The Buyer Sent a Repair Request. What Happens Now?
The inspections are finished and now the buyer wants something.
Before you say yes, say no or start calling contractors, we need to separate three different questions.
What does the contract require? What is the buyer asking for? And what response makes the most sense for your money and your sale?
At This Milestone
What is happening
The buyer has reviewed inspection information and is asking for repairs, treatment, replacement, money or some combination.
What you need to do
Focus on the actual request, the actual cost and the signed contract. Do not react to the size of the inspection report.
What I am doing
Separating contract obligations from negotiable requests, checking deadlines and putting the available choices into dollars and risk.
Do You Have to Fix Everything the Buyer Asks For?
No.
A buyer request and a seller contract obligation are not the same thing.
The inspector reports conditions. The buyer decides what to request. The signed contract determines the parties' rights and obligations.
But “not required” does not automatically mean “say no.”
An inexpensive repair may still make financial sense if it keeps a strong transaction together or is likely to become a problem with another buyer too.
Three Different Questions Can Exist at the Same Time
What Does the Contract Require?
Read the executed agreement, completed blanks, repair standards, limits, notices, deadlines, riders and additional terms.
What Is the Buyer Requesting?
A buyer can ask for something even when the contract does not automatically require the seller to provide it.
What Makes Sense for You?
Compare cost, buyer rights, closing risk and the likelihood that the same issue follows you to the next buyer.
The Inspection Report Is Not the Repair Request
A home inspection report may contain dozens of observations.
That does not mean the seller received dozens of repair obligations.
Inspection report: What did the inspector observe?
Repair request: What is the buyer asking you to do?
Contract obligation: What does the signed agreement actually require?
Keep those three things separate.
The Contract Structure Changes the Conversation
Not every residential contract handles inspections and repairs the same way.
AS IS Contract
Under an AS IS structure, a buyer may have broad inspection and cancellation rights during the inspection period written into the signed contract.
A buyer may still ask for repairs, replacement or money.
The seller is not automatically required to agree simply because a request was made.
Standard Contract
A Standard contract can contain defined repair categories, limits, notice requirements and procedures.
General Repair Items, WDO matters, permitting issues and completed blanks may all matter.
We apply the signed contract to the actual condition rather than treating the inspection report as the contract.
Not Every Property Issue Belongs in the Same Bucket
General Repairs
Property conditions that fit the applicable General Repair definition or other repair language in the signed contract.
Definitions, limits, notices and deadlines matter.
WDO
Wood-destroying-organism treatment and visible damage can have separate contract language and separate repair limits.
Do not bury WDO inside one generic repair total.
Permitting
Open permits, expired permits or work that should have been permitted can involve a different contract question and different professionals.
There can also be a maintenance question.
A new condition that develops after the Effective Date can be different from an old inspection finding.
If the air conditioner stops operating before closing, for example, do not automatically treat that as just another item from the inspection report.
An Inspector's Label Does Not Automatically Create a Seller Obligation
“Replace”
An inspector can recommend replacement. That recommendation does not by itself determine what the seller owes under the contract.
“Safety Issue”
A safety concern may deserve professional evaluation. The label still does not replace the contract language.
“Old”
Age may matter to buyers, insurers and lenders. Age alone does not automatically mean the seller must replace an operating system.
Contractor Estimate
An estimate can help establish likely repair cost. It does not by itself establish what the seller is contractually required to pay.
We Take It Apart One Item at a Time
- Read the signed contract. Identify inspection language, repair provisions, limits, riders, additional terms and later written agreements.
- Check the deadline. Determine whether the buyer's notice or request was delivered within the applicable contract period.
- Identify the actual problem. Separate the inspector's wording from what a qualified repair professional says is actually wrong.
- Put it in the correct category. General Repair, WDO, permitting, maintenance, insurance and financing may involve different questions.
- Get a real cost when the number matters. Do not negotiate around a frightened guess.
- Measure the buyer's remaining rights. A buyer who still has a valid cancellation right creates a different negotiation than one who does not.
- Compare your choices in dollars. Repair cost, credit, price change, carrying cost and the risk of losing the buyer all belong in the decision.
You May Have More Than One Reasonable Response
Agree
Complete the requested work or provide the agreed solution when the cost and risk make sense.
Counter
Agree to some items, decline others, change the scope or propose another financial solution.
Decline
Decline a negotiable request when you are not obligated to accept it and doing so makes sense after considering the buyer's remaining rights.
Before saying no, know what the buyer can do next.
If the buyer still has a contractual right to cancel, declining the request may carry more risk than it first appears.
What Will the Repair Actually Cost?
If the buyer asks for a $10,000 credit for work that costs $2,500, those are two different numbers.
If the buyer asks for $2,000 toward a problem that will actually cost $8,000, that matters too.
Request amount ≠ repair cost ≠ contract obligation.
Get better cost information when the number matters.
Should You Complete the Work or Give the Buyer a Credit?
Complete the Repair
This may make sense when the scope is clear, the cost is supported and completing the work removes a problem that could affect this buyer or the next one.
Some lender or insurance issues may also need actual correction rather than money.
Provide a Credit
A credit can make sense when the buyer wants control of the work and the buyer's financing and closing structure allow it.
A credit does not automatically solve a condition that a lender or insurer requires to be repaired before closing.
Will This Problem Follow You to the Next Buyer?
This is one of the most useful questions in the repair negotiation.
If the current buyer walks away, an active roof leak does not disappear.
Wood rot does not disappear.
A real electrical problem does not disappear.
Another inspector may find the same condition.
Starting over has a cost too.
Consider additional market time, carrying expenses, another buyer's inspection and whether the same issue is likely to return.
What I Usually Want More Information About
Some inspection issues can affect more than the buyer's repair request.
Roof
Is there an active leak or actual damage? Is the concern only age? Could insurance or financing become part of the problem?
Electrical
Is the issue minor, cosmetic or something that deserves evaluation by a licensed electrician?
Plumbing and Moisture
Is there an active leak? What is causing it? Has moisture damaged another component?
Wood Rot and WDO
Is the damage from moisture, WDO activity or both? Does the problem require treatment, wood repair or both?
HVAC
Is the system operating? Does it need service or an actual repair? Is the request based only on age?
Water Heater
Is the concern age, leakage, installation, corrosion, permitting or actual failure?
A Repair, Seller Credit and Buyer-Broker Payment Are Different Expenses
Repair
Money spent correcting an identified property condition.
Seller Credit
Money the seller agrees to provide through the transaction, subject to the contract and buyer's financing.
Buyer-Broker Compensation
A separate negotiable transaction expense. Keep it separate so you can see exactly what each dollar is paying for.
I Do Not Start by Telling You to Accept or Reject the Request
I want you to understand the decision first.
Here is what the contract says.
Here is what the buyer is requesting.
Here is what the inspection evidence shows.
Here is what we know about the likely cost.
Here are the buyer's remaining rights.
Here is what accepting, countering or declining may mean to your money and your sale.
Then you decide.
The goal is not to win an argument over an inspection report.
The goal is to make a deliberate decision that protects your money while keeping the strongest reasonable path to closing.
Next Seller Milestone: The Appraiser Is Coming
Once the inspection and repair issues are moving toward resolution, a financed transaction usually moves deeper into the lender's process.
The next major property appointment may be the appraisal.
The appraiser has a different job from the home inspector.
You Are Here: Repair Request
Selling becomes easier to understand when you know what decision is in front of you and what comes next.
Repair Request
Previous Milestone: WDO Inspection
Understand what the WDO inspector is looking for and what the report does and does not mean.
WDO Inspection →Next Milestone: Appraisal
Prepare for the appraiser, provide useful property information and understand what happens if value or a loan requirement becomes an issue.
Appraisal →Questions Sellers Ask After the Inspection
Does the seller have to fix everything the inspector finds?
No. The inspection report does not automatically create seller obligations. The signed contract and later written agreements determine the parties' obligations.
Can a buyer ask for repairs under an AS IS contract?
Yes. A buyer can ask. The seller is not automatically required to agree simply because the request was made. The buyer's remaining rights under the signed contract can affect the negotiation.
Can the seller say no to a repair request?
Sometimes. First determine whether the requested item is a contract obligation and what rights the buyer still has if the seller declines.
Can I offer a credit instead of making the repair?
Sometimes, if the parties agree and the buyer's financing and closing structure permit it. A credit may not solve a condition that a lender or insurer requires to be repaired before closing.
Does an old roof have to be replaced because the inspector says it is old?
Not automatically. Actual condition, contract language, insurance, financing and the buyer's request should be evaluated separately.
What if the buyer asks for more money than the repair costs?
The buyer's requested amount is a negotiation position. Get reliable cost information when necessary and compare the request with the contract before deciding.
Can a repair agreement become a new seller obligation?
Yes. If buyer and seller later sign a written agreement requiring work, treatment, money or another solution, that agreement can create an additional obligation.
Go Deeper Where You Need To
After the Buyer's Inspection
See the broader process from inspection report to seller response.
What Happens After Inspection? →Repair or Credit?
Compare completing the work with giving the buyer a financial credit.
Repair vs. Credit →Seller Maintenance
Understand what happens if a new property problem develops before closing.
Seller Maintenance Obligations →A Repair Request Is a Decision, Not a Verdict
What does the contract say?
What does the buyer actually want?
What does it actually cost?
Then we decide what gives you the strongest reasonable path forward.
Important Notes
Different residential contracts handle inspections and repairs differently. The executed purchase contract, completed blanks, repair provisions, limits, riders, notices, deadlines and later written agreements control a specific transaction.
A buyer request is not automatically a seller obligation. A later written agreement between the parties can create additional obligations.
This page provides general real estate information. It is not legal, inspection, engineering, contracting, lending or insurance advice. When disputed contract language requires legal interpretation, the parties should obtain advice from a qualified real estate attorney.
Jim Whatley, Broker/Owner • Uber Realty LLC • 850-499-2940 • jim@uberrealty.com
Florida Broker License BK3174026 • Florida Brokerage License CQ1038333 • Equal Housing Opportunity