Who Pays for Repairs After a Home Inspection?
4 min read · Last updated 2026-10-27
Your purchase contract and repair negotiations decide who pays for repairs after a home inspection. The report isn't a bill. You can agree to repairs, offer a closing credit, reduce the price or decline under your contract and state rules, while a financed buyer's lender can still require specific work before funding. Selling as-is generally leaves repairs to the buyer. Disclosure duties stay.
| Negotiated sale to a financed buyer | Fast Cash Offer | Premium Cash Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who buys | The buyer named in your purchase contract | [Cash Flow Deals](/) buys your house as-is | A pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have buys directly from you |
| Repairs | Your contract and negotiation decide responsibility; the lender can require specific work | No repairs for you to make | Only lender-required work is covered, fronted and settled from sale proceeds; nothing comes out of your pocket |
| Inspection period | The period written into your contract | 15 business days | 30 business days |
| Closing | The date and conditions in your contract | 30 business days; the seller helps pick the date. | 45 to 60 business days (2 to 3 months); the seller helps pick the date. |
| Costs | Your contract sets the agreed allocation of costs | You get the amount you agree to, and we'll handle any costs on top of that | Costs come from our share of the sale proceeds; we're paid as a separate line item on the closing statement |
1. Your Contract Sets the Repair Negotiation
Your contract and any agreement reached during the inspection contingency period set your repair responsibility. Start there. An inspection finding asks you to address a condition; it doesn't automatically put the bill in your hands.
Read the inspection deadline before you answer, because you can agree to make repairs, offer a closing credit, reduce the price or decline a request, and what follows a refusal depends on your contract and state rules. Know the deadline first.
Selling as-is generally means you aren't obligated to make repairs and the buyer accepts the property's current condition under the agreed terms. Disclosure duties stay.
Know which repair costs you're accepting before you agree, and keep the buyer's requested work separate from anything the lender requires. Separate obligations. The general contract and as-is rules here describe common United States practice, and your own purchase contract and the rules in your state determine the exact obligation.
2. Lender-Required Repairs Can Stop Financing
Declining repairs doesn't remove a lender's property requirements. Financing still has conditions. If you're selling to a financed buyer, certain work can be required before the lender funds the purchase, whether you've agreed to pay for it or not.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 requires FHA properties to meet Minimum Property Requirements for safety, soundness and security, with the appraiser identifying the repairs needed to comply and estimating the cost to cure. That's the FHA repair standard.
Some defects stop the purchase. The same handbook requires the lender to reject a property if a defect can't be corrected or correction isn't feasible, making some repairs necessary for the FHA purchase to proceed even if you haven't agreed to cover them.
Check before authorizing work. Identify whether it came from the buyer's inspection request or the lender's requirement, then read the contract to see who's agreed to cover the cost. The lender sets the financing requirement. Your agreement addresses who pays.
3. How Cash Flow Deals Handles Repair Costs
Your out-of-pocket repair responsibility depends on the offer you choose with Cash Flow Deals: Fast Cash Offer or Premium Cash Offer. Start with those terms.
1. Cash Flow Deals offer choices: Fast Cash Offer means we buy your house as-is, with no repairs for you to make. Premium Cash Offer: More money. A pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, buys directly from you.
2. Repair scope: Only work the buyer's lender requires gets fixed under the Premium Cash Offer, and we cover those repair costs, figure out a way to front them and settle them from our share of the sale proceeds rather than your number. Nothing comes out of your pocket.
3. Agreed number, for both offers: The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens.
4. Buyer and title: For the Premium Cash Offer, you sign with us at an agreed number and let us bring a buyer in our place, then that buyer signs a new contract directly with you and their lender funds the purchase. Title passes once. The buyer purchases the home from you under that new contract, using funds from their lender.
5. Inspection and closing: Fast Cash Offer inspection is 15 business days. Closing: 30 business days, with your help choosing the date. Premium Cash Offer inspection is 30 business days. Closing: 45 to 60 business days (2 to 3 months); you help pick the date.
6. Money at closing: Anything owed against the house comes out of the sale first, including the mortgage payoff, liens, taxes, fees, closing costs, commissions and repairs, then you receive your agreed number under clause 3. We're paid last. From what's left. On the Premium Cash Offer, costs come from our share and our payment appears as a separate line item on the closing statement. Nothing comes out of your pocket.
7. Financing: The Fast Cash Offer stays a separate choice under the Premium Cash Offer, so if your buyer's loan falls through, it's our problem and you can still take our Fast Cash Offer at its own number. The failed loan is ours to handle.
8. Before signing: Nothing is binding until both sides sign a written contract, and you can take it to an attorney first. Everyone on the title is welcome on the call. We provide a same-day callback in business hours.
Compare both offers to choose the repair terms that fit your sale.
Common questions
Does the seller have to fix everything in the inspection report?
No. Your purchase contract, any repair agreement and applicable state rules decide what you're required to fix, so the inspection report alone doesn't make every repair your responsibility.
Can a seller offer a credit instead of making repairs?
Yes, if both parties agree. You can negotiate a closing credit or price reduction for an inspection repair request, but a credit alone won't satisfy a lender's requirement to finish work before funding.
Does selling as-is remove disclosure duties?
No. You generally aren't obligated to make repairs in an as-is sale, but you still have disclosure duties under applicable state rules. Those stay.
Who decides which repairs FHA financing requires?
The appraiser identifies the repairs. Under HUD Handbook 4000.1, they're the repairs needed to meet FHA Minimum Property Requirements for safety, soundness and security, and the lender must reject the property if a defect can't be corrected or correction isn't feasible.
What should I check before accepting a repair request?
Start with your contract. Check its inspection deadline and repair obligations, then separate the buyer's requested work from anything the lender requires before funding so you know what you're agreeing to cover. Different decisions.
Keep reading
Related reading
- Does a Home Inspection Still Happen If You Skip Repairs in Florida? ›
- Who Actually Pays for a Home Inspection in Florida, and How Long Does It Take? ›
- Who Pays If Your Florida House Is Damaged Before Closing? ›
- Who Pays a Real Estate Referral Fee in Florida? ›
- What an Appraisal Gap Is and Who Actually Pays It ›
- What's the Difference Between 'As-Is' and Skipping Repairs Entirely in Florida? ›