Complete 2026 Guide · Updated 2026-09-01
Selling a house as-is in New York means the buyer takes the property in its current condition, with no repairs and no credits. New York's rules around that are different from most states: the Property Condition Disclosure Statement became truly mandatory for 1-4 family sales in March 2024 when the old $500 credit was repealed, downstate buyers inspect before a contract is even signed, and in New York City the Certificate of Occupancy can matter more than the condition of the roof. This guide covers what as-is means in NY, what financed buyers can't buy, the C of O and municipal issues that stall sales, oil tanks and lead paint, and the real math of fixing first versus selling as-is. Tony the Cash Guy buys NY houses as-is, sight-unseen, contents included — and this guide is honest about when that's the wrong choice. It is not legal advice; talk to a NY real estate attorney about your sale.
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Tell Tony where the house is and what shape it's in. Get a cash number on the same call. Pick a closing date.
7 days a week, 8 AM to 9 PM Eastern.
New York is historically a caveat emptor ("buyer beware") state, and nearly every New York residential contract already says the buyer has inspected the premises and accepts them as-is. So an as-is sale in NY is less about special contract language and more about what you're willing to do before and after the buyer's inspection: nothing. What as-is does not do is excuse active concealment. A seller who papers over a foundation crack, paints over water stains the week before a showing, or answers the disclosure form falsely can be sued for fraud or misrepresentation regardless of the as-is clause. And since 2024, the disclosure form itself is no longer optional. As-is means you won't fix, credit, or negotiate condition — it doesn't mean you won't tell.
New York's Property Condition Disclosure Act (Real Property Law Article 14) has required a Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS) on 1-4 family home sales since 2002, but for twenty years most sellers simply gave the buyer a $500 credit at closing instead of filling it out. That option is gone. An amendment effective March 20, 2024 repealed the $500 credit and added flood-related questions, so sellers of 1-4 family homes must now deliver the completed 56-question PCDS before the buyer signs the contract. A seller who willfully fails to deliver it or knowingly answers falsely is liable for the buyer's actual damages. The exemptions matter for the situations Tony sees most: transfers by executors, administrators, and trustees; foreclosure and sheriff's sales; court-ordered transfers; transfers between co-owners or spouses; new construction; and co-ops and condos are all exempt. The federal lead-paint disclosure for pre-1978 homes applies on top of the PCDS. Selling to an investor doesn't change the requirement — Tony's contracts include the PCDS on non-exempt sales, and you answer it honestly from what you know.
Downstate New York — NYC, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley — does not use the inspection-contingency model most of the country does. The buyer inspects first, then the seller's attorney drafts the contract, the buyer signs and puts down roughly 10%, and the seller countersigns. That means an as-is seller in NY typically faces the repair conversation before contract, not after — and buyers who don't like the inspection simply never sign. Upstate practice varies and inspection contingencies are more common. Financing rules apply everywhere: FHA loans follow HUD's Minimum Property Requirements (no peeling paint on pre-1978 homes, a roof with at least two years of life, working systems, no active leaks, no safety hazards), VA loans follow similar Minimum Property Requirements, and conventional appraisers grade condition C1-C6, with C6 houses generally unsellable to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac without repairs. A house with a failed boiler, knob-and-tube wiring, an unresolved oil tank, or a structurally compromised porch narrows your buyer pool to cash and FHA 203(k) renovation loans — and the cash buyers on an as-is NY listing are overwhelmingly investors.
In New York City, the Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Department of Buildings governs how a house may legally be used, and a mismatch stalls financed sales. Houses built before 1938 may have no C of O at all (a Letter of No Objection substitutes), but a two-family with an illegally converted basement apartment, a three-family with a fourth unit, or an enclosed porch without a permit is a problem: the lender's appraiser and the buyer's attorney will require the C of O to match the actual use, and open DOB, ECB, or HPD violations usually have to be cleared or escrowed before closing. On Long Island, the towns of Hempstead, Brookhaven, Islip, Oyster Bay and others require a Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Completion for every addition, finished basement, deck, and pool, and buyers' attorneys will not close with open permits or unpermitted work — legalizing a finished basement in Nassau or Suffolk can take months and thousands of dollars. Westchester villages and many upstate cities have their own resale inspections or rental registries. Statewide, Amanda's Law requires carbon monoxide detectors in residences and most closings include a smoke and CO detector affidavit. Tony buys NYC houses with C of O mismatches, open violations, and unpermitted Long Island basements; the violations and legalization work become Tony's problem after closing.
Buried heating-oil tanks are a Long Island fixture — Nassau and Suffolk buyers routinely order a tank sweep, and Suffolk County's Sanitary Code Article 12 governs abandonment and removal. A non-leaking tank abandoned in place or removed runs roughly $1,500-$4,000; a leaking tank with soil cleanup can run roughly $10,000-$50,000 or more, and lenders will not close until it's resolved. Lead paint follows federal Title X disclosure rules on any pre-1978 house. In NYC, Local Law 1 of 2004 adds landlord obligations for buildings of three or more units built before 1960 (and 1960-1978 buildings with known lead paint) where a child under six lives, including turnover and XRF testing requirements that have tightened since 2020 — if you're selling a small NYC multifamily, the buyer will ask for your Local Law 1 records. Buffalo and Rochester have their own lead-inspection ordinances for rentals. Asbestos siding and pipe wrap, vermiculite insulation, Federal Pacific panels, and cesspools on Long Island (Suffolk's septic upgrade rules) all show up on inspection reports. None of them stop a cash sale; every one of them can stop a financed one.
Take a Queens, Long Island, or Westchester house worth roughly $500,000 fixed up that needs about $50,000 of work. Route A, repair then list: $50,000 up front (contractor overruns of 10-20% are normal), two to four months of work, then a listing. Commission at 5-6% is roughly $25,000-$30,000. Seller closing costs: NYS transfer tax of 0.4% ($2,000), NYC RPTT of 1% ($5,000) if the house is in the five boroughs, attorney roughly $2,000-$3,000, plus title and miscellaneous. Carrying costs at roughly $4,000 a month for five to seven months of renovation and marketing add $20,000-$28,000. Net: roughly $400,000-$415,000, with $50,000 at risk first and half a year gone. Route B, list as-is on the MLS: price roughly $410,000-$430,000, mostly investor traffic, commission roughly $21,000, closing roughly $8,000-$10,000, two to three months of carrying — net roughly $370,000-$390,000. Route C, cash buyer: offers typically land at roughly 70-85% of after-repair value minus repairs — here roughly $340,000-$375,000 — with a 7-14 day close, no repairs, no commission, and only the transfer taxes and your attorney coming out of the check. The honest reading: if you can fund the repairs and wait, Route A nets more on paper — roughly $30,000-$60,000 more in this example. Route C wins when you can't or won't spend $50,000 on a house you're leaving, when the house can't get financed anyway (C of O mismatch, tank, structural), when you're carrying two households, when there's a deadline, or when the house is full of contents nobody wants to deal with.
A renovated house in a competitive NY market — a move-in-ready colonial in Nassau, a clean two-family in Bay Ridge or Astoria, a turnkey house in Scarsdale or Pittsford — will draw multiple retail offers and should be listed. The commission is worth it, and no investor will match what an owner-occupant pays for a house that needs nothing. The same is true if the house only needs paint and cleanup and you have the time and cash to do it. Tony tells sellers this on the phone when it applies. A cash offer buys speed, certainty, and freedom from repairs; if you need none of those, don't pay for them.
Ask whether the buyer will close in their own name or assign the contract — a lot of "we buy houses" operators in NY are wholesalers whose number drops after they find an end buyer. Ask for proof of funds. Ask whether the offer is contingent on inspection, financing, or "partner approval." Compare the net: who pays transfer taxes, attorney fees, and violation clearances. Confirm the deposit, the closing date, and whether contents can stay. Then put the number next to a realtor's net sheet for a listed sale — after commission, repairs, carrying costs, and time — and decide with both numbers in front of you. Tony gives his number on the first call, sight-unseen, and tells sellers to make that exact comparison.
§04 / References
Illustrative examples of the situations Tony handles — composed from common cases, not verified customer statements. Verified seller reviews are being collected and will be published here.
House had been vacant since my grandmother passed. Code violations stacking up, kids breaking windows, taxes I couldn't pay. Tony bought it sight-unseen. Cleared the violations after closing. Best decision I made.
I live in California. My uncle's house in Albany sat empty for two years. Tony pulled comps over the phone, gave me a number, and closed remotely. I never flew out. The whole thing took 13 days.
Tony bought my late mother's house in seven days. We didn't have to clean a thing — she'd been there 40 years and the house showed it. He took it just like she left it. Cash in our hand at the title office.
Contact
Drop your number and Tony reaches out about your New York property.
Cash buyers — Tony included — typically pay roughly 70-85% of a house's after-repair value, minus the cost of the repairs it needs. That is below what a fixed-up house would list for. The honest comparison is against your net from a listed sale after commission, repairs, carrying costs, and time, not against the list price. Tony gives his number on the phone and tells sellers to compare it against a realtor's net sheet before deciding.
Yes, on a 1-4 family home, unless an exemption applies (executor, trustee, foreclosure, court-ordered, transfer between co-owners or spouses, co-op, condo, new construction). The $500 credit alternative was repealed effective March 20, 2024. Answer from what you actually know; the form asks about knowledge, not guarantees.
To a cash buyer, yes. Financed buyers usually can't close until the C of O matches the use or the illegal space is removed. Tony buys NYC and Long Island houses with C of O mismatches, open violations, and unpermitted basements, and handles the legalization or removal after closing.
Most lenders and insurers require it removed or properly abandoned first, which can take weeks and cost roughly $1,500-$4,000 if it hasn't leaked and far more if it has. Tony buys with the tank in place and deals with it after closing.
Downstate, usually not — buyers inspect before the contract is drafted and either sign or walk, so as-is is enforced by the process itself. Upstate, inspection contingencies are more common and an as-is clause tells the buyer not to expect credits. Either way, your attorney's contract controls.
It protects you from repair demands and from claims about defects the buyer could have found. It does not protect you if you knew about a hidden defect and concealed it, or if you answered the PCDS falsely. Disclose in writing and keep a copy.
§·· / Schedule
Tell Tony where the house is and what shape it's in. Get a cash number on the same call. Pick a closing date.
7 days a week, 8 AM to 9 PM Eastern.
Pick your town for selling a house as-is-specific information: