What to Fix Before You Sell a House in Jacksonville, and What to Skip.

The repair that matters is the one in the way. A safety problem. A system that does not work. Damage an appraiser has to call out. A fact you know and a buyer cannot see. A permit that never closed.

A new backsplash, new floors, and a wish-list kitchen can wait. None of that work clears an inspection finding, an appraisal condition, or an open permit.

If you are still choosing whether to sell now, rent the house, or update at all, start with Sell, Rent, or Update First. Renting is a different job. It means landlord insurance, reserves for vacancy and repairs, tenant screening, and who takes the 2 a.m. call. Pearsall Properties does not manage rental property.

If the buyer needs a loan, Fannie Mae's Selling Guide is one common set of rules. Your buyer's lender decides what counts. Ask the lender.

That page says the appraisal is completed subject to repair when a physical deficiency affects safety, soundness, or structural integrity. A C6 rating means the damage is severe enough to affect those things. A loan on a C6 home is not eligible for sale to Fannie Mae until the repairs are done and the home rates at least C5.

The same page allows an as-is appraisal when the issues are minor and do not affect safety, soundness, or structural integrity. The appraiser's value has to reflect them. The examples there include worn floor finishes or carpet, minor plumbing leaks, holes in window screens, missing handrails, and cracked window glass.

Those examples are for the loan file when the issue is minor and does not affect safety, soundness, or structural integrity. If a step, a rail, or the wiring is unsafe for someone walking the house, fix it before showings. That is about a safe visit, not about what a lender will accept.

If the appraisal notes wood-boring insects, dampness, or abnormal settlement, the guide says the lender needs proof the condition was corrected, or a professional report that it does not threaten the structure. The appraisal is handled subject to that repair or that inspection.

The Florida Realtors and The Florida Bar publish an AS IS Residential Contract. The revision dated 8/24 is the one this section describes. On that form, the buyer has an inspection period. If the blank is not filled in, the period is 15 days. The buyer can order the inspections they want.

The buyer can cancel for any reason by written notice before the period ends, and the deposit is returned. If the buyer stays, the buyer accepts the physical condition. Repairs and improvements the buyer's lender requires are the buyer's responsibility under that paragraph.

You can still agree to a repair or a credit. The form leaves that between the two of you. There is no promise a buyer will ask, or that you have to say yes.

Which repairs fall on you depends on the contract you sign. Florida Realtors notes that a seller's duty to repair can turn on the form, and on whether the buyer sends notice before the deadline. Read the form in front of you.

A general home inspection is one visit. That same Florida Realtors article says a general inspector may see signs of wood-destroying organisms and still not be qualified to say whether they are active, or how far any damage goes. A buyer can hire a pest professional for that. Open or expired permits are a separate check with the building department.

A dated kitchen can stay. Under Florida law, a seller who knows of facts that materially affect the value of the home, are not readily observable, and are not known to the buyer has a duty to disclose them. I am not an attorney. If you are unsure what that covers in your case, ask a Florida real estate attorney.

In Johnson v. Davis, the Florida Supreme Court held that where the seller of a home knows of facts materially affecting the value of the property which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, the seller has a duty to disclose them. Florida Realtors explains that an as-is sale does not remove that duty.

The AS IS contract says the same thing in the seller's words. The seller knows of no such facts that have not been disclosed. Beyond that sentence, the seller gives no warranty of the physical condition. The seller also says they have no undisclosed notice of a currently uncorrected building, environmental, or safety code violation.

Florida Statutes section 475.278 requires a real estate licensee to disclose known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property and are not readily observable to the buyer.

A known leak, known wood damage, or a repair that was covered up is the kind of fact to talk over with a Florida real estate attorney, and to put in writing if it must be disclosed. Florida Realtors notes that disclosure can be written or verbal, and recommends writing. A pending code-enforcement case has its own written steps, which Florida Realtors summarizes and ties to Florida Statutes sections 125.69 and 162.06. I am not an attorney. Ask one if you are unsure what you must disclose.

On the AS IS contract, except as disclosed in writing, the seller does not know of improvements made without required permits, or of permits that were not properly closed under Florida Statutes section 553.79. If the seller identifies an open permit or unpermitted work, the seller turns over the plans and papers in the seller's possession.

If the buyer's inspection finds open or needed permits, the seller cooperates in good faith. That paragraph does not require the seller to spend money to close them.

In the City of Jacksonville, the Building Inspection Division says anyone can look up permits in JaxEPICS by permit number, confirmation number, or address. Jacksonville Beach has its own building division, and it issues its own permits. If the house is in Clay County, St. Johns County, Putnam County, or another city, use that city or county's building department.

For a one- to four-unit home, Fannie Mae's Selling Guide says the policy should be written on a Special coverage form or the equivalent, and at a minimum must cover certain required perils, including windstorm. The roof has to be insured. The borrower chooses the insurer, provided the policy meets Fannie Mae's requirements. Ask the lender.

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation requires a four-point inspection for a new property owner, dwelling, or mobile-home application when the home is more than 20 years old. A Florida-licensed inspector checks the electrical system, plumbing, heating and cooling, and the roof. Citizens says serious hazards, such as exposed wiring, active leaks, or evidence of leaks, should be repaired before an application is submitted.

For its own policies, Citizens also sets roof rules. A shingle or similar roof older than 25 years, or a tile, slate, clay, concrete, or metal roof older than 50 years, needs documentation of at least five years of remaining useful life. When that remaining life is under five years, Citizens requires proof of a full roof replacement before it writes the policy.

Those figures are Citizens' eligibility rules for Citizens coverage. Another insurer can differ. Ask a licensed roofer what is wrong, if anything. Ask an insurance agent what a policy would require. Skip a roof, panel, or air-conditioner replacement that neither one has called for.

Leave the full kitchen remodel. Leave the full bath remodel. Leave new floors that are only tired, and leave the wish-list landscape.

Worn floors are on Fannie Mae's list of items that can stay in an as-is appraisal, with the condition reflected in the value. A buyer may still prefer a newer kitchen. You can talk about that when you negotiate. Fix what an appraiser or an insurer has flagged.

Clean the house. Keep it dry. Make it safe to walk through. That is prep for showings. It is a different job from a renovation.

If the repair list is long, and you do not want to pay for all of it, you can still list and let buyers inspect. On the AS IS form, a buyer may ask for a credit, write an offer with the work in mind, or cancel. Nothing here promises which one a buyer will choose. Listing can still be the better path when a retail buyer will pay more than an as-is sale, even after the work. If you would rather not list or repair, Blu Skies Enterprises can buy a house as-is. I am a licensed agent with Pearsall Properties, and I have an interest when Blu Skies is the buyer. We will say that clearly if we talk about that path. If you are weighing that against renting or a smaller repair plan, go back to Sell, Rent, or Update First.