If you're thinking about selling a Houston house "as is," this guide explains what that phrase actually does under a standard Texas resale contract, what it doesn't do, and how to decide whether it's the right way to sell your home. Checked on October 28, 2026, against the Texas Real Estate Commission's current One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), form 20-19, Texas Property Code §5.008 and Texas case law. It's general information, not legal advice.
TL;DR
- In the TREC resale contract, "as is" means the present condition of the property with any and all defects and without warranty, except the warranties of title and the warranties in the contract itself.
- Selling as is does not remove your duty to give the buyer a written Seller's Disclosure Notice under Texas Property Code §5.008. You still disclose what you know.
- An as-is buyer can still inspect, still ask for repairs in a later amendment, and still walk away during a paid option period.
- Texas courts generally enforce as-is clauses, but not when the buyer was fraudulently induced into one, for example by a seller concealing a known defect.
- Lender-required repairs are a separate paragraph. If nobody agrees to pay for them, the contract terminates and the buyer gets the earnest money back.
- As is usually trades a lower price or a smaller buyer pool for fewer repairs and less hassle. Whether that's worth it depends on your house and your timeline.
What "as is" means in a Texas resale contract
Most Houston resales of houses with one to four units use TREC's promulgated resale contract. The current version is form 20-19, dated 05-04-2026 on the form itself. Paragraph 7D, "Acceptance of Property Condition," defines the term directly: "As Is" means "the present condition of the Property with any and all defects and without warranty except for the warranties of title and the warranties in this contract."
The buyer then checks one of two boxes:
- 7D(1): the buyer accepts the property as is.
- 7D(2): the buyer accepts the property as is, provided the seller completes specific repairs and treatments at the seller's expense, listed in the blank.
The form tells the parties not to write general phrases like "subject to inspections" in that blank. Only specific repairs and treatments belong there. In practice, that means even a standard Texas resale is built around an as-is acceptance. What changes from deal to deal is whether the seller also agrees to fix particular items.
So when a Houston seller says "I'm selling as is," what they usually mean is: I'm going to check 7D(1), I'm not going to agree to repairs, and the price reflects the house's condition.
What as is does not do
This is where sellers get surprised. Paragraph 7D itself says that accepting the property as is "does not preclude Buyer from inspecting the Property under Paragraph 7A, from negotiating repairs or treatments in a subsequent amendment, or from terminating this contract during the Option Period, if any."
The buyer can still inspect
Paragraph 7A requires the seller to give the buyer and the buyer's agents access at reasonable times, and lets the buyer hire inspectors licensed by TREC or otherwise permitted by law. It also requires the seller to turn on and keep on the existing utilities while the contract is in effect. An as-is listing doesn't change any of that. If you want to understand what that inspection looks like, see what happens during a Houston home inspection.
The buyer can still walk away during the option period
Under paragraph 5B, if the buyer pays the option fee on time, the seller grants the buyer "the unrestricted right to terminate" by giving notice within the number of days written in the contract, by 5:00 p.m. local time. If the buyer terminates, the seller keeps the option fee and the earnest money goes back to the buyer. That right exists whether or not the property is sold as is. Our guide to how option money works in Texas covers the mechanics.
The buyer can still ask for repairs
Nothing stops a buyer from coming back after the inspection with a repair request or a price reduction in an amendment. As is means you don't have to say yes. It doesn't mean they can't ask.
You still have to disclose
Texas Property Code §5.008(a) requires a seller of residential real property with not more than one dwelling unit to give the buyer a written disclosure notice. The statute lists the transfers that are exempt, such as foreclosure sales, court-ordered sales, sales by an estate's executor and new homes nobody has lived in. An as-is sale isn't one of them. The notice is due on or before the contract's effective date. If the buyer doesn't get it in time, §5.008(f) lets them terminate for any reason within seven days after receiving it, and paragraph 7B of the contract builds that same walk-away right in. Our Texas Seller's Disclosure Notice guide walks through the form section by section.
If the home was built before 1978, federal law also requires a lead-based paint disclosure. The EPA's disclosure rule gives most buyers of pre-1978 housing a 10-day period to have a lead-based paint inspection or risk assessment done, unless the parties agree in writing to change it.
How Texas courts treat as-is clauses
The leading Texas case is Prudential Insurance Co. of America v. Jefferson Associates, 896 S.W.2d 156 (Tex. 1995), a commercial building sale. The Texas Supreme Court held that a buyer who agrees to buy "as is" agrees to make their own appraisal of the bargain and accept the risk of being wrong, and that a valid as-is agreement generally negates the causation a buyer needs to recover for the property's condition.
The same opinion carved out an important exception, and Texas appeals courts keep applying it to home sales. In Ivy v. Garcia (Tex. App.—Austin 2019), a homebuyer had signed the TREC resale contract with an as-is acceptance. The court summarized the rule this way: as a general rule an as-is clause negates causation and reliance for fraud, negligence and Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims about the property's condition, but a buyer is not bound by it if the agreement was the product of a fraudulent representation or concealment by the seller. Quoting Prudential, it said: "A seller cannot have it both ways." The buyer there alleged the sellers' disclosure notice denied a previous fire and roof repairs, and the court reversed the summary judgment for the sellers and sent the case back for trial.
The practical lesson for Houston sellers is simple. As is protects you from complaints about conditions you honestly disclosed or didn't know about. It does not protect a seller who hides what they know. Fill out the disclosure carefully and truthfully, and if you have a specific legal question, ask a Texas real estate attorney.
Lender-required repairs are a separate issue
Even with an as-is acceptance, the buyer's lender may require repairs before it will fund the loan. Paragraph 7E of the contract handles that separately. Unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, neither side is obligated to pay for lender-required repairs, which the form says include treatment for wood-destroying insects. If the parties don't agree on who pays, the contract terminates and the buyer's earnest money is refunded. If lender-required repairs cost more than 5% of the sales price, the buyer may terminate and get the earnest money back.
That's why an as-is house with obvious problems, like an inoperable system or active water damage, can have trouble closing with a financed buyer. The deal can come apart over repairs you refused to make up front. Cash buyers avoid that paragraph's practical risk, which is one reason they show up so often around as-is listings.
If you do agree to repairs, paragraph 7F says they must be finished before closing, with any required permits, by licensed people (or people commercially engaged in that trade if no license applies), and you have to give the buyer documentation of the work and payment.
When selling as is makes sense in Houston
As is is a reasonable choice when:
- The house needs more work than you have the time, cash or interest to manage, such as an older roof, foundation movement or dated systems.
- You're selling an inherited home or a former rental you don't know well.
- You need a predictable timeline more than the last dollar.
- You'd rather adjust the price once than negotiate a long repair list.
It's usually a worse choice when the fixes are small and cheap compared with how much they'd shrink your buyer pool or your price. A handful of minor items can make an otherwise ordinary listing look like a project house.
Houston adds one specific wrinkle: flood history. TREC's Seller's Disclosure Notice asks about water entering the home in a flood event, flood insurance claims and federal flood assistance. Those answers go to the buyer whether you sell as is or not, and they tend to drive how buyers price an as-is house here. Check the property's flood zone on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center before you list so your answers and your price line up.
How to sell as is without leaving money on the table
- Get your own pre-listing inspection. It tells you what buyers will find, so you can price for it and answer the disclosure accurately.
- Fill out the disclosure before you list. You avoid the late-delivery walk-away right and you set expectations early.
- Price for the condition. An honest as-is price draws serious offers; an optimistic one invites repair negotiations anyway.
- Expect a request after the inspection. Decide in advance whether you'd accept a price reduction or a closing-cost credit instead of repairs.
- Compare offers on net proceeds, not headline price. A cash offer that closes cleanly can beat a higher financed offer that stalls on lender-required repairs. Our seller closing costs guide helps you estimate the net.
FAQ
Does selling as is in Texas mean I don't have to disclose problems?
No. Texas Property Code §5.008 requires a written Seller's Disclosure Notice for most single-family resales, and an as-is sale isn't one of the statute's exemptions. You disclose what you know as of the day you sign.
Can a buyer back out of an as-is contract in Texas?
Yes, in several ways. If the buyer paid an option fee, they can terminate for any reason during the option period. They can also terminate under other contract terms, such as a late seller's disclosure or lender-required repairs nobody agrees to pay for.
Can a buyer still ask for repairs on an as-is house?
Yes. The TREC contract says an as-is acceptance doesn't stop the buyer from negotiating repairs or treatments in a later amendment. You're free to decline.
Can I be sued after selling a house as is?
Texas courts generally enforce as-is clauses against claims about the property's condition. The main exception is fraud: if a seller misrepresented or concealed a known defect to get the buyer to agree to as is, the clause may not protect them.
Is an as-is sale the same as selling to a cash investor?
No. As is describes the condition terms of the contract. You can sell as is on the open market through an agent, to a financed buyer or to a cash buyer. Investors often buy as is, but the label doesn't require one.
Do I still need a real estate agent to sell as is?
You don't have to have one, but pricing a house in rough condition and handling inspection negotiations are where an agent helps most. See do sellers need a real estate agent in Houston.
One last thing
Selling as is in Houston is really a pricing and disclosure decision. Be honest on the disclosure, price for the condition, and know which walk-away rights the buyer still has. If you want a straight read on what your house would sell for as is versus after a few fixes, talk with Vital Realty about selling.