What Repairs Do Georgia Sellers Have to Make After an Inspection?

What repairs do Georgia sellers have to make after a buyer's inspection? On a Georgia purchase contract with a due diligence period, the inspection itself creates no list of required repairs. The buyer's protection during that window is the right to walk away, and a repair becomes the seller's obligation only once the seller agrees to it in a signed amendment. Two things can still put repairs on the table: a buyer's loan whose rules call for certain work before closing, and the terms you agree to while the window is open. The contract you sign controls, so read it with a Georgia real estate attorney.

An inspection report describes a house. The repair request that follows describes a buyer: the findings this person needs settled before going forward. Read that way, each line on the request becomes a question about what the buyer needs, and a seller can answer questions one at a time, with the facts in hand.

This guide is from Andrew and Jassey Nguyen. NRG Nguyen Realty Group is a real estate team with Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road helping sellers in Atlanta, Georgia answer a buyer's inspection with a clear plan. Our guide to the due diligence period in Georgia explains that window from the buyer's side. This one sits on the other side of the table, with the request in your hands.

What does a Georgia seller owe the buyer after the inspection?

Three things, and none of them is a blanket duty to fix what the inspector found.

The first is a timely answer. During due diligence, the clock keeps running while the two sides talk, as our guide to that period explains, and more time comes only if both sides agree to it in writing. A slow reply spends days that belong to the decision.

The second is what you agree to. Once you sign an amendment promising a repair, a credit or a new price, that promise is part of the contract. Do the work the way the amendment describes it, by the date it sets, and keep the paperwork.

The third is the disclosure you already gave. In a sale using the Georgia REALTORS® forms, the Seller's Property Disclosure Statement travels with the contract as an exhibit. If the inspection surfaces something you now know about, ask a Georgia real estate attorney how that affects your disclosure, especially if this buyer walks away. Our guide to the seller's property disclosure in Georgia covers that form and how to prepare it.

How should a seller read a repair request?

Slowly, and item by item. The request arrives in writing as a proposed amendment from the buyer's side. Every line is a proposal, and you can accept it, decline it, or answer with something different.

Start by sorting the list into three groups. The first holds safety, water, structure and the major systems: the roof, the electrical panel, the heating and cooling, the foundation, signs of moisture. These deserve your closest attention, since they touch how the home holds up. The second holds items the buyer's lender may require, which the next section explains. The third holds the small items: a loose handrail, a dripping faucet, a missing outlet cover, a sticking door.

Then compare the list with your disclosure. An item you already disclosed, with a repair invoice behind it, can be answered with the invoice. An item you never knew about is new information, and it deserves a careful look before you decide.

Ask, too, whether the buyer will share the pages of the inspection report behind each request. A one-line request reads differently from the inspector's photo and full description.

When does a buyer's loan require repairs?

This is the part of the sale where a repair can become necessary for that loan to close, whatever the contract says about inspections.

For a conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae, the appraisal report must identify physical deficiencies that could affect a property's safety, soundness or structural integrity. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide says that when the appraiser has identified any of these deficiencies, "the property must be appraised 'subject to' completion of the specific repairs or alterations." Minor conditions can be appraised as they stand. The guide's examples include "worn floor finishes or carpet, minor plumbing leaks, holes in window screens, missing handrails, or cracked window glass."

For an FHA loan, HUD's Handbook 4000.1 tells the appraiser to limit required repairs to those needed to "maintain the safety, security and soundness of the Property," to "preserve the continued marketability of the Property," and to "protect the health and safety of the occupants." Cosmetic or minor repairs are not required. The handbook also says, "If an element is functioning well but has not reached the end of its useful life, the Appraiser should not recommend replacement because of age." The lender has the final word: "Regardless of the Appraiser's suggested repairs, the Mortgagee will determine which repairs are required." HUD also reminds buyers that FHA does not perform home inspections, and that an appraisal does not replace one.

For a VA loan, the department's Home Loan Guaranty Buyer's Guide says the notice of value that follows the appraisal includes "a list of items requiring repair to meet VA minimum property requirements."

So a buyer's request and a lender's requirement are two different lists. The buyer's list is open to negotiation. The lender's list decides whether that loan can close as written. Who pays for the lender's items is still something the two sides agree on, and the answer belongs in writing, but the work itself has to be done or the financing has to change. Our guide to what happens if the appraisal comes in low in Georgia covers the value side of the same report.

Should I make the repair, give a credit or lower the price?

Each answer moves the work and the risk to a different place.

A repair keeps the price where it is and puts the work on your calendar. You hire the contractor, you pay for the work, and you deliver proof before closing. It suits a contained, clearly described item, and it suits anything a buyer's lender requires to be finished before the loan closes.

A credit hands the work to the buyer. Instead of hiring anyone, you agree to pay part of the buyer's costs at closing, and the buyer handles the repair after the home is theirs. The buyer's loan decides how much credit it will allow. On a loan sold to Fannie Mae, a seller's contribution is an interested party contribution, and the Selling Guide says it may not be used "to make the borrower's down payment, meet financial reserve requirements, or meet minimum borrower contribution requirements." The same page says financing concessions must be equal to or less than the sum of the borrower's closing costs, and it caps them at 3% to 9% of the lower of the price or the appraised value for a principal residence or second home, depending on the loan-to-value ratio. Before agreeing to a credit, ask the buyer's side to confirm with their lender that it fits.

A lower price changes the number the whole sale is measured against. The buyer's loan and the appraisal both read the new price, so ask the buyer's side how a reduction would change their financing. Ask your closing attorney how each choice would appear on your settlement statement.

A request can end in a mix: one item repaired, one credited, a few declined. Our article on whether you need to renovate before selling in Atlanta covers the repairs worth making before a buyer ever walks in, which can shorten this list before it is written.

How do I answer a repair request, step by step?

This is the order our team walks sellers through when the amendment arrives.

1. Find the due diligence deadline, both the date and the time, and write it where you will see it.
2. Read the full request, and ask for the inspection report pages behind each item.
3. Sort the items into safety and major systems, lender requirements, and small items.
4. Check each item against your disclosure and your records.
5. Ask a contractor to look at any item whose scope or cause is unclear, so your answer rests on facts.
6. Choose an answer for each item: repair, credit, price, or decline.
7. Put your answer in writing as a counter amendment, with the details spelled out.
8. Once both sides sign, book the work right away, and keep every invoice and receipt.
9. Tell our team and your closing attorney at once if any work is running late.

Step seven deserves the most care. A repair line should say what the work is, who will do it, whether that person must be licensed and insured for the trade, what proof the buyer receives, and the date it will be finished. "Repair the roof" leaves every one of those open. "Repair the roof leak above the back bedroom, by a licensed roofing contractor, with an invoice describing the work delivered before closing" answers each of those questions. When a contractor is involved, ask for proof of license and insurance and ask whether the work needs a permit.

What mistakes do sellers make with inspection requests?

The first is reading the report as a judgment of the home. A report lists what the inspector observed, and a long report on a well cared for house is still a long report. Sort it before reacting to it.

The second is declining everything on principle. If this buyer walks away during due diligence, the next buyer's inspector walks the same house, and anything you learned from this report is now something you know. Weigh each refusal against starting over.

The third is agreeing to vague terms. A loose promise invites a disagreement before closing about whether the work was done, and by whom.

The fourth is promising work without checking the calendar. A repair that needs a specialist, a part or a permit has to fit between the signed amendment and the closing date. Call the contractor before you sign.

The fifth is offering a credit the buyer's loan cannot use. A credit that exceeds what the lender allows has to be reworked late in the sale. Confirm it first.

The sixth is letting the window run out. When the request sits unanswered, the buyer reaches the deadline with no agreement and has to choose in a hurry.

What can this look like in practice?

This is an example, not a real client.

Picture a seller with a two-story home in metro Atlanta, built in the 1990s, under contract with a buyer using an FHA loan. The buyer's amendment asks for a new roof, a new water heater, repair of soft wood around a back door, and a list of small items: a loose stair rail, a missing outlet cover, a dripping bathroom faucet.

The seller and our team sort the list. A roofer looks at the roof and reports it is working, with years of life left. The water heater works and is older. The soft wood around the door is real, and the appraiser has also noted peeling exterior paint there that exposes the wood to the weather, which HUD's handbook requires to be repaired on a home built in or after 1978. The small items are minor.

The seller answers with a counter amendment. The door frame and the exterior paint will be repaired by a licensed contractor, with an invoice before closing, which addresses the appraiser's note. The stair rail will be secured. The roof and water heater are declined, with the roofer's written notes attached. In place of the remaining small items, the seller offers a modest credit, and the buyer's side confirms with the lender that it fits. The buyer accepts before due diligence ends, the work is finished two weeks ahead of closing, and the invoices go to the buyer's agent and the closing attorney.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Georgia seller have to fix anything after an inspection? On a Georgia contract with a due diligence period, the inspection by itself creates no repair list. Repairs become yours when you agree to them in a signed amendment, and a buyer's loan may require certain work before it can close. Read your own contract with a Georgia real estate attorney.

Can the buyer cancel if I decline the repairs? While due diligence is open on a Georgia contract that includes it, the buyer can generally terminate by written notice delivered the way the contract requires, as our due diligence guide explains. After that window closes, the buyer's ways out become narrower.

Who pays for repairs the buyer's lender requires? The buyer and seller agree on that in writing. The lender decides which items must be finished for the loan to close, and the parties decide who pays for them.

Is a credit simpler than a repair? A credit moves the work to the buyer, and the buyer's loan sets limits on how a credit may be used. A repair keeps the work with you and needs a contractor who can finish before closing. The right choice depends on the item and the loan.

Can I do the repairs myself? That depends on what the amendment says. If it calls for a licensed contractor, the work has to be done by one. Agree on who does the work before you sign.

What if the repairs are not finished by closing? Tell our team and your closing attorney as soon as you see it coming. The amendment and the contract set the terms, and any change to the date or the work needs a new written agreement.

Answer the request with a plan

A repair request asks one question many times over: what does this buyer need to go forward? Answered item by item, with the deadline in view and every promise in writing, it becomes one more step toward the closing table. When the work is done and the date arrives, our guide to what happens at a Georgia closing when you're the seller covers the day itself.

NRG Nguyen Realty Group is a real estate team with Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road helping sellers in Atlanta, Georgia answer a buyer's inspection with a clear plan. Our team can read the request with you, sort it, and help you put your answer in writing before the window closes.

Send us a message: nrgmovesyou.com/contact

Or book a 15-minute discovery call with our team: schedule a call

Andrew and Jassey Nguyen

NRG Nguyen Realty Group

Real Estate Agents in Atlanta, GA

678-743-1586

nrgmovesyou.com

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Contract forms and loan rules change, so review your own contract with a Georgia real estate attorney and ask the buyer's lender about its requirements.