What happens when a house is sold "as is"--with all the stuff in it?

My wife and I went to look a a property that pretty much loaded with car parts (piles of them) plus boats and boat parts. Plus a cinder block shack and a deteriorating old house trailer. The real estate agent said it was being sold “as is”. We made a low ball offer ($550K) and thankfully it was not accepted. The owner wanted $875K. That was about a year ago and the property is still on the market.

The new people will probably sell the stuff or return it to the other people.

I think there is a distinction made between selling a house “as is” and selling a house as a “turn key’ sale. “As is”, at least in my neck of the woods, means that you are not looking to make any improvements that might be needed pending an inspection although you might have to lower the price. Selling a place furnished somewhat attractively is more often done with vacation homes in places such as Florida. When we divorced and sold our Florida condo, I took out what I wanted of the artwork and nick knacks but sold it with the very nice furnishings, pots and pans, linens, etc. The new owners were very happy although there were renovations they planned to make.

In the “turn key” scenario, if the people like the furnishings, it can be a selling point. If the place is in crappy shape and being sold “as is” I would expect the price to be lower.

In either case, what’s in it when you close on the sale, is the new owners and they will do with the “stuff” what they want to do. Keep it, toss it, sell it – it is theirs to decide. anything you want to keep, you have to deal with before the close.

Up to the new owners. The sale includes all the stuff.

Usually? Usually? That’s not answerable, not really. It also varies from place to place and general situation to general situation, and new owner to new owner (and the people they get to help them).

Some people look for treasure. Fewer find treasure.

Many people throw it out or have others throw it out. If someone finds something desirable, they keep it and/or present it to the owner to decide what to do with it.

And yes, sometimes properties are re-sold or rented without clearing out stuff from the previous inhabitants. I know someone who has rented several offices and sold off the stuff from previous tenants. In his case, typically the renters are happy as long as the property isn’t damaged, and have no interest in doing the work of sorting through the stuff, as long as it’s not a legal or financial risk to them (like if it’s dangerous or so awful that it will make their property harder to rent for as much money). For him, or I suppose anyone looking at the kinds of offices in the places he’s looked, that’s very common.

Yes, furniture and books and all sorts of other stuff included.

In case of death with no designated heir, next of kin has the right to it, but other local laws may apply. In general that will have been thought to have been figured out before someone is selling a property.

What’s usual or likely to happen, in my experience varies by location and type of property. Some real estate and rental markets have typical buyers/renters who are more particular about clean dwellings than others.

In Seattle, mostly people expect a house or apartment to be thoroughly cleaned and repainted and have probably little or no stuff in it unless it’s a furnished apartment or the stuff is major good furniture.

Houses often come with at least some “stuff”, such as spare parts and construction materials and paint, old nails, jars, gardening bits and pieces, bottles, and other stuff that “might be useful” or was just forgotten in basements, crawlspaces, outbuildings, yards, attics, closets and other nooks and crannies. It’s all part of the purchase.

Sometimes though a house may have outbuildings which are in such bad condition that they are either likely to be destroyed, or they have a bunch of crap in them that probably ought to be hauled off, and the seller doesn’t choose to do that themselves. There may even be abandoned vehicles or other ruins.

In Chicago, I’ve seen some pretty poorly kept places for rent.

In Britain and Europe, expectations of cleanliness and repair can be MUCH lower, and just factored into the asking price. There I’ve seen repairs needed, holes to outside air, large amounts of dead spiders, lots of old stuff of who knows who etc etc.

It depends. It has happened to several houses in my neighborhood. One house was an older person who passed and her son just wanted to get rid of it. He found an “as is” cash offer. The buyer went through the furniture and other belongings, hel

d an “estate sale” and donated anything that didn’t sell. He then upgraded the kitchen, installed solar panels and sold it for above market after about three days on the market.

@Jeruba Further distinction, if people are not selling the house “as is” and want to get the best price for it they can, it makes sense to clean out all extraneous stuff before listing it, possible paint what needs painting and then list it. As you may know, realtors will often even work with a stager, take out all of your furniture and put in generic furnishings and wall art to show it to its best advantage. This will likely cost the seller extra money but may sell the house faster.

When my mother died my brother and sister and I took the few items we wanted as keepsakes and an auctioneer took the rest and sold it at public auction. It is a very emotional time.

^^^^ Amen to that, @flutherother—

Soon, I will have to clear out my mother’s house, our family home for over 40 years—or sell it ‘as-is’ and I assume a 1–800-Got-Junk type agency will profit from what they can and dispose of the rest.

What’s kind of sad is, there’s a lot of stuff I don’t care about but my mother and father did. The times and memories my mother and father were, is gone forever.

But to answer the question, if you simply move out, an agency like 1–800-Got Junk usually takes what they can and disposes of the rest.

The term selling a house “as is” does not actually have anything to do with your stuff that you’ve left behind. The term “as is” in a real estate context means that the seller won’t be doing any repairs, although there are legalities that must be followed.

This article below, talks about what can be done with the “stuff” before a house is sold. The “as is” moniker does not refer to whether or not the stuff is left in the house or not. That decision, would be made by the seller (and hopefully their relator), and if the seller decides to leave their stuff inside, the new owner can do what they want with it.

https://www.homelight.com/blog/how-to-sell-a-house-full-of-stuff/

One of my friends buys houses and turns them into sober living facilities. When they buy houses with “stuff” in them, they clear out a lot of it (most of it) into dumpsters, put some of the “good” stuff into their own rental storage unit to sell later (auctions, garage sales, specific item sales to interested buyers, or places like Ebay).

Of you are planning to sell your home, you should not only talk to your realtor, but also some people who can help you “redistribute” your stuff. Everything I have read is that you will get a better price for your home if it is cleared of your stuff, even if it is being sold “as is” simply because most people who would buy for a decent price, won’t even look at it (online or in person) if it’s full of stuff. Mostly flippers, or others looking to buy at a low price will be the only ones willing to look.

Here is some info about the pros and cons of selling a house “as is” My cousin is a real estate agent and this is pretty much how she explained it to me.

https://www.maxrealestateexposure.com/selling-home-as-is/

I have had the situation during my property management days that, if you evict a tenant for non-payment of rent, and s/he leaves stuff behind, you the landlord, are responsible for it. The tenant has to be advised and receives so many days to retrieve it.

It can be a pain in the butt.

My mid 90s mother-in-law kept a list taped to the inside of a cupboard door with items that family member wanted and who should get them. Everyone could see the list and put their names on furniture or whatever they felt a certain attachment to. Some items even had had sticky notes attached.

When she passed there were still many items that no one wanted. Some were boxed up and stored, some were tossed and some were donated to Goodwill. It was a sad time.

Before the sale the entire house was painted. That made a huge difference.

As Is sales do not imply contents. This is why final walk-throughs should be done on closing day, before the closing.