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If a Florida seller accepts an as-is contract, can the seller leave known problems out of the disclosure because the buyer can inspect the home?

Staff Q&A from the 63Hours team.

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No. Selling a Florida residential property as-is does not erase the duty to disclose known, hidden facts that materially affect its value. The distinction is between agreeing to make repairs and telling the buyer about a qualifying problem.

Florida Realtors explains the rule from Johnson v. Davis: a seller must disclose a material fact the seller knows about when it is not readily observable and is not already known to the buyer. Its Florida disclosure guidance also explains that an as-is clause does not remove this obligation. This is not a promise that the seller knows every defect or a guarantee that the house is problem-free.

Imagine a seller knows that water enters behind a finished wall during heavy rain. The house looks dry during the showing. An as-is agreement might mean the seller is not promising to repair that wall; it does not make silence about the known problem acceptable.

For a buyer, keep three questions separate:

  • What condition has the seller disclosed?
  • What does the inspection reveal?
  • What rights and deadlines does the signed contract provide?

An inspection and a disclosure serve different purposes. Neither should be treated as a substitute for reading the contract. For a seller, written disclosure helps document what was communicated, although different disclosure requirements can have different rules.

Our contracts study guide connects these ideas with contract terms. If a particular defect or cancellation right is disputed, ask a Florida real-estate attorney to review the facts rather than relying on the words as-is alone.

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