Buyer Asked for Repairs After the Inspection? What Naperville Sellers Should Do – Sean Gimpert

Here’s the part nobody tells Naperville sellers until it’s already sitting in their inbox. After the inspection, the buyer sends a repair list. It’s usually longer than you expected, and longer than feels fair.

The sellers who get hurt at this stage aren’t the ones with the longest list. They’re the ones who take it personally and dig in, or the ones who say “fine, I’ll fix all of it” and sign up for a contractor project in the middle of a move.

There’s a calmer way through this, and it’s the one I walk most of my sellers through.

Buyer Asked for Repairs After the Inspection? What Naperville Sellers Should Do

The Repair List Is Supposed to Be Long

When sellers call me after the inspection report comes through, they usually sound somewhere between hurt and offended. Did they even like the house?

Yes. They liked it enough to write an offer and pay somebody to crawl around in your attic.

Here’s what’s actually happening. The buyer just got a report with every single thing the inspector found. Big items, small items, the outlet by the kitchen sink, the furnace that’s due for service, the downspout dumping water next to the foundation. Their agent’s job is to ask for things. So they send you the grocery list. All of it.

If I were representing that buyer, I’d send the same list. You ask for everything because you never know what you’ll get.

That list is not a report card on how you kept your house. It’s the opening move.

Why Something Always Comes Up

The buyer should factor the condition of the home into their offer, sure. But finding the things you can’t see on a Saturday walkthrough is the whole point of an inspection.

So something is going to come up. Something always comes up. There’s too much money, emotion, and people involved in a home sale for it to be smooth sailing from start to finish.

That’s not a warning sign. It’s just how this works. Knowing that ahead of time is what keeps you steady when the list shows up.

How Repair Requests Get Worked Out in Illinois

Here in Illinois, the repair request usually gets worked out during attorney review. That window is five business days, and it can be extended if needed.

That matters for one simple reason. You are not making this decision alone at your kitchen table at eleven o’clock at night. Your attorney and your agent are both involved, and there is a defined process for responding.

Credit vs. Repairs: What I Tell Most Sellers

This is the decision that matters most at this stage, and my answer surprises people.

Most of the time, I tell sellers to give a credit. Don’t do the repairs.

I know that sounds backwards. Doing the work yourself feels like it should be cheaper. But think about what you’re actually signing up for.

You’re in the middle of a move. You’re packing. You’re probably lining up your next place. And now you’d have to:

Call people
Get quotes
Wait on callbacks
Schedule the work
Be home to let them in
Make sure it all gets done before closing

That’s a part-time job you didn’t apply for.

A credit means you’re paying for convenience. You agree on a number, it’s handled at closing, and the buyer takes care of the fix after they own the house, their way, with whoever they want. You go back to packing boxes.

Repair Requests on an As-Is Sale

Some sellers assume that listing as-is means the inspection can’t touch them. It depends on how the contract is written, and it can still come up.

In a house that needs real work, a buyer might say, “If this is truly as-is with no credits, I’m walking.” That can feel like another negotiation you didn’t sign up for. But sometimes a credit is exactly what keeps that buyer at the table and keeps your sale moving.

When that happens, we go through the list together and see what’s reasonable. The goal isn’t to win every line item. The goal is to get to closing.

Not Every Item Deserves a Yes

A credit-first approach doesn’t mean saying yes to everything.

We go through the list together, line by line, and figure out what’s reasonable. Some of it is real. Some of it is just the grocery list doing what grocery lists do.

Your response is a counter, not a surrender.

The Chess Board: How to Negotiate Without Losing the Buyer

The way I think about the repair negotiation is a chess board. The buyer made a move. Now it’s our move.

Nobody flipped the board over. Nobody walked out of the room. A long list isn’t a threat. It’s a position, and you answer a position with a move, not with your feelings.

Here’s what calms people down the most. Look at who wants this deal to close:

The buyer wants the house. They’ve already pictured their couch in your living room.
Their agent wants to close.
Their lender wants to fund the loan.
You want to move on.
I want to get you there.

There are too many aligned interests for this to fall apart unless somebody gets irrational.

The Hidden Risk: Taking It Personally

Deals do fall apart at inspection. It’s the most common place it happens. But it usually isn’t the list that ends a deal. It’s the reaction to the list.

The two reactions that cause the most damage are:

Digging in. The seller feels insulted, refuses to engage, and a buyer who was ready to close starts to wonder what else they don’t know about the house.
Over-agreeing. The seller says yes to every repair to make the tension go away, then spends the last weeks before closing chasing contractors instead of moving.

Both come from the same place: treating a normal negotiation like a personal judgment. Staying calm, thinking credit first, and responding with a reasonable counter avoids both.

What Comes Next: The Appraisal

Once the inspection clears, most sellers exhale and assume the rest is paperwork. There’s one more hurdle: the appraisal. If you want to know what the appraiser is actually looking at, and why the lender wants your house to appraise, read about the appraisal step in our Naperville market and seller articles below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to make every repair the buyer asks for?
No. A repair request is the start of a negotiation. We go through the list together and respond with what’s reasonable.

Is a credit or a repair better for the seller?
Most of the time, a credit. You’re paying for convenience, and you avoid managing contractors during a move.

When is the repair request negotiated in Illinois?
Usually during attorney review, which is five business days and can be extended if needed.

Can the inspection kill my sale?
It can, and it’s the most common point where deals fall apart. But with everyone at the table wanting the deal to close, a calm, reasonable response keeps most deals together.

Can a buyer ask for credits on an as-is sale?
It depends on how the contract is written. In homes that need real work, a credit is sometimes what keeps the buyer from walking.

Get the Whole Road From Offer to Closing

If you’re planning a sale in Naperville, the free Naperville Seller’s Guide covers pricing, prep, and everything from accepted offer to closing, including the inspection, the repair request, and the appraisal. No phone call required, just a few emails or texts from me every once in a while.

Get Your Free Naperville Seller’s Guide

Curious where your home stands before you list? Get your free Naperville home value

Sean Gimpert | O’Neil Property Group | 630-315-0723 | sean@oneilpropertygroup.com

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