What’s a fair concession ask after inspection?

Recommended ask

$7,575(1.38% of price)

Open with $8,950 to leave room to negotiate down. Conservative floor: $5,303. Total findings come to $8,950 but cosmetic/minor items typically don’t move the negotiation. In a balanced market, you can expect a good-faith split.

Tactics for getting concessions

Credit at closing or price reduction > repairs done by seller. A credit lowers the cash you need at closing, though it can only cover closing costs and prepaids (not your down payment) and lenders cap it. A price reduction instead trims your loan, down payment, and monthly payment a little. For the seller the two cost about the same: either one reduces their net proceeds. Avoid having the seller do repairs. They’ll hire the cheapest contractor.

Lead with safety items, not cosmetics: sellers tune out long laundry-list asks. Focus your written request on 2-4 substantive items with bid quotes attached, not 30 nitpicks.

Get bid quotes for items > $1k: "the inspector said the roof needs attention" is weaker than "Joe’s Roofing quoted $8,200 to replace; here’s the bid."

Lender-imposed seller-credit limits (typically 3-6% depending on loan type and down payment) cap how much closing-cost credit you can take. Anything above the cap has to come as a price reduction.

Walking is a real option: if you’re within the inspection contingency window, you can walk for any reason and get earnest money back. The credible threat of walking is your biggest leverage.

Severity weights used: Safety 100% • Major 85% • Minor 50% • Cosmetic 0%. Market multipliers: Cold 1.3× • Balanced 1.0× • Hot 0.5×. Contingency multipliers: Standard 1.0× • As-is informational 0.6× • Pure as-is 0×. The recommended ask and the 1.5× opening ask are both capped at the total cost of the findings.