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Understanding "As Is With a Waiver of Redhibition"

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Crescent City Living LLC Licensed LA RE Commission

Tracking how people get to my website allows me to see, in detail, exactly what kind of information consumers are looking for about West Bank real estate.  Recently, I had a website visitor that came to me by way of a search for "louisiana property disclosure vs. as-is".  I figure that if one person asked that question, then there are other folks out there wondering the same thing.

 

FIRST, it is important to point out that under Louisiana law, sellers (with few exceptions) are required to provide a property disclosure, whether they are selling the property "as is" or not.  Disclosing or selling "as is" is not a one or the other decision.   Unless you are one of the few who meet the state mandated exceptions, you MUST provide a disclosure to all purchasers.  The law applies equally to those using a professional REALTOR® and those attempting to sell their property on their own.

 

As a listing agent, I always recommend that my sellers transfer their Louisiana property to the new owners with an As-Is Clause and Waiver of Redhibition.  (For people living in other parts of the country, Redhibition is basically the Louisiana civil version of a lemon law, allowing purchasers to sue for unseen defects.)  The waiver of redhibition is intended to minimize the number of lawsuits brought by purchasers against the sellers of real property in Louisiana.  IMPORTANT NOTE:  This does NOT mean that the purchasers cannot do inspections or that they cannot walk away from the purchase if there are inspection issues that cannot be resolved by negotiating repairs or a price adjustment. 

 

It does mean that after inspections have been completed to the purchaser's satisfaction the following language will become a critical part of the act of sale documents (the highlights are mine).

 

From the Louisiana Real Estate Commission Website:

 

Do you still have questions about As Is and Waivers of Redhibition?  Please contact Lisa Heindel, REALTOR®.  I'd be happy to refer you to a local real estate attorney who is well versed on this topic.

 

 

  


When buying or selling a home on the West Bank of New Orleans or relocating to the New Orleans West Bank, you deserve local expertise and advice. Lisa Heindel provides full time, professional real estate services to buyers, sellers and military transferees in Algiers, Algiers Point, Belle Chasse, Gretna, Terrytown, Harvey, Marrero, Westwego and more.

 

 West Bank Living

Here's the disclaimer part:  The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the author, but you are free to share yours in the comments.  All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Copyright 2008.  Lisa Heindel, All rights reserved.

Mesa, Arizona Real Estate Mesa Arizona Realtor
Homes Arizona Real Estate LLC - Mesa, AZ
AzLadyInRed

Lisa, I've never heard of Redhibition.  We also require that even with an "as is" clause, there must be a SPDS - Sellers Property Disclosure Statement. Buyers are then required, or sign away their rights, to get an Inspection done and submit a Buyer Inspection Notice to the Seller. Good explanation........and great information. ;-)

Pepper

Jun 26, 2008 01:55 PM
Kevin O'Shea
Coldwell Banker - White Plains, NY
White Plains, NY Real Estate

Clause and Waiver of Redhibition.

Hi Lisa,

You taught me a new word too.  I thought you misspelled another word first.

All the best!

Jun 26, 2008 04:50 PM
Bill Gassett
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Hopkinton, MA
Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate

Hi Lisa - We have a Sellers disclosure form that we use as well when selling a home. These forms are not required here in Mass but they if you use them they do bring insurance costs down. I ahve always felt they were a great idea.

Jun 27, 2008 12:09 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Lisa, That was interesting and I learn more about real estate every day....I wonder how the laws are in New York and hope they're similar to what you have.

Jun 27, 2008 09:34 AM
Lisa Heindel
Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Teri, as far as I know, Redhibition is only in Louisiana.  Remember, we are the only state whose laws are based on Napoleonic code, so there are many unique points to buying or selling real estate here (just like there are in AZ!)

Kevin, learn something new every day :)

Bill, although disclosures and inspections are the norm, lots of sellers think that just because they are selling "As Is", that they do not have to address any defects in the property.  I hope they read enough to understand that the purchasers can walk away even though the home was advertised as being sold "As Is".  It's more of a legal term for the closing here than a warning that no improvements will be made.

Carole, with laws differing from state to state, there is always something to learn around here :)

Jun 28, 2008 04:11 AM
Kim Wood
The Tech Byte - West Chester, PA
Kim Wood ~ The Tech Byte

So does the Redhibition cut down on the lawsuits? We have Seller's Property Disclosures, however, I've seen lawsuits result with what was on there, wasn't on there, etc.

Interesting that you can waive that up front....

Jun 30, 2008 01:59 AM
Lisa Heindel
Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Kim, the waiver of redhibition doesn't cover fraud, so if the seller purposely failed to disclose or hid a defect then the waiver would not apply.  This way of selling homes has made purchasers much more diligent about conducting all of the inspections they can on a property since they know they will be waiving their rights at the act of sale.  I rarely rely on the seller's disclosure to be completely accurate, especially if the property has changed hands many times over the years.

Jun 30, 2008 12:54 PM
Toronto's 2 Hounds Design: Decorating + Staging
2 Hounds Design + Home Staging - Toronto, ON

Hi Lisa, I just was googling the waiver and low-and-behold it brought me to AR and your post. Thanks for the explanation!

We have something similar here in Ontario...just can't recall the name.

Cheers,

Dane

Jan 27, 2009 06:02 AM
Lisa Heindel
Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Dane, how cool!  I see a lot of hits on this topic in my stats, so I know it's something that consumers are looking for information on.  I'd love to know the differences between how we handle it in LA and how it's done in Ontario.

Jan 27, 2009 02:10 PM