Short answerCheck your contract deadline for answering, then sort the buyer's request into safety items, lender required items, real defects, and wish list items. Get quotes on anything significant. Then answer with a mix of repairs, credits, or price changes that protects your net and keeps the deal together. The report itself belongs to the buyer.
Step by step
- Find your deadline. Your purchase agreement sets how long you have to respond.
- Read the request, not just the report. The buyer may share only part of the report.
- Sort the items. Safety and lender required items are usually worth agreeing to. Wish list items are usually where you push back.
- Get quotes fast for anything over a few hundred dollars.
- Answer with options. How to respond to a repair request.
The buyer's view of the same moment: what buyers ask sellers to fix.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see the whole inspection report?
The report belongs to the buyer. They may share all, part, or only the request.
What if I miss the response deadline?
Your contract says what happens. Ask your agent immediately.
Keep reading
Want to know what a buyer's inspector may find before they do?
Book a free pre listing condition walk. I walk the house with you, point out what inspectors and FHA, VA, and USDA appraisers tend to flag, and give you planning ranges so you can decide what to fix, credit, price in, or disclose.
Book a condition walkOr call or text (812) 525-5489, or email [email protected].
The condition walk is a REALTOR® and contractor evaluation, not a home inspection, and it does not replace one. If you have already signed a listing agreement with another agent, please take these questions to your agent.
Written by John Long, REALTOR®, 1 Percent Lists Indiana Real Estate. Working contractor who has priced hundreds of home inspection repair requests. Former labor relations negotiator for a major manufacturer and U.S. Coast Guard veteran.
John Long, REALTOR® · 1 Percent Lists Indiana Real Estate · (812) 525-5489 · yourpropertynegotiator.com
This page is general information, not a substitute for a professional home inspection, and not legal, tax, insurance, or lending advice. Ask a real estate attorney about contracts and disclosure, a CPA about taxes, your lender about loan rules, and a licensed inspector or tradesperson about your house. Nothing here guarantees a sale price, net proceeds, repair cost, payment, timeline, appraisal, inspection result, or loan approval. Cost figures are planning estimates, not bids. I own Wardmark Property Operations LLC, a contracting company. You are always free to use any contractor you choose.