Fix It or Offer a Credit? How Salt Lake County Sellers Handle Repairs After an Inspection

It depends on the item, the cost, and what the buyer's loan allows. A repair is better when the issue is something a lender or appraiser will flag, or when you can fix it for less than the credit would cost. A credit is better when the repair is cosmetic, when time is tight, or when the buyer wants to choose their own contractor.

Charisse Walker is a real estate agent with Chalker Properties Group in Salt Lake and Davis County, Utah, and a licensed mortgage lender. Below is how I walk Salt Lake County sellers through that decision, item by item.

When I am your agent, your net is the top priority. The right answer is the one that keeps the sale together at the lowest cost to you, not the one that feels the most fair in the moment.

Your buyer hires an inspector, and a report comes back. It often runs many pages, and almost every home has items on it, including new ones and well-kept ones. A long list does not mean the sale is in trouble.

The buyer's agent then sends a request. It may ask you to repair certain items, to give a credit, to reduce the price, or some mix of those. The contract sets the window for your response. Read that window the day the request arrives, not the day before it ends.

You can accept, decline, or counter. Declining is allowed, and the buyer then decides whether to move forward, ask again or cancel under the terms of the contract. That is why it helps to think through your answer before the report lands.

Start with the items that can hold up the buyer's financing or that could scare off the next buyer if this one walks.

• Safety items: exposed wiring, a missing handrail, a gas leak, a broken smoke or carbon monoxide alarm.
• Water: an active roof leak, a plumbing leak, a failing water heater.
• Heating and cooling that do not work.
• Anything the appraiser may call out as a condition of the loan.

Different loans have different property standards. Your buyer's lender will know what applies to their loan. Ask the buyer's agent early if any item on the report is something the lender has to see fixed.

A credit makes sense when the repair is a matter of taste, when the buyer plans to remodel anyway, or when finding a contractor in time would put your closing date at risk.

A credit can also keep you out of a repair dispute. If you hire a contractor and the buyer does not like the work, you are back at the table. A credit is simple: it is a line on the closing statement, and the buyer takes it from there.

Ask the buyer's agent whether the lender allows the credit as written. Some loans limit how much a seller can contribute to the buyer's costs, so the structure matters. Your title company and the buyer's lender can confirm the details for your transaction.

Get a quote, not a guess. A repair that sounds like $500 can turn into $3,000 when a licensed contractor opens the wall. Call one or two licensed contractors the day the report comes in. Ask for a written number and a date they can do the work.

If the work needs a permit, ask about it. A repair that was never permitted can cause a problem later, for you and for the buyer. Licensed pros will tell you what a job requires.

Compare the quote with what the buyer is asking. If the credit they want is higher than the repair, offer to do the repair. If it is lower, a credit may be the cheaper path.

Use a short, calm process.

1. Sort the report into three piles: safety and systems, lender items, and cosmetic or maintenance.
2. Get quotes on the first two piles.
3. Decide what you will fix, what you will credit and what you will decline.
4. Put it in a written counter, with dates.
5. Keep the tone steady. Buyers walk away from sellers who sound angry more often than from a fair counter.

A good response often does not agree to everything and does not refuse everything. It shows that you took the report seriously.

This is an example, not a client story. A seller in Salt Lake County gets a report listing a leaking toilet supply line, a worn garage door sensor, a loose stair rail and old caulking around a tub. The seller fixes the stair rail and the supply line herself because both are inexpensive and are the kind of items a lender or a later buyer would care about. She offers a modest credit for the remaining items and declines to repaint a scuffed wall. The buyer accepts, and the sale closes on time.

The point is that she chose by item, with numbers, instead of treating the whole list as one fight.

• Ignoring the request until the deadline.
• Fixing everything out of worry and spending more than a credit would have cost.
• Hiring an unlicensed handyman for work that needs a licensed trade.
• Refusing a small, important repair over principle.
• Not keeping receipts and written scope for the work you do.

The best way to avoid a surprise is a pre-listing inspection. If you know what the report will say before you list, you can fix or price around it. Our selling your home page covers the steps before you list.

Do I have to make any repairs? That depends on your contract and what you agree to. Your agent will read the terms with you.

Can the buyer ask for a lower price instead? Yes. A price reduction, a credit and a repair are three different tools, and each has its own effect on your net.

Should I do a pre-listing inspection? Many sellers find it helpful. It shows you the list on your terms and your timeline.

What if the appraiser finds an issue? Talk to your agent right away. The buyer's lender will say what has to be done.

Does this apply to condos and townhomes? Often, yes, though some items belong to the HOA.

If you are planning to list in Salt Lake County, I can walk through your home before it goes on the market and show you where an inspection is likely to land. See the Salt Lake City and Sandy area pages for what I cover locally, then contact me here and we will start with your home.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice.