"Selling as-is" is one of the most misunderstood phrases in Tennessee real estate. Many homeowners assume it means "I don't have to tell the buyer anything and I'm not on the hook for defects." That is not what it means under Tennessee law. As-is is a specific legal mechanism governed by the Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act (Tenn. Code § 66-5-201 et seq.), and using it correctly requires understanding what you can waive, what you can't, and how the form you sign affects your liability after closing.
This guide does two things. First, it explains the legal framework for as-is sales in Tennessee — the three forms, the mandatory disclosures that survive any disclaimer, and the exemptions. Second, it walks through the practical side: what condition items actually cost in a Chattanooga cash offer, which repairs return their cost in a retail listing, and how the math works in Chattanooga's current market (median around $335–380K in 2026). If you're considering selling a house that needs work, both sides matter.
Legally: Tennessee lets you sell as-is by having the buyer sign a Disclaimer Statement (waiving disclosure) — but four categories of disclosure under Tenn. Code § 66-5-212 survive the waiver, and willful concealment of defects still creates liability.
Financially: As-is beats fix-and-list when repair costs exceed what the Chattanooga market will pay you back, when you can't fund repairs, when you're under time pressure, or when structural issues would kill a retail deal entirely. For Chattanooga homes needing substantial work — especially in East Brainerd, East Ridge, or the core Southside neighborhoods — cash is often the cleanest net after running real numbers.
How Tennessee's Disclosure Law Treats As-Is Sales
The Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act applies to transfers of residential real property with one to four dwelling units — which covers nearly every home sale in Chattanooga. Before closing, the Act requires the seller to furnish the buyer with one of three written forms: a Disclosure Statement, a Disclaimer Statement, or an Exemption Form. Which one you sign determines what you've legally represented about the property's condition.
Here's the statutory chain that makes an as-is sale possible:
- Under Tenn. Code § 66-5-202, the default requirement is the Disclosure Statement — the multi-page form where the seller answers specific questions about the condition of the roof, foundation, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, environmental hazards, and so on.
- Under the same section, a Disclaimer Statement is permitted only if the buyer waives the right to the required disclosure. Without the buyer's waiver, the seller must provide the full Disclosure form.
- Under Tenn. Code § 66-5-204, sellers are not required to hire inspectors, conduct investigations, or discover defects they don't already know about. "Unknown" is an acceptable answer if it's truthful.
- Under Tenn. Code § 66-5-208, if a seller misrepresents a material condition on the Disclosure form, the buyer can sue for actual damages, terminate the contract pre-closing, or pursue other available remedies — but any lawsuit must be filed within one year of the disclosure receipt date or the closing date, whichever comes first.
The short version: a true as-is sale in Tennessee requires the buyer's written waiver via the Disclaimer Statement. A cash investor buying for their own account will sign this waiver as routine. A retail buyer using conventional or FHA financing almost never will — their lender and their own interests push toward the full Disclosure, which is why MLS "as-is" listings still usually involve a Disclosure form and just no repair obligations.
The Three Forms You Can Use — and Which Enables True As-Is
Every residential sale in Tennessee ends with the seller signing one of these three forms:
"The disclaimer is a real thing, but it's a two-signature document. If the buyer doesn't waive disclosure in writing, the seller still has to fill out the disclosure form — no matter what the listing says."
— Chad Bonawitz, Dignity PropertiesWhat You Must Disclose Even On An As-Is Sale
Signing a Disclaimer Statement does not mean you have zero obligations. Tennessee law carves out several categories of information that must be disclosed in writing regardless of which form you use.
Mandatory disclosures under Tenn. Code § 66-5-212:
- Exterior injection wells — the presence of any known exterior injection well on the property
- Moved-foundation history — whether the seller knows that any single-family residence on the property has ever been moved from one foundation to another
- Percolation / soil absorption test results — any known percolation tests or soil absorption rates performed on the property and determined or accepted by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC)
- Known sinkholes — defined in § 66-5-212(c) as "a subterranean void created by the dissolution of limestone or dolostone strata resulting from groundwater erosion, causing a surface subsidence of soil, sediment, or rock."
Mandatory PUD disclosure under Tenn. Code § 66-5-213: If the property is located within a Planned Unit Development (PUD), the seller must disclose this and, on request, provide the buyer with a copy of the development's restrictive covenants, homeowner bylaws, and master deed.
Beyond the statutory mandates, Tennessee common law still prohibits willful misrepresentation and active concealment of known material defects. The Disclaimer Statement says you're making "no representations" — but it does not give you license to affirmatively lie or to conceal defects you know about. An as-is sale protects a seller from repair demands and passive non-disclosure; it does not protect against fraud. Tennessee courts (see Ledbetter v. Schacht, 395 S.W.3d 130 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012)) have enforced this distinction.
If a real estate agent is involved in your sale, they have a separate duty under Tenn. Code § 62-13-403 to disclose "adverse facts" to both parties. Adverse facts are defined as conditions or occurrences that (a) significantly reduce the structural integrity of improvements, (b) present a significant health risk, or (c) have a negative impact on the value of the property. That third prong applies only to agents, not to sellers.
In practical terms: your agent has a broader disclosure duty than you do. Things you can legally omit from the seller Disclosure (because the form doesn't specifically ask and the defect isn't structural or health-related) might still require your agent to speak up. This is worth understanding before asking your agent to keep quiet about something.
Sales That Are Fully Exempt From TN Disclosure
Some sales are categorically outside the Disclosure Act and use the Exemption Form under Tenn. Code § 66-5-209 instead of either the Disclosure or Disclaimer. The most common exempt transfers in Chattanooga:
- Court-ordered transfers: probate estate sales administered by the Hamilton County Chancery Court, transfers pursuant to a writ of execution, transfers ordered in the administration of a conservatorship or guardianship
- Trustee's sales after foreclosure: sales conducted by the trustee under a deed of trust following a foreclosure
- Transfers to a beneficiary of a deed of trust: by a defaulting trustor or their successor in interest
- Transfers by a bankruptcy trustee
- Transfers between co-owners: one or more co-owners transferring their interest exclusively to another co-owner
- Transfers resulting from eminent domain
- Transfers by a fiduciary administering a decedent's estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust
- Homes the owner hasn't lived in: where the owner has not occupied the property at any time in the prior three years, which often covers longtime rentals and houses inherited years ago
If your sale falls under one of these exemptions — for example, you're the executor selling a Chattanooga home through a Hamilton County probate estate — you sign the Exemption Form rather than a Disclosure or Disclaimer. Note that the Tenn. Code § 66-5-212 mandatory disclosures (injection wells, moved foundation, sinkholes, percolation tests) still apply to most exempt transfers, because those are separate requirements under a different subsection.
If your situation is an estate sale, separate guide: see How to Sell an Inherited House in Chattanooga TN. For foreclosure-related sales, see the Tennessee Foreclosure Timeline.
How Much Each Defect Costs You in a Chattanooga Offer
A defect's effect on your price has little to do with what it would cost a handyman to fix. Investors and owner-occupant buyers react to problems in different ways, and the haircut tends to be steepest for anything a buyer can see from the driveway, anything structural, and anything that makes an insurance agent hesitate.
This is roughly how the big problem areas show up in offers we see around Hamilton County:
| Problem Area | Typical Investor Discount | Effect on an Owner-Occupant Buyer | Why It Matters Here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roof at end of life (<3 yrs remaining) | $8,000–$14,000 | Repair request, or the buyer walks | Insurers balk and FHA appraisers write it up |
| HVAC dead or past 20 years old | $4,000–$9,000 | Near-certain inspection request | Buyers price in the worst case, so they take off too much |
| Cracked or settling foundation | $8,000–$25,000+ | Frequently ends a financed sale | Ranges from cosmetic to serious; a structural engineer's letter settles it |
| Knob-and-tube or aluminum wiring | $4,000–$10,000 | Hard to insure, so buyers back out | Turns up often in houses built here between the 1920s and 1950s |
| Galvanized water lines | $3,000–$7,000 | Credit at closing, or a lost buyer | Weak pressure and rusty water; inspectors always note it |
| Original kitchen or baths | $3,000–$8,000 | Softer offers and more days listed | Purely cosmetic, which gives you the most room to act |
| Water in the basement or crawl space | $4,000–$15,000 | Has to go on the disclosure; buyers get nervous | The TN disclosure form asks about it directly |
| Overgrown yard, tired exterior | $1,000–$3,000 | Weaker first offers, fewer showings | The cheapest problem on this list to fix |
| Chipping paint on a pre-1978 house | $1,500–$4,000 | FHA lender will require the fix | The FHA loan can't close until it's handled |
| Mold that needs remediation | $5,000–$20,000+ | Most financed buyers move on | Known mold should be disclosed and usually treated |
Two things jump out. Mechanical problems such as an old furnace or tired plumbing almost always get marked down by more than the real repair bill, because the buyer is guessing at the cost and guessing high. A $6,000 furnace swap turns into a $9,000 ask at the negotiating table. Handing buyers a written contractor quote is the simplest way to shrink that gap. Foundation and mold problems are different: they end financed sales no matter how the price is adjusted, because lenders struggle to approve them and they have to be disclosed. On those houses, an investor paying cash is usually the realistic buyer.
"Buyers don't subtract what a repair costs. They subtract what they're afraid it might cost. Put a real quote on the kitchen table and most of that fear money comes back to you."
— Chad Bonawitz, Dignity PropertiesPre-Sale Fixes That Earn Their Money Back
If you plan to list rather than sell to us, these are the improvements that reliably pay for themselves around Chattanooga, because they widen the pool of buyers, shorten the time on market, or keep an inspection report from blowing up the contract.
Expect $1,200–$3,500 to repaint the whole inside. The payoff is 15–25% fewer days on market and fewer bargain-hunting offers from buyers who see a "project house." Stick with soft whites and light grays. In most Chattanooga homes, nothing else on this list returns as much per dollar.
Worn, stained carpet makes buyers assume the worst about everything else, and they'll knock something like $10,000 off in their heads the moment they see it. Luxury vinyl plank runs about $2,500–$5,000 in an average Chattanooga house, and sanding and refinishing existing hardwoods is $1,200–$2,500. It pays off in starter homes around $200K and in updated houses over $500K alike.
Spend $300–$1,200 on fresh mulch, trimmed shrubs, a pressure wash and paint touch-ups on the trim and front door. Around here, plenty of buyers make up their minds from the car window, especially in the spring rush. Dollar for dollar, it's the best deal on this list.
Chipping paint on a house built before 1978, cracked or broken window panes, a roof with less than two years left, and plumbing or wiring that doesn't work. An FHA lender will insist these are fixed before it funds. Either handle them before you list, or plan on selling only to cash buyers.
Trading shiny brass and broken fixtures for brushed nickel or matte black pulls, faucets and lights costs about $400–$900 in total. It makes a kitchen or bath feel updated without replacing a single cabinet or counter, so the impact is far bigger than the spend.
Roughly $150 gets a technician out to service the system and leave a dated sticker and invoice. When buyers can see the unit was checked and runs fine, they stop budgeting for a new furnace in their offer. You're proving it works, not replacing it.
Projects Chattanooga Sellers Should Usually Skip
These are the jobs owners pour money into before a sale and rarely see again, especially in the middle-priced parts of town such as East Brainerd, Hixson, Red Bank and East Ridge. There, the appraiser's number comes from what nearby homes sold for, not from your contractor invoices.
A complete kitchen remodel here costs $25,000–$55,000 in 2026. On a house worth $300K or less after updates, which covers most of East Ridge, East Brainerd and parts of Hixson, a good chunk of that never comes back. Buyers pay what similar updated houses nearby sold for, not what your remodel cost. Painted cabinets, new pulls and remnant quartz or butcher-block tops ($5,000–$9,000) get you most of the effect.
The kitchen math applies here too. Taking a Chattanooga bathroom to the studs runs $12,000–$25,000 this year and usually comes back at 60–75 cents per dollar in mid-priced areas. A buyer wants a bath that's clean, works, and doesn't smell. Designer tile the local sales can't justify won't move the price much.
A finished basement is nice to have, but around Chattanooga buyers won't pay enough for it to cover the job. Putting $20,000–$40,000 into one on a $300K home tends to return 50–60 cents on the dollar. Leave it bare, call it room to grow, and set the price to match.
Got five or more good years left and no leaks? Leave it. A new roof here runs $7,000–$14,000, and buyers treat a sound roof as the minimum, not a bonus worth paying extra for. A roofer's inspection letter you can hand to buyers does the job for a fraction of the cost.
Tidy it up, but don't redesign it. Owners who spend $4,000 on new beds, trees and pavers are almost always let down when offers come in no higher. Mowing, edging, fresh mulch and a pressure wash are all the yard needs.
In East Ridge, East Brainerd and much of Hixson, an addition seldom appraises for what it cost. The appraiser compares your house with nearby sales, and when those homes are smaller, they cap your value. You end up with the biggest house on the street and a loss on the project. North Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain are the exceptions, since sales there can support a well-built addition.
Three Ways to Sell the Same House: The Numbers
Most owners never actually work this out. They figure fixing up and listing must come out ahead. Now and then it does; frequently it doesn't. Here's one Chattanooga house priced out three ways at 2026 numbers.
The house: a 1960s ranch in Hixson with 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths and 1,400 sq ft. The roof is 15 years old with about 5 years of life left. The HVAC dates from 2008 and still runs. The carpet is worn and stained, the paint is tired, and the kitchen is original. Nothing structural. Fully updated, it would sell for around $310,000; as it sits, about $235,000–$255,000.
| Line Item | Option A: Sell As-Is for Cash | Option B: Light Refresh, Then List | Option C: Full Remodel, Then List |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money spent up front | $0 | $12,000 (paint, LVP flooring, fixtures, HVAC service) | $55,000 (kitchen, bath, paint, flooring, roof) |
| Sale price | $195,000–$215,000 | $265,000–$285,000 | $300,000–$315,000 |
| Commission (0% / 6% / 6%) | $0 | $15,900–$17,100 | $18,000–$18,900 |
| Closing costs (buyer-paid vs. seller-paid) | $0 (buyer covers) | $3,500–$5,500 | $3,500–$5,500 |
| Carrying costs (0 vs. 60–90 days) | $0 | $3,000–$4,500 | $4,500–$6,750 |
| Net to seller (before mortgage payoff) | $195,000–$215,000 | $230,600–$245,900 | $219,000–$228,850 |
Option B (light refresh, then list) comes out on top for this particular house, ahead of the cash price by $15K–$50K. The cost of getting there: $12,000 out of pocket, two to three months of work and showings, and a real chance that the buyer's inspector flags the older furnace or roof and the price gets reopened, or the contract dies. If you have the cash, the time and the patience for that risk, Option B is the smart move on a house like this.
Option C (full remodel) is the loser. After $55,000 and three to four months, it nets about the same as Option B or less. This is the trap owners fall into most: putting in renovation dollars local buyers won't fully repay. Updated homes do sell for more in Chattanooga, just not dollar for dollar, and every extra month of construction adds risk.
Selling for cash as-is comes out ahead when the house has a foundation, roof or mechanical problem that would scare off a financed buyer; when you need to be closed inside 30 days because of a trustee sale date, a job transfer or an estate deadline; when even $12,000 for a light refresh isn't available; or when there just aren't many retail buyers in that part of town. In those cases taking the cash isn't settling. It's simply the best of the available options.
As-Is Strategy Around Chattanooga, Area by Area
Where the house sits changes the answer. Citywide prices are centered around $335–380K in 2026, but a North Chattanooga bungalow and a Highland Park cottage call for very different plans. Here's how it plays out across town:
See What We'd Pay for It Exactly As It Stands
Leaky roof, old wiring, original kitchen: we buy Chattanooga houses in whatever shape they're in, without commissions or fees. Hold our number up against a listing, or close in two to three weeks.
As-Is Questions We Hear Most
Can I legally sell a house as-is in Tennessee?
Yes, but with a specific legal mechanism. Under the Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act (Tenn. Code § 66-5-201 et seq.), sellers of residential property with 1–4 dwelling units must provide one of three forms before closing: a Disclosure Statement, a Disclaimer Statement, or an Exemption Form. A true "as-is" sale requires the Disclaimer Statement — but a Disclaimer is only valid if the buyer affirmatively waives the right to disclosure in writing. Cash investors routinely sign this waiver because they price risk into the offer. Retail buyers usually will not.
If I sell as-is, can I keep quiet about problems I know of?
No. Even with a signed Disclaimer Statement, Tenn. Code § 66-5-212 still makes you disclose any known exterior injection wells, whether the house was ever moved off its original foundation, known percolation test results accepted by TDEC, and known sinkholes, and § 66-5-213 requires you to disclose if the home is in a PUD. Past those required items, a Disclaimer shields you from repair requests and from simply not volunteering information. It does not shield you from lying about a defect or covering one up, and deliberate concealment can still lead to a lawsuit under § 66-5-208.
Are some Chattanooga home sales exempt from Tennessee disclosure law?
Yes. Under Tenn. Code § 66-5-209, several types of transfers are categorically exempt from the Disclosure Act — including transfers pursuant to court order (Hamilton County Chancery Court estate sales), trustee's sales following foreclosure, transfers by a bankruptcy trustee, transfers between co-owners, and transfers by fiduciaries administering estates, guardianships, or trusts. For these sales, the seller signs an Exemption Form instead of a Disclosure or Disclaimer. The mandatory § 66-5-212 disclosures (injection wells, moved foundation, sinkholes, percolation) may still apply.
What's the difference between selling as-is and just not doing repairs?
Both are common approaches but they carry different legal and practical implications. Listing as-is on MLS typically means: you complete the full Disclosure Statement, you commit to no post-inspection repair demands in the contract, but the buyer retains the right to walk away. A true as-is sale under the Disclaimer Statement requires the buyer's written waiver of disclosure — a step most retail buyers will not take. In practice, "MLS as-is" usually means full Disclosure + repair-demand waiver in the contract; cash investor as-is usually means full Disclaimer + disclosure waiver.
Do I have to get an inspection before selling as-is?
No. Tenn. Code § 66-5-204 specifically says sellers are not required to have a home inspection, hire experts, or conduct any investigation of the property. "Unknown" is a legitimate answer on the Disclosure form if it's truthful. That said, a pre-listing inspection ($400–$600 in Chattanooga) can be worth it if you suspect issues — it gives you documentation to share with buyers, helps you price the home accurately, and reduces the chance of deal-killing surprises during the buyer's inspection. For cash sales specifically, inspections are typically waived or conducted by the buyer at their own cost.
Does selling as-is in Chattanooga mean taking less money?
That depends on which repairs you're passing on, what they would really cost, and how much of that the local market would pay back. In the strongest areas (North Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain), a house with only cosmetic issues will usually net more if you fix it up and list it. For a house with structural problems or worn-out systems, or one in an area with few retail buyers, a cash as-is offer often comes within 10–15% of what a listing would leave you after commissions, repairs and holding costs, and sometimes beats it once you account for deals that fall apart. Put real numbers side by side before you choose.
How quickly can an as-is cash sale close in Chattanooga?
Usually 10 to 21 days after you accept the offer. Most of that is the title work, typically 5–10 business days to search the Hamilton County Register of Deeds records, plus confirming the buyer's funds and booking a time at a local title company. There's no appraisal, no loan approval and no repair contingency holding things up. If something urgent means you need to close in under two weeks, say so up front; when title is clean and the money is ready, a faster date is often doable.
