If I sell my house as-is in Texas, what do I still have to tell the buyer?

What as-is changes, and what it doesn’t

On the standard TREC resale contract, the seller checks one of two boxes in paragraph 7D. Box 7D(1) says “Buyer accepts the Property As Is.” Box 7D(2) adds specific repairs the seller will make, named one by one. As Is means “the present condition of the Property with any and all defects and without warranty,” apart from the warranties of title and the ones in the contract (TREC 20-19).

Question	Under an as-is contract	Where it says so
Do I have to make repairs?	No, unless you list specific ones under 7D(2)	TREC 20-19 ¶7D
Can the buyer still inspect?	Yes, with inspectors the buyer picks	¶7A, ¶7D
Can the buyer still walk away?	Yes, for any reason during the option period, if they paid for one. The option fee isn’t refunded.	¶5B, ¶7D
Can the buyer ask for repairs or a lower price later?	Yes, but you don’t have to agree. Any change goes in an amendment you both sign.	¶7D; TRERC

The Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center says renegotiation after an as-is inspection “should be limited to items that were not previously disclosed” and weren’t easy to see (TRERC). Disclosing up front narrows what’s left to argue about.

Who has to give the Seller’s Disclosure Notice

A seller of a home with one dwelling unit “shall give to the purchaser of the property a written notice,” on or before the day the contract takes effect (Property Code §5.008(a), (f)). If it comes late, the buyer may cancel “for any reason within seven days after receiving the notice” (§5.008(f)). There is no as-is exemption. These are the exemptions (§5.008(e)):

Who is selling, or to whom	Notice required?	§5.008(e)
A sale under a court order, or the foreclosure sale itself	No	(1)
A bankruptcy trustee, a homeowner deeding the house to the lender, or a lender reselling a house it got by foreclosure or deed in lieu	No	(2)–(4)
An executor or administrator administering a decedent’s estate, or a guardian, conservator or trustee	No	(5)
One co-owner to another co-owner	No	(6)
To your spouse, or to a relative in your direct bloodline, such as a child or grandchild	No	(7)
One spouse to the other under a divorce or legal separation decree	No	(8)
A government entity, a new home nobody has lived in, or land where the house is worth 5% or less of the total	No	(9)–(11)
Every other sale of a one-home property, as-is or not	Yes	None

Three get misread:

• Foreclosure. (e)(1) covers the foreclosure sale. A homeowner who sells before the first Tuesday owes the notice. See facing foreclosure.
• Heirs. (e)(6) covers one co-owner selling to another, not heirs selling to an outsider. See when heirs disagree.
• Divorce. (e)(8) covers one spouse deeding the house to the other under the decree, not a sale to an outside buyer. See selling in a divorce.

The exemption covers the form. TRERC writes that sellers and agents must disclose “any known material defect on the property to the buyer, whether or not it is an item listed on the Seller’s Disclosure Notice.” Exempt or not, if you know about a problem, put it in writing.

Which form, and what goes on it

TREC publishes its own Seller’s Disclosure Notice, Form 55-1, on its forms page. Texas REALTORS® publishes TXR-1406 (06-15-26), which says it “complies with and contains additional disclosures which exceed the minimum disclosures required by the Code.” The statute accepts any notice substantially similar to its own that has at least every item in it (§5.008(a)). Check TREC’s page for the current version.

Whichever form you use:

• Answer to the best of your belief and knowledge on the day you sign. If you don’t know, say so on the form; that complies (§5.008(d)).
• You don’t have to disclose a death on the property from natural causes, suicide or an accident unrelated to its condition (§5.008(c)).
• A house built before 1978 needs a separate lead-based paint disclosure, which “is required by Federal law” (TREC 20-19 ¶7C).

On TXR-1406, foundation trouble lands under defects, conditions and inspection reports from the last 4 years (Sections 2, 3 and 11), and hail under insurance claims and claim money you kept without repairing (Sections 6 and 7). Details: foundation problems, hail damage and code violations.

Your as-is options, side by side

Path	What you pay for first	What the buyer still gets	When it usually wins
List as-is (7D(1))	Nothing	The notice, an inspection and an option period	The house needs little work and you can wait
List as-is with named repairs (7D(2))	Only the repairs written in	The same	One known fix would scare buyers off
Fix, then list	Every repair	The same, and the notice shows the repairs	You have the cash and a few weeks
Creative: fix-then-list with RESE	Nothing; we front repairs and get repaid at closing	The same	It needs work and you want the list price
Cash, as-is to RESE	Nothing	The notice, unless your sale is exempt	You want no repairs, no showings and your own closing date

We buy as-is and price the condition into the cash number. When the law requires the notice, you give it to us like any buyer. Within 24 hours you get three written numbers: cash, what it should list for and what you’d net, and fix-then-list. Cash is always the lowest; that’s the trade for no repairs. If the house needs little work, listing may net more, and J.D. Thorne, a licensed Texas agent, can list it. Cash closes in about 10 days once title is clear. When RESE buys, J.D. buys for his own account or a company he controls and says so in writing before any contract.

Questions people ask

What problems do you have to disclose in Texas?

Whatever the Seller’s Disclosure Notice asks that you know of: defects, listed conditions, needed repairs, insurance claims and recent inspection reports on TXR-1406. TRERC notes that Texas law also covers any known material defect the form doesn’t list.

Do I need a seller’s disclosure if I’m the executor selling Mom’s house?

Not if you’re selling as executor or administrator while administering her estate (§5.008(e)(5)). On the TREC contract that’s box 7B(3). If the family inherited without an administration, ask a probate attorney whether it fits. Exempt or not, tell the buyer about any material defect you know of. See selling a house in probate.

How much do you lose selling a house as-is in Texas?

It depends on what the house needs. A retail buyer on an as-is contract can still inspect and ask for less, so listing as-is doesn’t lock in a price. Our sheet shows cash, list and fix-then-list side by side, with the gap in dollars.

Can a buyer back out of an as-is contract?

Yes, during the option period. Paragraph 5B of the TREC contract gives a buyer who pays the option fee “the unrestricted right to terminate,” and the As Is box doesn’t change that (¶7D). A buyer who got the notice late can also cancel within seven days (§5.008(f)).

Do I have to tell a buyer someone died in the house?

Not if the death was from natural causes, suicide or an accident unrelated to the property’s condition (§5.008(c)). If it was tied to the house’s condition, ask a real estate attorney.