Buyer repair request letter template and sample

What goes in a repair request letter after a home inspection?

Every line of a good repair request names four things: the finding in the inspector's words, the report section it came from, the fix you want, and a dollar figure with its basis. Keep it to one numbered line per finding and a total at the bottom. If you haven't decided which findings belong on the list, start with what to ask for after a home inspection.

Key takeaways

• One finding per line, so the seller can say yes to some items without reopening the whole request.
• Every amount needs a basis: a dated contractor quote or an itemized cost breakdown.
• Your agent usually moves this wording onto the form your market already uses, so write it to be copied.

What does a repair request letter template look like?

Fill the brackets and send it to your agent. It isn't a legal form. It's the wording that goes onto, or gets attached to, the form your agent already uses.

To: [Seller's name], c/o [Seller's agent name] From: [Buyer's name], c/o [Buyer's agent name] Property: [Property address] Date: [Date]

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Following the home inspection completed on [inspection date], I am requesting the items below be addressed before closing. Each item lists the finding, where it appears in the report, what I am asking for, and the basis for the amount.

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1. Finding: [finding, in the inspector's exact words]. Report: [section or page]. Ask: [repair / replace / credit] for [scope of the work]. Amount: $[amount] ([basis, for example: contractor quote dated [date], or itemized repair-cost memo]). 2. Finding: [finding]. Report: [section or page]. Ask: [remedy]. Amount: $[amount] ([basis]). 3. Finding: [finding]. Report: [section or page]. Ask: [remedy]. Amount: $[amount] ([basis]).

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Total requested: $[sum of amounts].

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[Buyer's name] [Buyer's agent name and contact]

If the report names a recommended fix, copy it into the Ask. If it doesn't, ask to correct the condition and let the contractor's quote set the scope.

Kept prices every line of an inspection report for $79, usually under 4 hours.

What does a filled-in repair request letter sample look like?

This sample uses the three lines from Kept's public sample memo for a house in Franklin, TN (Nashville metro). Each amount is labor, materials, and the charges a contractor adds (trip, disposal, permit, markup), before sales tax.

To: The sellers, c/o their listing agent From: The buyers, c/o our buyer's agent Property: [Street address], Franklin, TN Date: September 23, 2026

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Following our home inspection, we ask that the three items below be repaired by licensed contractors before closing. Report pages and cost breakdowns are attached.

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1. Roofing. Finding: shingles on the rear slope are cracked and losing granules, with several lifted tabs. Report: Roofing section, rear roof slope. Ask: replace approximately 140 square feet of cracked and lifted asphalt shingles on the rear slope, including new underlayment. Amount: $1,439 (Kept repair-cost memo, Nashville metro labor and materials). 2. Plumbing. Finding: the water heater is 14 years old with active corrosion at the supply fittings, no drain pan or expansion tank, and a relief valve discharge pipe that stops well short of the floor. Report: Plumbing section, utility room. Ask: replace the 50-gallon gas water heater, adding an expansion tank, drain pan, and code-compliant relief line. Amount: $2,375 (Kept repair-cost memo, includes the permit). 3. Exterior. Finding: three downspouts discharge directly at the foundation. Report: Exterior section, front and left side. Ask: extend the 3 downspouts to discharge at least 4 feet from the foundation, with splash blocks at each outlet. Amount: $293 (Kept repair-cost memo).

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Total requested: $4,107. We will accept a closing credit of the same total in place of the work.

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The buyers

These are priced estimates, not contractor quotes, so the breakdown goes with the letter to make each amount checkable.

What is a good sentence for a repair request?

A weak line names a system. A strong one names the defect, the report section, and the fix, so the seller's agent can take one clear item to their client. In the letter, the dollar figure goes on the same line.

How do you ask for a credit instead of repairs?

Keep the same findings and amounts, change the opening line, and drop the Ask. The seller then has a number to agree to and nothing to schedule.

In place of repairs, I am requesting a closing credit for the items below, based on the inspection report completed on [inspection date].

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1. Finding: [finding]. Report: [section or page]. Amount: $[amount] ([basis]).

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Total credit requested: $[sum].

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defines a seller credit as "the amount the seller has agreed to contribute to your closing costs." Your loan program may cap it, so check the math in seller credit vs. price reduction before you send.

What should you attach to the request?

• The report pages for each finding, so the seller's side can check your wording against the source.
• The report photo of each finding, if there is one.
• A dated contractor quote for anything that needs a specialist, such as foundation movement, a whole-house repipe, or regrading.
• The itemized breakdown behind every other amount, so no figure stands alone.

Does this go on my state's repair request form?

It depends on your state and brokerage. Where a standard form exists, called something like a request for repairs or an inspection response, your agent usually sends the request on it. California's Buyer's Request for Repairs form, for example, gives the buyer blank lines to list defects, with no set place for a report section, a fix, or a cost. Paste your lines into those blanks, or attach the letter as a supporting page.

Once both sides sign, the agreed items become your repair addendum.

Does the seller have to respond to a repair request?

Usually the seller agrees, counters on some items, or declines. Your contract sets the response deadline and what happens if the seller says no, so confirm both with your agent. If the answer is no, read can you back out after the inspection.

How many items should go on the list?

Only the ones that matter: safety issues, major systems, and anything your lender flags. Cosmetic items dilute the list and hand the seller easy refusals. The biggest red flags in a home inspection are the ones worth a line.

If your window closes in days and you still need a dollar figure for each line, upload your inspection report at usekept.com.

Sources

• first tuesday Journal, Form of the Week: Property Inspection, Buyer's Request for Repairs and Final Walk-Through Inspection Forms 269 and 270
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Closing Disclosure explainer