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Selling a Colorado home as-is means the seller will not make repairs or give repair credits, and the buyer prices that into the offer at 10% to 30% below what the repaired house would bring. As-is does not remove the Colorado Seller's Property Disclosure, does not remove the buyer's inspection deadline, and does not shield a seller who hides a defect. The decision comes down to one comparison: the repair bill against the discount buyers will take, on your house, this month.
The Kenna Real Estate Group runs that comparison in a Smart Pricing Report with three numbers on one page: the as-is listed price, the repaired listed price and the best written cash offer. The seller picks the row that nets the most after the work and the time.
What as-is means in a Colorado contract
Colorado's Real Estate Commission contract has no as-is checkbox. The listing broker writes the term into Additional Provisions: the seller conveys the property in its present condition and will make no repairs or credits. Every other deadline in the contract stays unless the seller negotiates it out. In practice as-is is a pricing and negotiating stance, not a different kind of sale.
Three things stay the same on every as-is sale in Colorado:
- The inspection objection deadline stays. The buyer can inspect, object and terminate with earnest money back unless the buyer waives that deadline in writing.
- The Seller's Property Disclosure stays. Colorado requires the seller to disclose known adverse material facts, and the Commission's disclosure form is how brokers document it.
- Statutory disclosures stay. Colorado statutes require disclosure of the water source, special taxing and metro districts, known methamphetamine contamination, and, since 2023, a radon warning statement plus any known radon test results.
The pros of selling as-is in Colorado
- No repair cash up front. A Denver metro roof is $15,000 to $30,000, a sewer line under a 1950s Denver bungalow is $8,000 to $20,000, foundation piers on bentonite clay run $20,000 to $60,000. As-is moves those bills to the buyer's side of the ledger.
- Shorter timeline. No contractor scheduling, no permit wait. An as-is listing goes live in days; a cash as-is sale closes in 7 to 14 days.
- No repair renegotiation. The inspection still happens, but the answer to a repair request is written into the contract before the buyer asks.
- Fits a vacant or inherited house. A seller who has never lived in the house cannot manage a remodel from another state, and probate timelines already stretch the sale.
- Attracts the buyers who want the work. Denver metro flippers, fix-and-hold investors and house hackers look for as-is listings on purpose.
The cons of selling as-is in Colorado
- The discount is bigger than the repair bill. Buyers price in the repair, the hassle, the unknowns and a profit. A $12,000 furnace and water heater turns into a $25,000 to $35,000 price cut.
- Financed buyers drop out. FHA, VA and most conventional lenders will not fund on a roof with under 2 to 3 years of life, exposed wiring, missing heat, peeling paint on a pre-1978 house, or a failed septic. Lose them and the buyer pool is cash only.
- The label scares buyers who never would have asked for repairs. Many buyers read as-is as hidden damage and skip the showing.
- Lowball offers arrive first. Wholesalers and investors watch for the word in the MLS remarks and lead with 60% to 70% of value.
- The appraisal still happens on a financed deal. The appraiser flags the same items the inspector flagged, and a lender-required repair comes back to the seller regardless of the as-is clause.
What the as-is discount looks like on a Front Range house
The table uses a $550,000 Lakewood ranch that needs a roof, a furnace and radon mitigation. Repaired value is $550,000; the repairs total $28,000 with licensed contractors.
| Path | Sale price | Seller repair cost | Time to close | Net before commission and payoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repair, then list | $550,000 | $28,000 | 75 to 100 days | $522,000 |
| List as-is on the MLS | $495,000 to $510,000 | $0 | 45 to 60 days | $495,000 to $510,000 |
| As-is to a cash investor | $400,000 to $440,000 | $0 | 7 to 14 days | $400,000 to $440,000 |
Repairing first nets the most when the seller has the cash and 3 extra months. Listing as-is on the open market gives up $12,000 to $27,000 for a faster, hands-off sale. The investor row gives up $82,000 to $122,000 and is only the right row when the house cannot be financed or the seller is out of time.
Which repairs are worth doing before an as-is listing
As-is does not mean touch nothing. Four items cost little and remove the lender objections that shrink the buyer pool:
- Radon mitigation, $1,200 to $2,500. Most Front Range buyers test; a system already installed ends the conversation.
- Sewer scope, $200 to $300. Order it and attach it. Buyers in Denver, Englewood and Arvada scope every clay-pipe house anyway.
- Peeling exterior paint on a pre-1978 house, $500 to $2,000. Scrape and prime the failing areas and FHA and VA buyers are back in.
- Hail claim on the roof. After a May to September hail season, file the insurance claim before listing; a paid claim and a new roof turn an as-is house into a financeable one.
The preparing and adding value before selling page ranks every other repair by what it returns on the Front Range.
Does as-is protect a Colorado seller from a lawsuit?
No. As-is protects the seller from repair requests, not from a claim over a known, undisclosed defect. A buyer who finds the basement flooded every spring, after the seller wrote no known water problems on the disclosure, sues under the disclosure and Colorado's misrepresentation law, and the as-is clause is no defense. Write down what you know: past water, foundation movement, unpermitted work, insurance claims, radon results.
As-is on the MLS versus as-is to an investor
An as-is MLS listing reaches every buyer in the Denver metro, including financed buyers who accept condition and investors who compete against each other. A direct investor sale reaches one buyer with no competition. The listed as-is price lands 10% to 15% under repaired value; the single-investor price lands 20% to 30% under. Read the as-is sales process in Denver and selling as-is in Centennial for the best price for two listed examples.
Colorado conditions that push a house into as-is
- Expansive bentonite clay across Denver, Aurora, Parker and Castle Rock heaves slabs and cracks foundations. A structural engineer's letter costs $500 to $900 and tells buyers whether the movement is active.
- Hail and UV at 5,280 feet shorten roof life to 15 to 20 years on asphalt shingles.
- Radon tests above 4 pCi/L in a large share of Front Range basements.
- Septic in Douglas and Jefferson counties requires a transfer-of-title inspection and use permit before closing, and a failed system is a $15,000 to $40,000 repair.
- Freeze-thaw spalls concrete steps, driveways and window wells, which inspectors call out every time.
The inspection red flags that kill Denver home sales post shows what each one costs to fix and what it costs to leave.
How long does an as-is sale take in Colorado?
Listed as-is with a financed buyer: 45 to 60 days from listing to closing. Listed as-is with a cash buyer off the MLS: 20 to 30 days. Direct to an investor: 7 to 14 days. The clock that matters is the one a seller is on: a public trustee foreclosure sale is set 110 to 125 days after the Notice of Election and Demand records, and every path above fits inside it if the seller starts in the first month.
How the Kenna Real Estate Group handles an as-is sale
The group prices the house three ways, writes the as-is term into the contract so the repair answer is settled before showings, collects written cash offers from vetted Denver metro buyers, and lists on the MLS if the listed row nets more. Sellers in Lakewood, Arvada, Centennial and Denver see every number before anything is signed. The Colorado distressed homes guide covers the foreclosure and short sale paths when the house is worth less than the loan.
Where to go next
- How the Kenna Real Estate Group helps sellers
- The Colorado Home Seller's Guide
- How to sell a house in Colorado, step by step
- When a cash offer makes sense in Denver
- Search every home for sale in Colorado
- Meet the Kenna Real Estate Group agents
Talk to the Kenna Real Estate Group
The group prices your house as-is, repaired and for cash, then lists it or sells it the way that nets the most for your timeline. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. When this house is sold, search every home for sale in Colorado for the next one.