Ask who pays for requested repairs
When a buyer asks for a repair, write the cost and who pays it before you agree.
A request to fix something is a money question. Before you say yes, get a bid or name a credit amount. A yes without a number is a blank check. Ask who orders the work and who pays. A credit you give at closing is different from a repair you finish before the final walk. One changes the net on the statement. The other changes your week and still might not satisfy the request if the work runs long.
Write the choice in three lines: the item, the amount, and who does the work. If you will credit $1,500 and do nothing, say that. If you will hire the plumber and pay the invoice up to a number you name, say the number. If the bid is not in yet, the written response can say you will answer when the bid arrives, if the deadline allows. Do not fill the wait with a spoken promise.
Rerun the proceeds calculator with that amount filled in before you send the answer. If the credit drops you under the walk-away net, reduce the credit, decline the item, or change your net on purpose. Compare the request with bids you already refused or accepted. You may already have a number for this exact repair in the folder. Use it. A new request does not erase the old bid.
Put the three lines in the written response and save them with the offer row. At the final walk, the house should match what you agreed to finish, and the statement should match what you agreed to credit. If a repair will not be done in time, say so before the walk, not during it. Who pays is a sentence you can write today. It is a poor surprise on the last afternoon.
What to do
- Get a bid or name a credit before you agree to a repair request.
- Write who orders the work, who pays, and the amount.
- Rerun your net with that amount, and stop if it crosses your walk-away line.
- Put the choice in the written response and match the walk and the statement to it.