Florida As Is Contract: What Davie Buyers Really Get

What does “as is” mean in a Florida home contract?

In Davie, an As Is Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase means the seller will make no repairs and you buy the home in its current condition. You still keep a full inspection period, commonly 10 to 15 days, to inspect the property and cancel for any reason, in your sole discretion, with your full deposit returned. As is does not erase the seller’s legal duty to disclose known defects that are not visible. It shifts who fixes problems, not whether you get to find them.

When you make an offer on a Davie home, the odds are high that you will sign the Florida Realtors and Florida Bar As Is Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase. It is the most common residential contract in the state, and the word “as is” scares more buyers than it should. Most people read it as “no inspection, no protection, the seller is hiding something.” That is not what it means. Here is what you are actually agreeing to, and where your protection really lives.

What “as is” changes, and what it does not

The As Is contract changes one thing: the seller is not obligated to make repairs. If your inspector finds a soft spot in the roof or a water heater on its last year, you cannot force the seller to fix it or pay for it. You accept the home in its current condition unless you negotiate something different in writing.

What “as is” does not change is bigger than what it does:

• You still get to inspect the home. As is is not a waiver of your inspection. It is the opposite. The contract builds in an inspection period specifically so you can look before you commit.
• You still get to walk away. During the inspection period you can cancel for any reason at all, and get your earnest money deposit back.
• The seller still has to disclose known problems. Florida law requires a seller to disclose facts that materially affect the home’s value and are not readily observable to you. That duty comes from a 1985 Florida Supreme Court decision, Johnson v. Davis, and an as is clause does not cancel it. A seller who knows the home floods and stays silent is not protected by the words “as is.”

So the honest translation is this. As is means the seller will not be your repair contractor. It does not mean you buy blind, and it does not mean the seller can bury a known defect.

Your inspection period is the real protection

The inspection period is the part of the As Is contract that actually protects you, and most Davie buyers underuse it. Here is how it works.

You and the seller negotiate the number of days when you write the offer. In Broward County practice the window commonly runs 10 to 15 days, though you can ask for more or less. During that window you can order any inspection you want: a full home inspection, a wind mitigation report, a four point inspection for insurance, a roof certification, a well and septic evaluation on acreage, a survey, and a permit history search.

Three rules decide whether that protection holds:

1. You must cancel in writing before the deadline. A phone call to your agent does not stop the clock. The contract requires written notice delivered before the inspection period ends. Miss the deadline and your right to cancel for inspection reasons is gone.

2. The cancellation is yours alone. The As Is contract gives the buyer the right to terminate in “sole discretion.” You do not have to prove the home is defective. You do not have to justify the decision. If you are uncomfortable with what you find, that is enough.

3. Time is counted carefully. Florida contracts count these periods in a specific way, and the deadline can land on a day you did not expect. Confirm the exact date and time your period ends the day you go under contract, not the week it expires.

This is why the As Is contract is not the buyer trap people fear. Inside the inspection window you hold almost all the power. You can inspect everything, and you can leave with your deposit for any reason.

What to do when the inspection finds problems

Say your inspector on a Long Lake Ranches (33330) acreage home flags an aging roof and a septic system that needs service. On an As Is contract you cannot demand the seller fix either one. You have three moves, and the right one depends on the deal in front of you.

• Renegotiate. You can ask the seller for a price reduction or a credit at closing to offset the cost. The seller can say yes, no, or counter. In Davie’s current market this is where most inspection issues actually get resolved, because a credit closes a deal faster than a repair.
• Proceed as is. If the price already reflects the home’s condition and the issues are manageable, you can move forward knowing what you are buying. Sometimes the inspection just confirms a fair deal.
• Cancel. If the problems are bigger than you want to take on, you exercise your inspection right, give written notice before the deadline, and recover your deposit.

What you should not do is treat the number as something you can look up online. What a roof credit or a price reduction should be on a specific Davie home depends on the roof’s age and remaining life, the sale to list history on that street, how long the home has been sitting, the seller’s motivation, and current comparable sales. Those factors build the number. This is exactly the kind of call I run with buyers before they respond to an inspection, because the figure lives in the current comps on that address, not in a blog post.

Davie’s single family market in 2026 has been running near five months of supply, which leans slightly toward sellers on houses even while condos sit longer. That balance matters. It means credits and concessions are realistic, forced repairs are not, and a clean, well timed response to an inspection report tends to hold the deal together better than a long repair demand.

As Is contract vs the standard contract

Florida’s residential contract comes in two versions, and the difference is worth understanding before you sign. The As Is version removes the seller’s repair obligation and replaces it with your broad right to cancel during the inspection period. The Standard version obligates the seller to make repairs for covered items up to a negotiated dollar cap, which means more back and forth over what counts and what the repair actually costs.

Neither version changes the disclosure duty. Both carry the same Johnson v. Davis obligation for the seller to reveal known material defects. In practice most Davie transactions use the As Is form because it is cleaner: you inspect, you decide, and you either renegotiate, proceed, or walk. The trade is that you own the repairs once you close.

Before you ever waive the inspection or shorten the window, do your homework on the specific parcel. Pull the ownership and tax record on the Broward County Property Appraiser site, check the permit history through the Town of Davie Building Division, and confirm the flood zone on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. On older Forest Ridge (33324) and acreage homes, an unpermitted addition or a surprise flood zone is exactly the kind of thing the inspection period exists to catch.

One more piece that connects to the contract. Since the 2024 changes to how buyer agents are paid, your representation and any seller paid compensation are settled in writing in your buyer agreement before you tour, and the NAR settlement FAQ explains the framework. How that gets structured on an As Is deal, and how a credit at closing fits with it, is part of the same conversation as your offer strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

If a Davie home is sold as is, can I still get an inspection?

Yes. The As Is Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase includes an inspection period specifically so you can inspect the home before you commit. As is limits the seller’s repair obligation, it does not waive your right to inspect. You can order a home inspection, wind mitigation, four point, roof, and well and septic reports during that window.

How many days do I have to cancel an as is contract in Florida?

You have the length of the inspection period you negotiated in the contract, which in Broward County commonly runs 10 to 15 days. During that window you can cancel for any reason in your sole discretion and recover your deposit, as long as you deliver written notice before the deadline. Confirm the exact end date and time the day you go under contract.

Does as is mean the seller does not have to disclose problems?

No. Under Florida law, a seller must disclose known facts that materially affect the home’s value and are not readily observable to you. That duty comes from Johnson v. Davis, and an as is clause does not cancel it. As is limits repairs, not honesty about known defects.

Can I ask for a price reduction or a credit on an as is home in Davie?

Yes. You cannot force the seller to make repairs on an As Is contract, but you can ask for a price reduction or a closing credit to offset what the inspection found. The seller can accept, decline, or counter. In Davie’s current market, credits and concessions resolve most inspection issues faster than repairs do.

What is the difference between the as is contract and the standard contract?

The As Is version removes the seller’s repair obligation and gives you a broad right to cancel during the inspection period. The Standard version requires the seller to make repairs for covered items up to a negotiated dollar cap. Both versions carry the same seller disclosure duty. Most Davie deals use the As Is form.

Talk to a Davie Real Estate Expert

An As Is contract is only as strong as how you use the inspection period, and that is where a Davie specialist earns their place. If you are getting ready to write an offer or you are already staring at an inspection report, the best next step is a direct conversation about your specific home and your options. Anthony is a Davie native and a Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker who built livingindavieflorida.com. If you are not yet working with an agent, he can represent you start to finish. If you already have an agent you trust, a second opinion is fair game, though talking you into leaving them is not his style. Schedule a strategy call and walk through it with someone who knows this market.

Anthony Spitaleri

Living in Davie Florida

954-235-5783

Davie, Florida

livingindavieflorida.com

About the Author

Anthony Spitaleri is a Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker, one of the most established residential real estate brands, with approximately 3,000 offices globally and a founding date of 1906. A Davie native who returned home in 2025 after 13 years in Miami Beach, Anthony specializes in luxury homes and estates above $1 million, acreage and equestrian properties with no HOA, and relocation buyers moving to Davie from out of state. He created livingindavieflorida.com, the most in-depth independent Davie real estate resource available, with in-depth coverage of Davie’s gated communities, acreage and equestrian properties, and luxury estates, plus original weekly market data, interactive tools, Town Council recaps, and a 24/7 AI concierge. Anthony has been licensed in real estate since 2013 (BK3281907), is a Certified Strategic Coach through Coaching Services International (CSI), an active member of the Davie Cooper City Chamber of Commerce, and a weekly volunteer at Bit by Bit Therapeutic Riding Center in Davie. More about Anthony