If I were buying "as is," I'd certainly want to know exactly what I was taking on, so I'd make my offer subject to a satisfactory home inspection. That would actually benefit the seller, because once I knew about a problem, I'd be on record as having accepted it.
SELLING AFTER LISTING
Dear Edith: I listed a two-family home with a broker last year and had a buyer. When we could not agree on terms, it wasn't sold and the listing expired in July 2008. In May 2009, the buyer called my attorney and said he was still interested in the property at a lower price. OK, so I got a different broker. It was my understanding that I could not sell to this buyer without a broker because I would owe the first broker her commission; we had a falling out over the way the deal went down.
Now I find out I could have sold the property directly to the buyer without any commissions. True or false? I have still not signed accepting the offer and my contract with the second agent has expired. He didn't really do anything as I already had that buyer. I don't want to cheat anyone of money, but it's costing me lawyer fees. -- e-mail
Answer: There's an old saying: "When all else fails, RTFM -- read the manual!" And in your case, it's "read the listing contract." When you signed it, you promised to pay a commission under certain circumstances. Often the contract explains whether you'd owe a fee if you later sold to someone who first saw the place while it was listed. That usually applies for a certain number of months after the listing has expired.
You could have seen that with your first listing, and it's probably set out in the written agreement you have with the second agent. Look it up for yourself.