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The repair addendum after a home inspection
A repair addendum lists what you want fixed, credited, or reduced, line by line, for example a $2,375 water heater swap. Name the scope and the trade.
Updated · By 
Ben Sikes
What is a repair addendum after a home inspection?
A repair addendum is the document you or your agent send to the seller after the inspection, listing what you want fixed, credited, or reduced in price. States and local associations name it differently: inspection resolution, inspection response, repair amendment, or request for repairs form. Your contract sets whether an accepted addendum changes your purchase agreement. Your agent or attorney explains the version used in your state.
What does a repair addendum usually contain?
These forms carry the same parts, whatever the state calls the document. A reference line tying it to your purchase contract and the property address. A list of findings, each written as a line: what the inspector found, what you want done about it, and either a scope of work or a dollar figure. A box for the seller to accept, reject, or counter each line. Signature lines for buyer and seller. A state's version may also route a physical inspection contingency release through the same form once the seller responds; your agent or attorney explains whether your state's version does that.
Who fills in a repair addendum?
Your buyer's agent drafts it, using the inspection report and the decisions you make about what to ask for; see what to ask for after a home inspection if you haven't made those decisions yet. You sign it. The seller's agent brings it to the seller. If either side has questions about what a line means or what happens after signing, that is a question for the agent or attorney handling your file, not something this page can answer for your state. If you're the agent pricing several of these findings before drafting the addendum, see pricing inspection findings as a buyer's agent.
What is this document called in my state?
Names vary by state and by the association or commission that publishes the form. The table below lists only the states where a fetch of the association's or commission's own page today confirmed the name.
| State | Document name | Publishing body | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Amendment to Contract (TREC No. 39-11) | Texas Real Estate Commission | trec.texas.gov |
| California | Request for Repair, C.A.R. Form RR | California Association of Realtors | Name confirmed by C.A.R., current form page not independently linkable |
| Colorado | Inspection Objection Notice | Colorado Division of Real Estate | dre.colorado.gov |
| North Carolina | Due Diligence Request and Agreement, Form 310-T | NC REALTORS | ncrealtors.org |
A local form not listed here may use a different name entirely. Other names buyers report seeing for this same kind of form: inspection contingency addendum, inspection period extension addendum (used when the buyer and seller agree to extend the window itself rather than resolve findings within it), and inspection contingency release form (used to formally close out the contingency once the parties have responded). Your agent or attorney knows the one used in your state and your specific contract.
How does a priced finding become a line on the addendum?
Start from the inspector's sentence in the report. Decide what response fixes it: a specific repair, a credit at closing, or a price reduction. If you are asking for a repair, name the scope and who performs it, a licensed contractor in that trade, with receipts, not a general handyman line. If you are asking for money instead, write the dollar figure. A line with a vague description and no number ("fix roof issues") gets negotiated down; a line with a scope, a trade, and a price gets a real response.
Anatomy of one addendum line, worked example
Here is one line built the way a priced finding becomes an addendum item, using a modeled line from Kept Inspect's (usekept.com) public sample memo (a fictional Franklin, TN address).
| Part of the line | What it says |
|---|---|
| Inspector's sentence | "The water heater is 14 years old with active corrosion at the supply fittings. There is no drain pan or expansion tank, and the relief valve discharge pipe stops well short of the floor." |
| Scope of work | Replace the 14-year-old 50-gallon gas water heater, adding an expansion tank, drain pan, and code-compliant relief line. |
| Who performs it | A licensed plumber, with a paid receipt or invoice submitted at or before closing. |
| Dollar figure, if a credit instead | $2,375 (modeled, usekept.com), built from labor hours at trade wages anchored to BLS wage data for the buyer's metro, plus materials, plus the trip, permit, and disposal charges a plumber adds, plus markup, then local sales tax. |
Write the line as a repair if you want the work done and inspected before closing. Write it as a credit if you would rather choose your own plumber after closing, or if the seller pushes back on doing the work themselves.
Can I use wording examples on my addendum?
Yes, and a full worked template with copyable wording and a dollar figure on each line lives on a separate page: buyer repair request letter template.
Should I ask for the repair or the credit?
The addendum accepts either, and which one to pick depends on the finding and how much you trust the seller's contractor choice. That comparison, with when each option makes sense, is covered on its own page: repairs vs. credit vs. price reduction.
What isn't stated on the addendum itself?
The form does not tell you your state's deadline for the seller to respond, what happens if they miss it, or what signing (or not signing) does to your contract rights. Your contract sets this. Ask your agent or attorney for the date and the rule in your state before you rely on any of it.
If you're building your line items before you send the addendum, get a repair-cost memo from your inspection report, usually under 4 hours, so every line has a defensible number attached. Get your memo at Kept.
Sources
- Texas Real Estate Commission, Amendment to Contract, TREC No. 39-11 (as of 2026-09-19)
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, real estate broker contracts and forms (as of 2026-09-19)
- NC REALTORS, Due Diligence Request and Agreement, Form 310-T (as of 2026-09-19)
Cost figures are modeled from public wage and materials data unless a line says observed. Kept is accountable for the numbers on this page, and corrections go to support@usekept.com. How we price.