Real Estate Talk:
With or without warranty

The pros and cons of buying or selling with or without warranty

By Joseph Marovitch

Updated June 26, 2025

Imagine! You just purchased your dream home. You followed all the right steps, from using a qualified broker to having an inspection. All conditions are complete to your satisfaction, possession has taken place, and you are now enjoying your new home.

One day, not long after you have moved in, you are gardening on a beautiful, warm sunny day when, all of a sudden, as you’re digging a hole to plant your tulips, you strike oil! Not the Beverly Hillbillies’ kind of “get rich oil” but rather the oil from a buried, leaky oil tank in your backyard that was used long ago as part of the heating system.

You bring in a city inspector, tests are performed, and you find you have an environmental contamination problem in your backyard. Who do you call, and who is responsible for cleaning up the mess and removing the tank?

The seller is supposed to sell the property without issues that can de-value or render it unliveable, unless they sold the house without warranty, as is, at the buyer’s risk.

If you purchased the property with warranty, the previous owner would be responsible. However, the previous owner could hold the owner before that owner responsible. In fact, all the previous owners are responsible until you find the owner who was aware of the issue or the last living owner.

To understand what warranty or without warranty means, first know that the home inspector is only responsible for the issues in and around the house that can be seen. The home inspector is not responsible for issues they cannot see, such as structural cracks, broken linings in the chimney, or buried old oil tanks.

The issues that can pose a problem but cannot be immediately detected are called hidden or latent defects. The seller is supposed to sell the home without issues that can devalue or render it unlivable unless they sell the house without warranty, as is, at the buyer’s risk.

The words sold without warranty, as is, at the buyer’s risk, must be placed in the following areas:

The brokerage contract
The Centris listing
The promise to purchase
In the deed of sale

There are reasons to sell without warranty, and there are cons to selling without warranty.

Reasons for buying and selling without warranty:

The vendor inherited the house but never lived in it; therefore, they do not want to be responsible for hidden defects.
The vendor is aware that the house may have hidden defects and, again, does not want the buyer to hold them responsible for issues that may come up.
The vendor is moving far away and does not want to be bothered.
The buyer may intend to completely renovate the house and is not concerned with hidden defects.
The buyer wants a lower purchase price and is prepared to take the risk of hidden defects in exchange.

In most cases, where the seller lived in the house and maintained the house in good condition, the house is sold with warranty.

Cons to selling without warranty:

The vendor may end up with a lower selling price or take much longer to sell, since selling without warranty raises many red flags.

It should be noted that even if the seller is selling without warranty, the buyer can still acquire warranty from all previous owners who sold with warranty. This will be discussed in the next issue.

The information in these articles is summary. Should you have questions, comments or wish to discuss further, please refer to the comments section at the bottom of the page or contact me directly.

As well, to view past articles, click here.

Next article: Acquiring warranty when the current seller is selling without warranty

State of the market

Last week we had good and bad news. This week we have uncertain news. New wars, especially in the Middle East, tend to slow down the supply chain of oil, causing oil prices to rise. Rising oil prices, in turn, increase inflation, and higher interest rates follow. The news from the U.S. is that Iran and Israel have entered a ceasefire. The news from Israel and Iran is that they have not entered a ceasefire. The leader of the U.S. tends to say what people want to hear, whether it is true or not, but benefits the leader.

With so much misinformation, it is very difficult to discern what is true from what is not. Therefore, we must plan for the worst and hope for the best.

In real estate, this means we assume the worst because assuming the best, without verification, can be a very costly mistake. By assuming the worst, we can prepare for every eventuality. By not making assumptions and going with the facts, we can be prepared.

‘In an uncertain real estate market, strategic pricing to create incentive can generate much more interest and offers.’

To prepare for the worst costs nothing and can actually be a benefit. In an uncertain real estate market, strategic pricing to create incentive can generate much more interest and offers. The natural impulse of a seller is to state the selling price as high as possible, like everyone else.

In a good market, this is a good strategy. However, in an uncertain market, less is more. This means if a property’s asking price is between $850,000 and $1 million, depending upon location and condition, it is better to be priced less than the property’s value. This creates incentive and more interest in a shaky and uncertain market where everyone is waiting for interest rate and inflation news. More interest leads to more offers and competing offers, which in turn cause the selling price to increase.

Another strategy in an uncertain and volatile market, or any market, is to target market the property to the appropriate audience. Never throw ads to the wall to see what sticks, as you may attract a buyer with a $500,000 budget to a million-dollar listing and waste time. Find the right buyers for the property and target them via newspaper ads in their area, regular mail with flyers directly into their homes, focus paid Facebook ads and other social media on the municipalities and area codes where your buyers are, call them.

Have a great week.

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Other articles by Joseph Marovitch

Joseph Marovitch has worked in the service industry for over 30 years. His first career was working with families from Westmount and surrounding areas, hosting children between the ages of 6 to 16 as the owner and director of Camp Maromac, a sports and arts sleep away summer camp established in 1968. Using the same strengths caring for the families, such as reliability, integrity, honesty and a deep sense of protecting the interests of those he is responsible for, Joseph applies this to his present real estate broker career. Should you have questions please feel free to contact Joseph Marovitch at 514 825-8771, or josephmarovitch@gmail.com