Coastal San Diego · Buyer and seller guides · After the inspection

What a request for repair is (and what happens next)

Short answer: A request for repair is a written ask you make after the home inspection. You can ask the seller to fix listed items, give a credit at closing (when the sale finishes), lower the price, or some mix. The seller can agree, counter, or say no. Nothing is set until both sides sign the same terms.

After the inspection, buyers often ask me the same thing: what do we put in writing, and what can the seller do with it? This guide walks through that step in plain words.

This page is for buyers and sellers in coastal San Diego. It is process only. It is not legal advice, and it is not advice about any one deal.

I’m Weston Clark, Founding Member of the Dickinson-Clark Team at Compass. I help buyers and sellers in coastal San Diego work through the post-inspection step in writing, so everyone knows what was asked and what was agreed. You can talk about fees with Weston directly. This form does not give a commission quote.

Talk to Weston Jump to FAQ Cancel rights (contingencies)

Related: Home inspection · Cancel rights · Current-condition sales · What sellers must tell you · Guides

What a request for repair is

A request for repair is a written proposal after you have reviewed the home’s condition. It is not the same as the seller’s required disclosures (the written notices California sellers must give). Disclosures tell you what the seller knows. A request for repair is your ask about what to do next.

In many California deals that use California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) forms, that written ask is often put on a form titled Request for Repair. The DRE (California’s real estate license office) lists Request for Repair as one of the standard forms used in residential sales. Your signed purchase agreement still controls the timing and the rights.

My home inspection guide covers the condition check itself. My contingencies guide covers your cancel windows. This page is the written ask that often sits between those two.

What you can ask for

• Repairs: the seller has listed items fixed before the sale finishes, usually with a clear scope.
• A credit at closing (when the sale finishes): money toward your closing costs instead of (or along with) repairs.
• A price change: a lower purchase price written into the deal.
• A mix: some repairs plus a credit, or a credit instead of a long repair list.

Be specific. Vague asks stall the deal. Tie each item to what the inspection or pest report showed, and say whether you want the work done, a credit, or a price change.

If a pest (termite) report is part of your deal, see my termite report guide. Pest work is often handled on its own paper, separate from a general repair list.

What the seller can do

The seller can agree to your list, agree to part of it, offer different terms, or decline. A public C.A.R. training deck on negotiating after the inspection makes a key point in plain language: the common repair-request forms do not force anyone to answer, and nothing binds both sides until they sign the same terms.

If the seller counters, you can accept, adjust, or start a fresh written ask. If talks stop, your next step depends on whether your investigation contingency (the cancel right tied to inspections) is still open. Put any cancel or contingency removal in writing the way your contract requires.

Sellers: an as-is (current-condition) sale does not erase disclosure duties. As-is means you sell the home in its current state. See my as-is guide and disclosures guide. You can still choose to negotiate repairs or a credit if you want the deal to move.

Repairs vs credit vs price cut

Repairs: the seller controls the contractor and the timing before closing. You get the fix, not extra cash at the table.

A credit at closing: you keep more of your own cash for work after you own the home, but only up to costs your lender allows. Loan programs limit how much a seller can credit. Confirm the cap with your lender before you agree, so the credit is not trimmed at the last minute.

A price cut: the purchase price changes. That can change your loan size and down payment. Your lender and appraiser may need updated numbers.

I cannot promise a credit amount, a repair budget, or a result. Those depend on the home, the market, the loan, and what both sides will sign.

Timing and your cancel rights

Your purchase agreement sets the investigation window. Do the inspections early enough that you still have time to write a clear ask and get an answer before that window closes.

Do not remove your inspection contingency until the repair, credit, or price terms you care about are in a signed writing. Removing that cancel right too early leaves you with less leverage if talks stall.

Keep one clear paper trail. When forms go back and forth, know which signed version is the current deal. Escrow (the neutral company that holds money and papers) needs the final signed terms to close. See my escrow guide.

General information only

This guide explains the written ask after an inspection. It is not legal advice, lending advice, or advice about any one contract. Your signed agreement controls. Ask your own attorney about your rights. Housing opportunities are open to everyone under fair housing law.

More on sandiego.homes

• Home inspection: the condition check before you ask
• Cancel rights: the windows that give the ask its leverage
• As-is sales: selling in current condition, still with disclosures
• What sellers must tell you: required notices, separate from negotiation
• Termite reports: pest findings that often sit beside a repair ask
• Buyer homework: the wider checklist before you move forward
• Escrow: how signed repair terms reach closing
• Offer strategy: how the deal was shaped before inspections
• Buying and selling: the full path from offer to keys

• More: All guides · Buying and selling · Real estate terms

Talk with Weston about your inspection next step

Tell me where you are in escrow and what the reports show. I’ll help you put a clear written ask together, or review one you received as a seller.

Or call (858) 997-8998 · weston@sandiego.homes · Search on Compass

Free tools: What is my home worth? · What would I take home? · Real estate words in plain English

Have another question? Quick answers to common questions

Sources

• California DRE - Basic Contract Provisions and Disclosures (ref. book ch. 20)
• C.A.R. - Negotiating After Inspection (public training deck, 2022)
• sandiego.homes - Home inspection
• sandiego.homes - Contingencies
• sandiego.homes - As-is sales