What to Ask the Seller to Fix After a Home Inspection (2026 Guide)
Your inspection report just landed: 60-plus pages, 38 flagged items, and a deadline measured in days. Ask for too much and you risk souring the deal — or losing the house in a competitive market. Ask for too little and you inherit someone else's problems the day you close.
After 19 years of negotiating repair requests as a broker, here's the framework I use on every transaction.
The golden rule: ask for the things that are expensive, dangerous, or invisible
Every inspection finding falls into one of three buckets:
1. Always ask (safety and major systems). These are the items a reasonable seller expects to address, because the next buyer will flag them too:
- Structural and foundation issues
- Roof leaks or roofing at end of life
- Electrical safety hazards — double-tapped breakers, missing GFCI protection, aluminum branch wiring
- Plumbing leaks, sewer line problems, failing water heaters
- HVAC systems that don't heat or cool
- Active termite/wood-destroying insect activity
- Anything the report labels a safety hazard
2. Worth asking, depending on leverage (functional but aging). Items that work today but are near the end of their service life — a 17-year-old furnace, a roof with 2–3 years left. In a buyer's market, ask for a credit. In a multiple-offer market, consider absorbing them.
3. Skip these (cosmetic and routine maintenance). Sticking doors, worn caulk, scuffed trim, dirty filters, minor grading. Padding your request with $50 items is the fastest way to make a seller defensive about the $5,000 items. Sellers — and their agents — respect a short, serious list.
Repairs, credits, or price reduction?
You usually have three ways to receive the same value:
- Seller completes repairs — best for safety items you want verifiably fixed before closing. Always require receipts from licensed contractors and reserve the right to re-inspect.
- Closing cost credit — best when you'd rather control the contractor and the quality. Ask your lender first; credits are capped by loan type.
- Price reduction — cleanest for the seller, but remember: a $3,000 price cut saves you only a few dollars a month on the mortgage, while a $3,000 credit is $3,000 at closing.
One warning from years at the table: if the seller has already agreed to significant concessions, there may be little room left for more credits — shift your ask toward completed repairs instead.
How to word the request
Skip legal preamble — your state's amendment form supplies that. Group items by system, keep language plain, and reference report pages:
Seller to repair the following deficiencies (see inspection report attached):
- Plumbing: a. Repair leaking shut-off valve beneath kitchen sink. Ref to IR p.14. b. Repair active drain leak at hall bath lavatory. Ref to IR p.16.
- Electrical: a. Correct double-tapped breaker at main panel. Ref to IR p.22.
End with the protection line most buyers forget: repairs to be completed by qualified, licensed professionals; receipts provided before closing; buyer reserves the right to inspect the repairs.
Mind your deadline
Repair negotiation happens inside a contractual window — Texas calls it the option period, other states use inspection contingency or due-diligence periods, commonly 5–10 days. That window covers scheduling the inspection, reading the report, getting bids if needed, and negotiating. Start sorting findings the day the report arrives.
FAQ
Can I ask the seller to fix everything in the report? You can, but you shouldn't. A request with 30 items signals inexperience and invites a blanket "no." Prioritize safety and major systems.
What if the seller refuses to fix anything? You can accept the home as-is, negotiate a credit or price reduction instead, or — inside your contingency window — walk away with your earnest money, depending on your contract.
Should I get contractor bids before asking? For big-ticket items, yes if time allows. Otherwise use conservative cost estimates so your request is grounded in numbers, not fear.
Not sure which of your 38 findings actually matter? Upload your inspection report to AmendReady for a free instant preview — severity breakdown, condition score, and your top red flags in about two minutes. Unlock the full report for prioritized cost estimates and a ready-to-review repair request.
AI-generated analysis — not legal advice, an inspection, or contractor bids. You and your agent decide what to submit. AmendReady · a product of The Callicarpa Agency · Built by Leeza Morris, Texas Real Estate Broker