Property Sold "As-Is"

If you've ever seen an MLS listing with the remarks: "property sold as-is" and felt a little uneasy, you're not alone.

Some buyers get nervous. Some agents treat it like a red flag.

But when you understand what that phrase actually means it stops being scary.

In Ontario, residential property is sold as-is by default.

That's the starting point for every transaction.

What changes that default are any representations and warranties a buyer negotiates into Schedule A of the APS.

Clauses like good working order on the chattels, no grow-op during the seller's ownership, legal basement apartment, etc...

Those protections come from the clauses being inserted into the contract.

So, when a seller puts "property sold as-is" in the MLS remarks, what they're actually communicating is:

"I'm not willing to agree to any representations and warranties."

That's it. It's a negotiating signal, not a legal shield.

Because the MLS listing (unless it is specifically attached to and referenced in the APS) does not form part of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.

But, if a buyer makes an offer with a Schedule A full of representations and warranties, and the seller agrees to it... that as-is remark on MLS is irrelevant.

You now have the warranties. The listing never controlled that.

The flip side is equally important.

If your seller genuinely intends to sell the property as-is, with no representations or warranties of any kind, the MLS remark is not enough.

The Agreement needs to reflect that.

Meaning not agreeing to representations or warranties that a buyer attempts to add in their offer.

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