What does "As Is" really mean?
If you've been looking to purchase real estate, I'm sure you've heard the term being sold "As Is." This verbage will generally put you on high alert and begin to back away from the property. Don't let that scare you off, once you understand it's true meaning, it's not that intimidating.
In a nut shell, selling a property "As Is" in today's market simply means that the seller cannot or will not perform any repairs to the property, so it basically mean; "what you see is what you get." In the past, seller's thought they could hide behind this term to avoid having to disclose known defects, but that simply isn't the case. State law requires the seller to disclose all known defects or adverse material facts related to the property and furthermore, the state requires all Realtors involved in the transaction to perform a visual inspection of the property and disclose any defect observed.
So, provided the seller is abiding by the law and disclosing know defects, you should be able to make an informed decision if you want t take on any issues that may be disclosed. Additionally, it's wise to perform a home inspection to discover any undisclosed defects there may be and the "As Is" clause shouldn't prevent you from having that opportunity, provided you have an inspection contingency in your offer to purchase.
To read more details on this topic, follow this link to an article from the Wisconsin Real Estate Magazine.