.

Homeowners selling a house in a flood zone or selling a house after a fire or with water, or foundation damage need to disclose these on the form, but prospective buyers must also do their due diligence in researching before buying.

The disclosure may assist buyers in identifying an owner selling a house with lead pipes, polybutylene pipes, unpermitted work, septic system failure, or termite damage.

Haunted houses, bed bug infestations, and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) aren’t specifically listed on the state disclosure form.

Property owners selling a house with lead paint need to disclose that condition on the state form, as well as follow the legal requirements listed on the federal lead paint disclosure for homes constructed before 1978.

You can leave stuff behind when you sell your Wisconsin house ‘as is’ as long as this is specifically spelled out in the sales contract.

The next segment explores answering the question to fix or sell your home ‘as is’.

The question,“Should you sell your Wisconsin house ‘as is’ or fix it up?” can be a vexing one for most sellers.

Making a list of the pros and cons to each approach can help you decide on the direction you want to take.

Why sell a Wisconsin house ‘as is’? Let’s consider the advantages first.

Pros of Selling Your House As Is

• You won’t need to spend money on repairs when selling ‘as is’. You’ll also avoid the hassle of locating competent repair people and then supervising them to ensure the work is done properly.

• Selling a house in ‘as is condition’ speeds the sales process, particularly when you sell to a Wisconsin cash house buyer. You’ll eliminate the wait for the house to be put in turnkey condition, and cash buyers avoid the required delay while buyers qualify for a mortgage.

• Most ‘as is’ buyers understand that the defects in your home aren’t being repaired, so a report from a Wisconsin home inspector simply informs them of the degree of damage rather than offering a listing of what the buyer should ask the homeowner to repair.

• ‘As is’ buyers will typically allow you to take what you want from the house and leave the rest of the items. That’s not just time savings; it can also save money!

Let’s now consider a few of the disadvantages to an ‘as is’ sale.

Cons of Selling Your House As Is

• You won’t receive a turnkey price for your ‘as is’ property. Understanding the estimated closing costs for sellers can assist you in evaluating the offers you’ll receive for your fixer.

• Your buyer pool will be extremely small. Most home shoppers don’t want fixers. They’re interested in turnkey properties where they can simply move in without doing repairs.

Once you’ve decided to do repairs or list ‘as is’, you’ll need to answer the next important question, “How do I go about selling my house ‘as is’ in Wisconsin?”

Let’s start with selling your house to a Wisconsin cash real estate buyer.

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

Let’s introduce residential cash buyers before we detail the actual steps in an investor sale.

Who Are Cash House Buyers?

Professional cash house buyers invest in real property. They’re individuals and companies who work in the field of real estate buying, selling, and leasing.

Hedge funds and other investment groups also sometimes operate as home cash buyers. A number of them are accredited investors in the field.

Investors will flip houses. That involves buying, repairing, and then reselling to other buyers.

Real estate investors in Wisconsin also do business buying rental homes that they intend to keep as property for lease.

Investors use private money to purchase with cash. That means they don’t have the wait time of traditional mortgage lending.

There’s no delay while cash home buyers are qualified for a loan or while the house goes through a mandatory lender appraisal.

Your sale will move quickly to close without the wait required for a traditional mortgage.

Cash buyers look to purchase Wisconsin investment properties that require minor or major repairs that won’t attract typical real estate shoppers.

When you sell your house to a real estate investor, the sale moves much faster to close compared with traditional home sales.

Cash house buyers work with a variety of sellers, including:

• heirs selling an estate home
• homeowners selling a house that needs work
• couples selling a house in a divorce situation
• seniors wanting to downsize to a smaller property
• employees selling a house for job relocation
• owners in financial distress who are selling when facing a home foreclosure
• families selling a house with a property tax lien

Cash house buyers typically work with Wisconsin investor-friendly title companies that have experience closing investor sales. This allows a smooth and speedy closing.

Pros of Selling Your House As Is Directly to an Investor

• Selling to a cash house buyer is fast; sometimes closing in just a matter of days.

• You’ll skip the traditional lender appraisals and the seemingly unending stream of home inspectors. You also won’t wait for your investor to be approved for a traditional home mortgage.

• No commissions! Investor sales aren’t commission-based sales. That can be significant savings in Wisconsin where you’ll pay 3-6% of the final sales price in a traditional sale if using Realtors.

• Cash investors typically pay your closing costs. That’s another major savings to you.

• Investor sales are free from the nitpicky back and forth of traditional sales. You won’t need to negotiate over repairs.

Cons of Selling Your House As Is Directly to an Investor

• You won’t receive a turnkey price for your property sold in ‘as is’ condition. Of course, you aren’t paying for repairs, so that typically offsets some of the difference.

• You won’t have a real estate agent, a professional fiduciary, on your side of the sale. If you sell to a cash buyer with years of experience and a long list of prior investments, this shouldn’t be a problem. Investors don’t stay in business long if they don’t operate ethically.

Finding the Best Cash House Buying Company

You can find cash buyers by using your favorite internet browser and the search terms on the following list.

• we buy houses Green Bay WI
• sell my house fast Green Bay WI
• cash house buyers Green Bay WI
• sell my house for cash Green Bay WI
• iBuyer companies Green Bay WI

Substitute your town to bring up local investors. If you live in a rural area, search by using the closest metro center.

Make a list of companies who have been operating for at least three years to start your background research.

How to Choose an Ethical Investor?

Begin your research by locating the “About Us” page. That should provide some basic information about the cash buyer and the firm.

If the website doesn’t have that information posted, scratch that name from your prospect list. Ethical investors will be transparent about who you are working with in a sales transaction.

The next steps involve checking the website of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and online review sites where consumers can weigh in on local firms.

If you’re seeing consumer complaints on these sites, remove those investors from your prospect pool.

Researching investors can be tedious and time-consuming, but there’s an alternative that takes little time and significantly less effort.

You can request cash offers online from HouseCashin. Your one quick online request is shared with multiple cash buyers.

And the best part is, HouseCashin takes on the duties of doing the preliminary vetting of the investors.

We prescreen investors to make sure you’re dealing with the premiere local home buyers — cash buyers with experience and the ability to close the sale.

There’s no fee for this service, regardless of the number of investor offers you receive. You can request your cash offers when you’re ready to move!

There’s never any obligation to accept any of the offers from our partnering investors.

The next option is to sell your house also without a real estate agent, but by listing and marketing it to the general public.

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

Locating potential buyers is the most challenging element of selling as FSBO. But before you get busy with marketing and advertising your listing, you must first know how much your house is worth.

With that key information, you’ll feel more confident managing the rest of the process, like marketing your home.

Where Can You List a House For Sale by Owner?

You can place a “for sale” sign on your property, but you may not have much interest from the sign without doing additional marketing.

Posting an ad online on FSBO listing sites brings your property to a wider audience. A number of the online ad websites are free, but some charge a small fee.

You’ll need to do your own promotion legwork, and that might include distributing fliers to the neighborhood or local businesses to attract prospective buyers who wish to move near family or work.

Pros of Selling Your House by Listing It by Owner

• You’ll eliminate the agent commission fees when you list, market, and sell by yourself.

• You wrangle all the details of the sale. You set your own timeline for listing and closing.

• While real estate agents have a client list that needs daily attention, you have only one listing. You can devote all your time and energy to selling your home.

Cons of Selling Your House by Listing It by Owner

• If your target pool is typical home buyers, not cash investors, you’ll wait while the lender qualifies your buyer and appraises your property. That adds weeks to the closing calendar.

• FSBO listings don’t have the guidance from a professional real estate agent. You’re on your own to determine how you’ll market your home and how to navigate the escrow process.

• Mistakes happen. An error you make in selling your house may result in a court date when a buyer isn’t happy. A mastery of the closing costs when selling a home by owner can help you avoid some of the most common FSBO mistakes.

The last selling option is to hire a real estate agent to handle your home sale.

Who Are Real Estate Agents?

A real estate agent can assist you in listing, marketing, and selling your house. Many agents also work in leasing properties.

Realtors are licensed professionals who work under the supervision of a real estate broker. Agents are your fiduciaries, meaning they put your best interests above all others.

Agents using the title of “Realtor” belong to the Wisconsin Association of Realtors, a statewide professional trade group that’s an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Realtors take an oath to operate ethically and serve as your fiduciary.

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

• Realtors have exclusive access to a database of local sales and an inventory of currently listed properties. This helps you determine pricing that’s fair, but aggressive enough to bring a high sales price.

• Licensed agents have the training and experience to guide you through all phases of listing, marketing, and selling your house in Wisconsin. They have valuable field experience that can assist you in every aspect of the property sale.

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

• The average Realtor cost to sell a home is the largest part of the closing costs in Wisconsin. Commissions in the Badger State run 4-6% of the closing costs.

• The downside of using a real estate agent to sell a property in ‘as is’ condition is your buyer pool will be limited. Most potential buyers working with agents look for turnkey properties, not fixers.

• The typical buyer an agent markets to generally needs a mortgage to buy a house. That ties you to the wait involved with traditional mortgage lending. This adds weeks, in some cases months depending on the condition of your property, to the closing calendar. Some lenders frown on writing mortgages on damaged properties.

How to Choose an Ethical Real Estate Agent?

The easiest way to select an ethical agent is to ask family and friends for recommendations.

If they’ve worked with a Realtor in your area that has experience marketing ‘as is’ properties, add them to your list of prospects.

Another way to locate an agent to represent you in your home sale is to notice the name rider on property signs in your area. Note the Realtors with “sold” signs, and also add their names to your list.

Once you’ve accumulated some prospects, do some research to narrow the field down.

Check the state licensing lookup to determine if the agent has any complaints filed against them for failing to follow licensing laws.

The local branch of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) also keeps records of complaints against real estate companies and agents when consumers use their services.

If you find that any of your prospects have complaints filed with these agencies or websites, they may not be the best choice to sell your home.

Narrow your list down to three agents who have three or more years of experience working as a professional in the local market. Contact them to set up a visit to your property.

Ask the agents to bring their professional portfolio for you to study, and also request a marketing plan for your house. This allows you to see how they’d present your home to potential buyers.

After you’ve met with the agents, select one who you think will best represent your property.