Spectora Repair Request Builder: how to use it

How does Spectora's Repair Request Builder work?

It turns your inspector's Spectora report into a shareable repair request. You tick the defects you want fixed, type a credit and a comment on each, preview it, and send the link. What it won't do is price anything. Spectora says so plainly: "the Repair Request Builder does not generate pricing estimates." So every dollar figure in your request is one you typed, and the seller's side knows it.

Kept publishes this page and is one of the pricing options below.

Key takeaways

• The builder is free and fast, but the Credit fields start blank. You supply every number.
• Texting and emailing from the builder are switched off for now. Copy the link and paste it into your own email.
• A credit with its source in the comment holds up. A bare round number usually doesn't.

How do you build a repair request in Spectora, step by step?

These are the steps from Spectora's help article, for buyers and agents:

1. On the web report, click "Report Tools" and pick "Repair Request Builder." In the client portal, click "Get Started" under "Try Repair Request Builder."
2. If there's more than one report, pick one.
3. Name the document.
4. Use "Sort Document By" to order the list: report order, severity, category, recommendation, or dollar amount.
5. Type the note you want at the top of the request.
6. Tick each defect you want, or click "Select Visible Defects" to take them all.
7. Click "Credit" on a defect to enter the amount you're asking for.
8. Click "Comment" to say whether you want a repair or a replacement, and where your number came from.
9. Click "Preview."
10. Click "Create," then open or copy the link.

Sending from the builder "has been temporarily disabled," so paste the link into an email. To print, click "View as PDF." To change a request, open its link and click "Edit RRB." Creating it again makes a new link, so tell the other side which version is current.

How does a buyer's agent get into the builder?

Through the client portal. Spectora says agents "typically only have access to the client portal" when the inspector puts the link in the agent's confirmation email or the buyer shares it. If you don't have the link, ask your buyer to forward it today. Your window is short.

What can't the Repair Request Builder do?

The inspector can also turn on a disclaimer that prints on the request. The default text reads: "Cost figures were entered by the client or their representative and were not provided, verified, or endorsed by the inspecting company." The listing agent will read that right under your numbers. That's why the comment on each line matters.

Is the Spectora Repair Request Builder free?

Yes. Spectora calls it "this free tool" in its tutorial for agents and buyers. It comes through your inspector's Spectora account, so if it's missing from the Report Tools menu, the inspector probably has it turned off. Ask them to turn it on.

Where do the dollar figures come from?

Fill each Credit field from a real source, and use the Comment field to name that source, the scope of work, and the report section. You have three options.

The Cost Estimator costs you nothing, but its ranges come from template defaults the inspector can set to any amount. Kept prices every line of an inspection report for $79, usually under 4 hours, and shows how each price is built. For the roof, foundation, sewer line, or anything else big, get 2 or 3 written bids too. How to get repair estimates during the inspection period covers getting them fast.

To lay out the whole report before you open the builder, start with the home repair estimate template.

What software do buyer's agents use for repair requests?

Usually whatever the inspector used. Spectora has the Repair Request Builder, and HomeGauge has Create Request List, which lets you add items, work on the list with your buyer, and email it. Neither one prices anything. The numbers come from the inspector's cost ranges, contractor bids, or a pricing service. For those services side by side, see every service that prices an inspection report, compared. If you're an agent doing this for every deal, pricing inspection findings for buyer's agents goes deeper.

What is an RR in real estate?

RR means repair request: the buyer's written list of inspection findings the seller is asked to fix, credit, or cover with a lower price. State forms leave little room, so agents often write "See attached list" and attach one. A Spectora request PDF works as that attachment. The formal document is covered in the repair addendum after inspection, and the buyer repair request letter template helps with the wording of each line.

Does the seller have to respond to a repair request?

Usually the seller answers, counters, or lets the deadline pass, and your contract says what happens in each case. Your contract sets the dates and terms, so confirm them with your agent. What you control is the request itself: which lines go in, and whether each one asks for a repair, a credit, or a price cut. What to ask for after a home inspection and repairs vs. credit vs. price reduction help you choose.

Should you ask for a credit or a repair in the builder?

For most items, a credit. You pick the contractor and control the work. Ask for the repair itself when your lender requires the fix before closing, since a credit won't satisfy that. See seller credit vs. price reduction for how credits play out at closing.

If your Spectora report is open, your window is closing, and the Credit fields are still blank, upload the report to Kept and get a price on every line for $79, usually under 4 hours.

Sources

• Spectora help center, Spectora's Repair Request Builder
• Spectora help center, How to View Reports Created with the Repair Request Builder
• Spectora help center, How to Use the Cost Estimator
• Spectora blog, Step-by-Step Guide to the Repair Request Builder
• Spectora on YouTube, Repair Request Builder Tutorial for Agents and Buyers
• HomeGauge, Create Request List