The report is forty pages long, there are red items on nearly every one, and the buyer's agent has sent a repair request that reads like a renovation schedule. You are trying to work out what you actually have to fix, what you can refuse, and whether refusing loses the sale.
The short answer is that in Oklahoma you generally have to fix almost nothing, and that is not the same as saying refusing costs you nothing. This article covers what a report is for, what is genuinely negotiable, which items realistically have to be addressed, and how to respond without losing the buyer.
We buy houses without an inspection contingency, so read the last section knowing that. We are not attorneys or inspectors. What your contract requires depends on its actual terms, and whether a specific item must be disclosed or repaired is a question for a licensed Oklahoma real estate attorney.
What a report is, and is not
A home inspection is the buyer's information-gathering exercise. It is not a code compliance inspection, not a pass or fail, and not a list of things the seller is obliged to do. Our article on what a home inspector checks covers the scope.
Reports look alarming by design. Inspectors flag anything that could be a defect because their liability runs the other way, and a well-maintained thirty year old house will still generate pages of findings. That is normal and buyers frequently do not know it.
What you actually have to do
Two separate questions that get conflated.
What the contract says
Most Oklahoma residential contracts give the buyer an inspection period during which they can ask for repairs or a price reduction, and the seller can agree, counter or decline. If the parties do not agree, the buyer typically has the right to walk within that window.
Declining a repair request is a contractual option, not a breach. What it risks is the buyer exercising their own option to leave.
The specifics depend on the contract in front of you, which is why this belongs to an attorney rather than to a general article.
What the lender says
This is the part sellers underestimate. A buyer's lender may require certain conditions before funding, and that requirement is not negotiable between you and the buyer. Common ones:
- Active roof leaks, or a roof at the end of its life on some loan products
- Structural findings, which frequently trigger a requirement for an engineer's evaluation
- Missing handrails, exposed wiring and similar safety items, particularly on government backed loans
- Non-functioning heating
- Anything a carrier will not insure, because a buyer who cannot insure cannot borrow
These are the items where "no" ends the sale rather than starting a negotiation.
How to sort a forty page report in twenty minutes
- Safety and lender items. Exposed wiring, gas leaks, no heat, active leaks, structural findings. Address these or expect to lose a financed buyer
- Genuine defects with real cost. A failing water heater, a dead condenser, a sewer line the camera found. Negotiable, and a credit is frequently cleaner than a repair
- Maintenance. Caulking, a slow drain, a missing GFCI, a loose handrail. Cheap to fix and cheap goodwill; fixing these while declining the big ones reads as reasonable rather than obstructive
- Age and condition observations. "Water heater is 14 years old and near the end of its expected life." That is information, not a defect, and it is not your obligation
- Recommendations for further evaluation. Inspectors write these liberally. A recommendation is not a finding
Repair or credit
A credit at closing is frequently better for both sides. You avoid arranging work under time pressure with a contractor you did not choose carefully, and the buyer gets to control the repair and the standard.
Two caveats. Lenders limit how much seller credit they will allow, so a large credit may not be workable. And lender-required items generally have to be done rather than credited, because the condition has to be satisfied before funding.
Responding without losing the buyer
- Respond in writing and on time. Missing the window can have consequences the contract sets out
- Do not respond to everything as one block. Agree to the safety items, offer a credit on the real ones, decline the observations with a sentence each
- Get your own quotes on the big items. A buyer's estimate is frequently the high end of the range. A written contractor quote is a fact against an assumption, and our repair cost estimator gives you a starting range
- Remember what a walk costs you. Days back on market, a stale listing, and whatever the next inspection finds. Our article on days on market covers that, and our holding cost calculator puts a figure on it
- You now know about everything in that report. If the sale falls through, Oklahoma disclosure obligations regarding known defects apply to the next buyer. Our article on seller disclosure covers it, and the specifics belong to an attorney
If it falls apart anyway
Establish which of the four things actually killed it: financing, the inspection, the appraisal or insurance. The remedy differs for each, and our page on sales that fell through works through all four.
Where we come in
We buy houses in Tulsa and the surrounding towns as they are, and there is no inspection contingency in what we do. We walk the property once before the offer, what we find is priced in, and what we write down is what we close at.
That removes the renegotiation entirely, which is worth something on a house with a long report. It is not worth what an agent would net you on a house with a short one, and we will say so. If the report is mostly maintenance items and the house is otherwise sound, fix the cheap ones, hold your ground on the rest, and keep your buyer.
Where we make sense is when the report found something structural or uninsurable, when the repair number is beyond reach, or when this is the second buyer to walk. Send us the report if you have one; it makes our estimate more accurate and frequently improves the number rather than reducing it. Our offer process is free with no obligation.
The short version
- An inspection report is the buyer's information gathering. It is not a pass or fail and not a list of seller obligations
- Reports look alarming by design; a sound thirty year old house still generates pages
- Under most contracts you can agree, counter or decline. Declining is an option, not a breach, but the buyer has options too
- Lender-required items are different: safety issues, active leaks, structural findings, no heat, and anything a carrier will not insure. "No" ends the sale on those
- Sort the report into safety and lender items, real defects, maintenance, age observations and recommendations. Only the first two need real money
- Agree the cheap items and decline the observations; that reads as reasonable rather than obstructive
- A credit is frequently cleaner than a repair, subject to lender limits
- Get your own quotes. A buyer's estimate is usually the high end
- You now know about everything in that report, and disclosure obligations follow you to the next buyer
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to fix everything on the inspection report?
Generally no. Under most Oklahoma residential contracts the buyer can request repairs and the seller can agree, counter or decline. What you cannot decline without consequence are items the buyer's lender requires.
Can I refuse to make any repairs at all?
Usually yes, contractually. The buyer then has their own option, which is typically to accept, renegotiate or walk within the inspection period. Declining is a choice with a risk, not a breach.
What repairs are lenders likely to require?
Active roof leaks, structural findings, safety items like exposed wiring or missing handrails, non-functioning heating, and anything that makes the house uninsurable. Those are not negotiable between you and the buyer.
Why does the report look so bad?
Inspectors flag anything that could be a defect because their liability runs that way. A well-maintained thirty year old house will still generate pages of findings, and buyers frequently do not know that.
Is an inspection a pass or fail?
No. It is not a code compliance inspection and there is no passing grade. It is information for the buyer to decide with.
Should I offer a repair or a credit?
A credit is frequently cleaner: you avoid arranging work under time pressure and the buyer controls the standard. Lenders limit how much credit they allow, and lender-required items generally must be done rather than credited.
How do I sort a forty page report?
Into safety and lender items, genuine defects with real cost, maintenance, age observations, and recommendations for further evaluation. Only the first two categories need real money.
What is an age observation?
A note that something is near the end of its expected life, such as a fourteen year old water heater that currently works. That is information rather than a defect and it is not your obligation.
The report recommends further evaluation. Do I have to get one?
Inspectors write those liberally and a recommendation is not a finding. Whether it is worth getting depends on the item; a structural recommendation is different from a suggestion to have a chimney looked at.
Should I fix the small stuff?
Usually yes. Caulking, a slow drain, a missing GFCI and a loose handrail are cheap, and agreeing them while declining the large items reads as reasonable rather than obstructive.
Should I get my own quotes?
Yes. A buyer's estimate is frequently the high end of the range, and a written contractor quote is a fact against an assumption. It is the most useful thing you can do in a repair negotiation.
What happens if we cannot agree?
The buyer typically has the right to terminate within the inspection period under most contracts. What yours says specifically is a question for your agent or an attorney.
What does losing the buyer actually cost me?
Days back on market, a listing that reads as stale, and whatever the next inspection finds. That cost belongs in the decision alongside the repair figure.
Do I have to disclose what the inspection found?
Oklahoma places disclosure obligations on residential sellers regarding known defects, and a report you have read is knowledge. It follows you to the next buyer. The specifics belong to a real estate attorney.
Can I get my own inspection before listing?
You can, and it cuts both ways: you find out early and can fix things calmly, but you also now know about everything in it for disclosure purposes. Worth discussing with an attorney or agent first.
What if the same item comes up with the next buyer?
It will. That is the argument for fixing genuine defects rather than declining and relisting: the next inspector finds the same thing.
Does a cash buyer inspect the house?
We walk it once before the offer rather than after, so what we find is priced in rather than renegotiated later. There is no inspection contingency to come back through.
Should I send you the inspection report?
Yes. It makes our estimate more accurate, and accurate estimates frequently improve the number rather than reducing it. Guessing is what makes an offer conservative.
Is it worth fixing the roof before relisting?
If a lender or an insurer is the obstacle, frequently yes, because otherwise every financed buyer hits the same wall. If it is an age observation on a roof with life left, usually not.
What if this is the second buyer to walk?
Establish what killed each one. Two walks on the same finding means the finding is the problem rather than the buyers, and repeating the process is expensive.
Can the buyer ask for repairs after the inspection period ends?
That depends on the contract and on what the deadlines were. Missing or observing those windows matters, which is why responding in writing and on time is worth doing carefully.
Will you buy a house that failed an inspection?
Yes, and it is a common call. Send the report; it speeds everything up and it does not count against you.
We buy houses without an inspection contingency, so read the last section knowing that. We are not attorneys or inspectors. What your contract requires depends on its actual terms, and whether a specific item must be disclosed or repaired is a question for a licensed Oklahoma real estate attorney.
Repair list beyond reach?
We walk the house once, price what we find, and close at the number we wrote down.
- A written offer within 24 hours, not a range on the phone
- No repairs, no cleaning, no fees, and no showings
- If listing would net you more, we say so
No fees, no obligation, and your property is never listed publicly.