You’ve accepted an offer, the buyer has done their home inspection — and now a repair request lands in your inbox. For many For Sale By Owner (FSBO) sellers, this is the most nerve-wracking moment of the whole sale. Handle it well and you close smoothly. Handle it poorly and a good deal can fall apart over a few line items.
The good news: repair negotiations are very manageable once you understand how they work. This guide walks you through reading the inspection report, deciding what to address, the three main ways to respond, and how to keep the deal together without giving away more than you should.
First, Understand What the Inspection Is For
A home inspection is the buyer’s chance to learn the true condition of the home before they’re locked in. After the inspection, the buyer typically has a window — defined in your contract’s inspection contingency — to request repairs, ask for a credit, renegotiate, or in some cases walk away.
Here’s the mindset shift that makes this easier: a repair request is not an insult or a demand you must obey. It’s the opening of a negotiation. The buyer still wants your home — they wouldn’t bother negotiating otherwise. Your job is to respond calmly and strategically. For background on the inspection itself, see our FSBO guide to home inspections in Tennessee.
Read the Report Carefully — and Don’t Panic
Inspection reports look alarming. They’re long, detailed, and written to flag everything, so even a well-maintained home generates pages of notes. Before you react, read the whole report and sort the findings into three buckets.
Major issues are genuine problems that affect safety, structure, or major systems — an active roof leak, a failing HVAC unit, electrical hazards, foundation movement, plumbing leaks. Moderate issues are real but smaller — a worn water heater, a few damaged windows, minor drainage concerns. Minor and cosmetic items are the long tail — a loose railing, a dripping faucet, missing outlet covers, normal wear. Understanding which bucket each item falls into tells you where to focus and where to hold firm.
What You’re Generally Expected to Address — and What You’re Not
There’s no law requiring you to fix every item a buyer flags, but some categories carry more weight than others. Health and safety issues and significant structural or system defects are the ones buyers (and their lenders) care about most, and they’re the items most reasonable to address in some form.
Minor and cosmetic items, on the other hand, are usually fair to decline. Buyers expect a used home to show some wear, and you’re not obligated to deliver a perfect house. A frequent FSBO mistake is feeling pressured to fix everything on the list — don’t. Anything you genuinely knew about should already be on your disclosure (see our guide to Tennessee disclosure requirements), but the repair negotiation itself is about what’s reasonable, not about satisfying every line.
Your Three Main Ways to Respond
When a repair request comes in, you have three core tools — and you can mix them.
1. Make the repairs
You agree to fix some or all of the requested items before closing. This works well for safety issues and for problems a lender may require to be resolved. If you go this route, use qualified professionals, keep receipts, and provide documentation — buyers want proof the work was done properly.
2. Offer a credit instead of repairs
Rather than doing the work, you give the buyer a closing-cost credit or a price reduction so they can handle repairs themselves after closing. Many sellers prefer this: there’s no scrambling to find contractors before closing, no disputes over the quality of your repairs, and the buyer often likes choosing their own contractor and finish. A credit is frequently the smoothest path.
3. Decline — politely and with reason
For cosmetic items, minor wear, or requests you consider unreasonable, it’s perfectly acceptable to decline. Do it respectfully and, where it helps, with a brief explanation. You can decline some items while agreeing to others.
How to Counter a Repair Request
Most repair negotiations end in a middle ground, and a thoughtful counter gets you there. Start by separating the must-address items from the rest. Then craft a response that gives reasonably on the things that matter and holds firm on the things that don’t — for example: “We’ll repair the water heater and the electrical issue, and we’ll provide a $1,500 closing credit toward the remaining items, but we won’t be addressing the cosmetic list.”
Keep your tone collaborative, not combative. Both sides want the same outcome — a closed sale — and a buyer who feels heard is far more likely to accept a fair counter. Our guide on negotiating like a pro has more on striking that tone.
Keep the Big Picture in View
When you’re deep in a back-and-forth over a $600 repair, it’s easy to lose perspective. Step back and weigh the negotiation against the whole deal. Ask yourself: Is this a strong offer at a good price? How is the market — would a replacement buyer be easy or hard to find? How far apart are we, really?
If you have a solid buyer at a good price and you’re haggling over a sum that’s small relative to the sale, giving a little to close is usually the wise move. Conversely, if the buyer’s requests have ballooned into something unreasonable, you’re allowed to hold your ground — calmly. Letting a good sale collapse over a minor amount, or caving on every point out of fear, are the two extremes to avoid.
When You Suspect “Re-Trading”
Occasionally a buyer uses the inspection less to address real problems and more to chip the price down — sometimes called “re-trading.” Watch for a long list dominated by minor items, or requests that feel disproportionate to what the inspection actually found.
If you sense this, you don’t have to play along. Respond by addressing the legitimate safety and system items and politely declining the padding. A buyer who genuinely wants the home will usually come back to a reasonable position. One who was only fishing for a discount may move on — and that’s useful information about how solid the offer ever was.
Prepare Before the Inspection Even Happens
The smoothest repair negotiations are the ones you set up before the inspector ever arrives. A little groundwork dramatically narrows what comes back on that report.
Start by knowing your own home. Walk it with a critical eye, or invest in a pre-listing inspection so you discover problems on your schedule rather than under deal pressure. Address the obvious safety items and quick fixes in advance — a wobbly railing, exposed wiring, a dripping faucet — so they never become negotiation points. Be thorough and honest in your disclosure, because anything you’ve already disclosed is far less likely to blow up later.
Gather documentation too: receipts and warranties for recent work like a roof, HVAC system, or water heater. When a buyer’s inspector flags an aging component you’ve already serviced or replaced, paperwork in hand can defuse the concern instantly. Sellers who prepare this way often find the inspection produces a short, manageable list instead of an intimidating one.
Special Cases: Safety Issues and Lender-Required Repairs
Most repair items are negotiable, but two categories deserve special attention because they carry more weight. The first is genuine health and safety issues — things like electrical hazards, gas leaks, significant water intrusion, or structural concerns. Even if you’re not strictly required to fix them, buyers care deeply about safety, and these items rarely go away quietly. Addressing them, or offering a meaningful credit, is usually the realistic path.
The second is lender-required repairs. When a buyer is financing, their lender — and the appraisal — may require certain conditions be resolved before the loan can close. These aren’t really optional if you want that financed sale to go through. Identify lender-driven items early and treat them differently from cosmetic requests; they’re conditions of the deal closing, not bargaining chips. Knowing which items fall into these two categories tells you exactly where flexibility serves you and where holding firm simply isn’t worth it.
Keeping Emotion Out of the Negotiation
Inspection negotiations can feel personal — it’s your home, and a long list of flagged items can read like criticism. But the buyer almost certainly isn’t attacking you; they’re doing exactly what any prudent buyer does. Reacting with hurt or defensiveness only makes agreement harder.
Stay businesslike. Look at the report as a list of line items to resolve, decide calmly which to fix, which to credit, and which to decline, and respond promptly and respectfully. Keep the larger goal in view — a closed sale at a good price — and weigh each request against that goal rather than against your feelings. A seller who negotiates repairs with a steady, problem-solving attitude almost always reaches the closing table; one who takes it personally is the one who lets a good deal slip away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to make every repair the buyer requests?
No. There’s no requirement to fix everything. Health, safety, and major system or structural issues carry the most weight; minor and cosmetic items are generally fair to decline. The repair request is a negotiation, not a mandate.
Is it better to make repairs or offer a credit?
A credit is often smoothest — no rushing contractors before closing, no disputes over repair quality, and the buyer can choose their own contractor. Repairs make sense for safety issues and items a lender requires resolved.
Can the buyer back out after the inspection?
Within the inspection contingency window defined in your contract, a buyer can typically renegotiate or walk away. Outside that window, their options narrow. Knowing your contract’s deadlines is essential.
What if the buyer’s requests seem unreasonable?
You can counter — agreeing to the legitimate safety and system items while politely declining cosmetic or excessive requests. A buyer who truly wants the home will usually settle on a fair middle ground.
Should I get my own estimates before responding?
It can help. Knowing what a repair actually costs lets you decide confidently between fixing it and offering a credit, and keeps the negotiation grounded in real numbers rather than guesses.
Negotiate With Confidence and Close Your Sale
Repair negotiations feel intimidating, but they’re really just a structured conversation. Sort the report, focus on what truly matters, choose between repairs and credits, and keep the whole deal in perspective — and you’ll guide your sale to the closing table.
Selling FSBO means you keep control of negotiations like this one — and keep the commission savings. Ready to start? List your Tennessee home with FSBOTN.com for just $99 and explore our seller resources for support through every step of the sale.
