Buyers ask us on almost every inspection what to do once the report is in their hands. The answer starts with a written request, not the repair list.
C.A.R. Form RR, “Request for Repair (Or other Corrective Action),” says: “BUYER REQUEST (Check all that apply).” The form also says the seller has no obligation to respond.
That sentence changes the way you write the request. You are not issuing an order. You are asking the seller to accept a defined package before the transaction moves forward. The inspection report itself orders no one to repair anything, as we explain in which repairs are mandatory after a California home inspection.
Our copy of the form is the 12/18 revision. C.A.R. revises its forms, so check the revision printed on the form you actually sign and ask your agent which one applies to your purchase agreement.
Form RR gives you four different asks
You can check more than one box. You sign and date the request, and you can attach the inspection report or another report identified on the form.
A repair request asks the seller to repair each listed item or take the other specified action before final verification of condition. You can list the work on the form or on an attached list with a date.
The pest section works differently. You can request Section 1 work or Section 2 work specified in an attached Pest Control Report. You ask the seller to pay to have that work completed. If you request either type of pest work, the seller must deliver a written pest control certification showing the corrective work is done no later than five days before close of escrow, unless another number of days is used in the agreement.
A credit request asks the seller to credit you a dollar amount at close of escrow. The form says that credit is separate from, and does not reduce or replace, another credit in the agreement unless the parties specifically agree in writing in an addendum.
A price reduction asks the seller to reduce the purchase price to a stated dollar figure. That changes the contract price. Ask the agent and loan officer how that request interacts with the appraisal and loan.
Choose the ask that fits the problem
Our rule of thumb is simple. Ask for a repair when the problem is safety critical, permit required, or concealed, and you want the seller’s contractor accountable for the work and paperwork.
That can include a gas issue, an electrical panel problem, an active leak, or a roof finding. The request needs to identify the work. “Repair the active leak at the hall bathroom supply connection” gives the seller a defined task. “Fix plumbing” does not.
A credit fits cosmetic conditions, aging equipment that still works, or work you plan to handle yourself with your own contractor after closing. You control the contractor and the scope after the transaction closes.
A price reduction can be cleaner for a large finding when changing the purchase price makes sense for the transaction. It still changes the contract price. Your agent and lender need to review the effect on the appraisal and loan before you choose it.
Read the report with the finding and its limits in view. Our guide to reading a California home inspection report explains why a report condition may need a specialist before you choose a remedy. Our guide to what a home inspection covers and what needs a specialist covers that boundary directly.
Put a number on a credit only after you have a written quote
Do not choose a credit amount from a guess. Get a licensed contractor’s written estimate for the work you want covered.
The estimate gives the request a defined number and a defined scope. If the issue needs a roofer, electrician, plumber, pest professional, or another specialist, get the appropriate estimate before writing the credit figure. Our contractor license guide for inspection referrals can help you identify the licensing question.
Form RR warns that the credit may not be enough to remedy all defects or repairs. That warning belongs next to the number you write. A credit is not automatically a promise that every condition in the report will be fixed.
The form also says credits must be disclosed to the buyer’s lender. That disclosure needs to happen before the figure becomes part of the request.
Ask the lender before you write the figure
Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide describes interested party contributions as contributions from parties with a vested interest in the transaction, including the seller, that cover costs normally the buyer’s responsibility. They can be financing concessions or sales concessions.
For a principal residence or second home, Fannie Mae permits financing concessions toward the borrower’s closing costs, including prepaids, subject to limits calculated using the lower of the sales price or appraised value:
- 3 percent when LTV or CLTV is above 90 percent.
- 6 percent when LTV or CLTV is 75.01 percent to 90 percent.
- 9 percent when LTV or CLTV is 75 percent or less.
For an investment property, the limit is 2 percent at all CLTV ratios. Financing concessions cannot exceed the borrower’s total closing costs. An amount above the limit is treated as a sales concession. Common and customary seller-paid fees under local custom are not subject to the maximums.
Fannie Mae deducts a sales concession from the sales price and recalculates LTV.
The Fannie Mae material does not mention repair credits or price reductions. We are not stating that a repair credit is or is not an interested party contribution. The point is narrower and practical: Form RR says the credit must be disclosed to the lender, and conventional financing has limits on seller contributions toward closing costs.
Before you put a dollar figure in paragraph 1(c), ask the loan officer in writing how that lender will treat a seller credit at closing. Ask for the maximum on this loan based on the loan type, down payment, and occupancy.
FHA, VA, and jumbo rules were not checked here. Ask the loan officer about those rules.
Do not create a side deal or cash-back arrangement the lender does not know about. Fannie Mae says loans with undisclosed interested party contributions are ineligible for sale to Fannie Mae, including contributions given outside closing and not shown on the settlement statement.
Write the request so the seller can say yes
A request with a clear list gives the seller something specific to accept. A request with broad language creates another round of questions.
- Attach the inspection report or other report and identify it on the form.
- List each requested item by location and result.
- Group the items by priority, with safety and active water conditions first.
- State the requested action, payment, credit, or price reduction.
- Keep the request short and leave cosmetic items out unless they are part of the actual decision.
If you request pest work, identify the attached Pest Control Report, its date, and its preparer. The form calls for those details.
The California home inspection checklist can help you organize the findings before you draft the request. The request itself should still focus on the items you want the seller to address.
The seller may say no or may say nothing. That makes clarity matter. You are asking for a response to a written package, not asking the seller to interpret a 40-item report.
The seller’s yes can cost you your inspection contingency
A seller agreement to all of your requests is not just a repair promise. Form RR states three conditions.
First, you remove the physical inspection contingency. Second, you remove the contingencies identified on an attached C.A.R. Form CR, which you must sign. Third, you release the seller and brokers from any loss, liability, expense, claim, or cause of action regarding the disclosed condition of the property.
The form’s response section calls this a release. At the bottom, the buyer confirms removal of the physical inspection contingencies and the contingencies identified on the signed CR form, and agrees to the release.
That is a package. Do not sign the response until the repair list is exact, the contingencies being removed are the ones you mean to remove, and you understand the release. Ask your agent, broker, or a real estate attorney about contract and legal questions. We inspect houses.
Read whether you should waive the inspection contingency in California before signing a response that removes it.
Silence, rejection, and a counter each require a different decision
Silence is allowed by the form’s own note. The seller has no obligation to respond to the buyer’s request.
If the seller does not agree to any request, the seller can select that response. You then choose whether to proceed, cancel, or ask again under the rights and deadlines in your agreement. The request itself does not make that decision for you.
If the seller wants to counter, the response section directs the seller to respond on the attached C.A.R. Form RRRR. We are not describing that form’s contents here. The point is that a counter is different from agreement to all of your original requests.
A repair request also does not stop the contingency clock. Only a written removal, cancellation, or extension signed by both sides moves the date. Check the California inspection contingency timeline while the request is being prepared.
Count the days before the deadline. A request that arrives late is still a request, but the calendar keeps moving.
After yes, verify the work before close of escrow
Get the agreement in writing. Then verify the work before close of escrow.
Ask for invoices and paid receipts. Ask for permit finals when permits apply. Safety items may require re-inspection. Pest work requested under paragraph 1(b) requires the written pest control certification no later than five days before close of escrow, or another number of days stated in the agreement.
Our repair verification guide covers the documents and checks to request.
Inspection.re offers re-inspection after seller repairs. The flat rate is based on scope and is quoted when you call. The report is delivered the same day, within six to eight hours. A Matterport 3D tour can show findings tagged in place. Our inspectors are InterNACHI certified and inspect to InterNACHI Standards of Practice. Those standards do not cover concealed or latent defects.
The buyer or the buyer’s agent orders the re-inspection. The person who orders it pays for it. Call 1-888-88-INSP-9 for the scope and quote.
These requests fail in predictable ways
We typically see buyers make the same mistakes after the report arrives.
They ask for every item on a 40-item report. The seller receives a long list with no distinction between safety conditions, maintenance, and cosmetics.
They put cosmetic requests beside safety items. That makes the serious condition harder to identify.
They write a credit with no written quote. The number has no documented scope, and the form itself warns that the credit may not cover all defects or repairs.
They fail to tell the lender. The credit then becomes a financing question after the request has already been written.
They remove contingencies in the same breath as the repair agreement without realizing that the seller’s acceptance includes the removal and release conditions stated in Form RR.
They let the request arrive after the deadline because nobody counted the days. A repair request does not pause the contingency clock.
A seller who wants to head off buyer requests can consider a pre-listing inspection before listing. That does not change the Form RR process, but it puts the condition questions earlier in the transaction.
Quick answers for the escrow file
Can I ask for both repairs and a credit?
Yes, Form RR lets the buyer check all that apply. Whether a particular combination makes sense is a question for the agent.
Does the seller have to answer?
No. Form RR states that the seller has no obligation to respond to the buyer’s request.
Does the request pause the inspection contingency clock?
No. The request does not stop the clock. Written removal, cancellation, or extension signed by both sides is what moves the date. Review the contingency timeline and waiver rules.
What if the seller is a bank?
Use the transaction documents and ask the agent about the response process. Bank-owned property can involve different transaction instructions. Read the guidance on inspecting a foreclosure or bank-owned home. We are not asserting bank rules here.
Who pays for the re-inspection?
Whoever orders it pays for it. Inspection.re quotes a flat rate based on scope by phone. Call 1-888-88-INSP-9.
Change the request before you send it
Choose the remedy before you draft the paragraph. Use a repair request for defined work you want the seller’s contractor to complete and document. Use a credit for work you plan to control after closing, but get a written estimate and ask the lender how the credit will be treated. Use a price reduction only after the agent and lender review the changed contract price.
Attach the report. Name each item by location and result. Count the deadline. Read the seller’s response conditions before signing. Verify the work before close of escrow.
For an inspection or re-inspection, call Inspection.re at 1-888-88-INSP-9 or schedule an inspection. You can also review what is included, read the questions buyers ask us most, and look at a sample same-day report to see what your repair list will be built from.
If you are still weighing what an inspection costs and who pays, read how much a home inspection costs in California. We inspect across the state, from Los Angeles and San Diego to Temecula.
Before you fill in the form, decide which findings are worth asking the seller about and leave the rest on your own list.
