Negotiating Repairs After a Home Inspection in Florida: Repairs, Credits or Walking Away

Can you negotiate after a home inspection in Florida?

Negotiating repairs after a home inspection in Florida is normal, expected and, for most resale homes, worth the effort. Nearly every report on an existing house lists findings, and the short stretch between the report and the end of the inspection period is when a buyer has the most say. What you can ask for, and what happens if the seller says no, is set by the contract you signed, not by local custom or by what a friend did when buying in another state.

This guide follows a buyer from the report to the closing table: how the two Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contracts treat inspections, how to rank findings, how to choose between repairs, a credit and a lower price, how insurance reports shift the conversation, and how to confirm that agreed work was actually done. It explains the printed contract forms in plain English. It is not legal advice, and your real estate agent or a Florida real estate attorney should confirm what your own contract allows before you send anything to the seller.

One principle runs through all of it: the report is your evidence. A request built on photos, locations and an inspector's description of each condition is much harder to wave away than a list of worries. That is why the order rarely changes. Book an independent home inspection for buyers in the first days, read the whole report, get specialist opinions where it recommends them, and only then decide what to ask for.

Which Florida contract did you sign? AS IS versus standard

Most Florida resale contracts are written on forms approved jointly by Florida Realtors and The Florida Bar, usually called FR/BAR forms. There are two residential versions, and they handle repairs in opposite ways. Check the footer printed on every page of your contract. "FloridaRealtors/FloridaBar-ASIS" marks the "AS IS" Residential Contract For Sale And Purchase. "FloridaRealtors/FloridaBar" without ASIS marks the standard Residential Contract For Sale And Purchase.

A third form is worth knowing about. Florida Realtors also publishes its own Contract for Residential Sale and Purchase, marked CRSP, which is not a Florida Bar form and uses different default deadlines. In the version we read, for example, the buyer's notice of items needing repair is due within 5 days after its inspection period ends. If your footer says CRSP, go through its inspection paragraph line by line with your agent rather than relying on anything written about the FR/BAR forms.

For this guide we read the FR/BAR forms Florida Realtors posted in 2026 as revisions of the December 2024 editions. The inspection and repair paragraphs described below read the same in both. Forms do change, and riders, addenda and handwritten terms control over the printed text, so the signed copy in your hands is the one that counts.

Negotiating repairs under the Florida AS IS contract

In the AS IS form, Paragraph 12(a) gives you the number of days written in the blank, or 15 days after the Effective Date if it was left empty, to have any inspections you want. If you decide, in your sole discretion, that the property is not acceptable, you can end the contract by delivering written notice to the seller before the period expires, and the deposit comes back to you. On condition, the seller's main promise is to keep the property as it was on the Effective Date, apart from ordinary wear and tear and casualty loss.

That is the whole source of your leverage. The seller has no duty to repair, but it also knows you can walk away until the deadline, and that the next buyer's inspector will likely report the same roof, the same panel and the same stained ceiling. Many AS IS sellers would rather settle a reasonable request than put the house back on the market. A smaller group will refuse everything, and the form allows them to.

How an AS IS negotiation actually works

You send a request through your agent. The seller agrees, makes a counteroffer or declines. Anything you agree on has to be written into an amendment, because the form says no change to the contract is binding unless it is in writing and executed by the parties. A text message from the listing agent saying "the seller will take care of it" is not an amendment. Your agent or attorney will know which amendment form to use and how to word it.

The deadline does not wait for the seller

The inspection period keeps counting while the request is being considered. If the deadline arrives with no signed amendment and no written extension, you are left with two choices: deliver a written cancellation in time, or let the period pass. Letting it pass means you accept the physical condition of the property, along with any building, environmental and safety code violations, and you become responsible for any repairs your lender requires. For the rules on counting those days, see our guide to how the AS IS inspection period works.

Permits and warranties under the AS IS form

If your inspections turn up open permits or work that needed one, Paragraph 12(c) has the seller hand over the plans and documents it has and cooperate in good faith while you get estimates, including signing the authorizations those estimates need. It does not require the seller to spend any money to fix the problem. Paragraph 12(d) lets you take over assignable repair, treatment and maintenance contracts and warranties at closing, at your option and cost. A transferable roof or termite warranty can be worth asking about during the negotiation.

The standard FR/BAR contract: repair items and repair limits

The standard Residential Contract For Sale And Purchase works the other way around. The seller promises that certain parts of the house are in a stated condition, and your inspection is how you prove that something is not. The inspection period also defaults to 15 days after the Effective Date, but what you deliver before it ends is a written notice of items that fall short, not a cancellation.

What the seller has to repair

Paragraph 12(b)(ii) lists the items. The ceiling, the roof (including fascia and soffits), exterior and interior walls, doors, windows and the foundation must be free of leaks, water damage and structural damage. The pool and its equipment, non-leased major appliances, heating, cooling, mechanical, electrical, security, sprinkler, septic and plumbing systems, plus seawalls, docks and boat lifts, must be in "Working Condition," which the form defines as operating the way the item was designed to operate. Torn screens, fogged windows and missing roof tiles or shingles must be repaired or replaced before closing.

Just as important is what the seller does not have to fix. "Cosmetic Conditions" are excluded unless a defect in a covered item caused them. The form's examples include pitted marcite, worn or stained floor coverings, nail holes, scratches, dents and chips, caulking, and minor cracks in walls, floor tiles, windows, driveways, pool decks and garage floors. And one sentence matters a great deal in Florida: cracked roof tiles, curling or worn shingles and limited roof life are not defects the seller must repair, as long as there is no evidence of actual leaks, leakage or structural damage.

How the repair process runs

The inspection has to be done by a "Professional Inspector," meaning someone licensed, where the law requires it, to perform home inspections, or someone with a Florida license to repair and maintain the items inspected. Within the inspection period, you deliver written notice of the items that are not in the required condition, and the relevant pages of the report if the seller asks for them in writing. The seller then has 10 days to do one of three things: complete the repairs, get an estimate from an appropriately licensed person, or order a second inspection. If the two reports disagree and the parties cannot settle it, they choose a third Professional Inspector together, split the fee, and that report binds both sides.

Repair limits, and what happens when costs go over

Paragraph 9(a) caps what the seller must spend. Each cap is a dollar amount or a percentage of the purchase price written in the blank, and each defaults to 1.5% of the purchase price if left empty: one for general repairs (the General Repair Limit), one for termite and other wood-destroying organism treatment and repairs (the WDO Repair Limit) and one for open, expired or missing building permits (the Permit Limit). When the estimated repairs come in under the limit, the seller has them made. When they come in over it, then within 5 days after a party receives the last estimate the seller may agree to pay the excess, or you may choose which repairs the seller makes up to the limit and accept the rest as is. If neither of you sends that notice, either party may end the contract, and your deposit is refunded.

If the seller cannot finish required repairs before closing, the form calls for 125% of the estimated cost, but no more than the applicable limit, to be held in escrow at closing. Any repairs made under the contract must be done in a good and workmanlike manner by an appropriately licensed person, in line with the law, with materials comparable to or better than what was there.

Termites and permits have their own rules

Termite and wood-decay findings run on a separate track. The inspection must be done by a Florida-licensed pest control business, and if it shows evidence of infestation or damage, you deliver that report within the inspection period. A seller who previously treated for the same organism does not have to treat again if there is no visible live infestation and it transfers a current full treatment warranty at closing. Our guide to what a WDO report covers explains the inspection itself. Open or missing permits also have their own process: you give notice within the inspection period, the seller has an estimate prepared within 10 days and must close the permits, up to the Permit Limit, no later than 5 days before the closing date.

How to sort home inspection findings before you negotiate

A long report is not a long list of demands. Before you talk to anyone, go through every finding and give it a rank. Sellers respond far better to a short, serious request than to forty items that mix a dangerous breaker panel with a loose cabinet hinge, and a focused list also keeps your own attention where the money and the risk really are.

Pay attention to how the inspector words each item. Language such as "further evaluation by a licensed contractor is recommended" means the inspector has seen enough to be concerned but not enough to size the problem. Treat those items as open questions until a specialist has looked, because the size of the repair decides whether it belongs in the request at all. If you want to see what a full inspection is expected to cover, area by area, our Florida home inspection checklist lays it out.

Plumbing and electrical items deserve special care in South Florida, because the same few conditions keep coming up: cast iron drains under slab foundations, polybutylene or galvanized supply lines, older panel brands and aluminum branch wiring. Our guides to plumbing problems common in South Florida homes and to what an electrical inspection looks at explain why each matters and who usually fixes it. Knowing that before you write the request helps you ask for the right repair from the right trade.

How the 4-point, wind mitigation and roof reports change the negotiation

In Florida, an insurance problem is a closing problem. If you are financing, your lender will want homeowners coverage in place before closing, and for older homes the insurer often wants inspection reports before it will quote. That gives insurance findings a special weight in a repair request. They are not about your taste or your budget: they decide whether the house can be insured on the terms you need, and the next buyer's insurer would ask the same questions.

The 4-point inspection

Citizens Property Insurance requires a 4-point inspection for property owner, dwelling and mobile home applications on homes more than 20 years old, and private carriers set their own age limits. Citizens also says serious hazards, such as exposed wiring, active leaks or evidence of leaks, should be repaired before an application is submitted. When a 4-point shows something an underwriter is likely to reject, it usually goes to the top of the request, because it may have to be fixed before your policy can be bound. Our guide to conditions insurers commonly flag covers them system by system.

The roof

Roofs cause more friction than any other item, and the reason is in the contracts. Citizens asks for proof of at least five years of remaining useful life when a soft roof such as shingle is older than 25 years or a hard roof such as tile or metal is older than 50, and without it, proof of a full replacement. Florida law, in Section 627.7011(5), bars an insurer from refusing to issue or renew solely because of the age of a roof under 15 years, and for an older roof requires it to allow an inspection at the homeowner's expense and not refuse solely on age if the roof has five or more years of useful life left. Meanwhile, the standard FR/BAR form says worn shingles and limited roof life are not seller repair items unless there is evidence of leaks or structural damage. So an old roof that does not leak can be fine under the contract and still be a problem for your insurer. That gap is usually settled with a credit or a price change, and a roof certification or condition report gives both sides the same facts about remaining life.

The wind mitigation report

A wind mitigation inspection is not a pass or fail report. It documents the features that can earn windstorm credits, and the seller's existing form may still be usable if it is less than five years old, nothing about the structure has changed and your insurer accepts it. One detail does belong in a repair conversation. On the current form, OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26), damaged openings in need of repair or replacement get their own answer, Z, and the form says homes with openings that need replacement do not qualify for wind mitigation rate differentials. A cracked impact window or a damaged sliding door is therefore more than a cosmetic issue: it can affect your premium until it is fixed. For what each answer on the form means, see how to read a wind mitigation report.

Getting a closer look at a problem area: specialists and quotes

A home inspection is a visual, general examination of the whole house. When the report points to a problem area, such as a soft spot in the roof deck, a hot breaker, a slow drain line or a crack that looks structural, the next step is a specialist who can tell you what it takes to fix it. That might be a licensed roofer, electrical contractor, plumber or A/C contractor, a pest control business for termite findings, or a structural engineer when the inspector suspects movement. Call them the day the report arrives. Their schedules, not yours, often decide whether a quote exists before the deadline.

Ask for a written estimate that names the scope of work, the materials, whether a permit is included and how long the job takes. A line that just says "repair roof" is useless in a negotiation, because the seller cannot compare it with anything. You can check any Florida contractor's license on the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's site, myfloridalicense.com, before you rely on the number. When time allows, a second estimate is worth having, since a single high quote invites the seller to dismiss it and a suspiciously low one can leave you short after closing.

Your home inspector is not one of the people who should quote the repair. Under Section 468.8319 of the Florida Statutes, a home inspector may not perform or offer to perform repairs on a home for which the inspector or the inspector's company prepared a home inspection report. That rule is there to keep the report independent, and it is a good reason to be wary of anyone who offers to fix what they just wrote up.

Some questions need a test the general inspection does not include. A sewer camera scope can show the condition of the main drain; ask us whether it can be added to your visit. Radon is checked with a separate test, and our guide to radon testing during the inspection period explains timing and results. If the report mentions moisture, staining or a musty smell, a mold inspection with air sampling and lab analysis is a service we offer, and it gives you a documented result rather than a guess.

Repairs, a credit or a lower price: which to ask for

Once you know what is wrong and roughly what it costs, the question becomes how to be made whole. There are four common answers, plus the option of accepting the house as it is, and each one shifts cost, control and risk differently.

Repairs versus money

A repair made by the seller before closing has one big advantage: it is done before you own the house, which matters when an insurer wants a hazard fixed before it binds a policy. The drawback is control. The seller chooses the contractor, the product and often the timing, and its goal is a finished item at a reasonable cost, not your long-term preference. Money, either as a credit or a lower price, lets you choose who does the work and how, but you carry the risk that the real cost turns out higher than the estimate, and you need the job finished after closing, sometimes while you are moving in.

Lender limits on seller credits

If you are financing, a credit is not unlimited. Fannie Mae, for example, treats money a seller puts toward a buyer's costs as an interested party contribution, capped as a percentage of the lower of the sales price or the appraised value. For a principal residence or second home, the cap is 3% when the loan-to-value ratio is above 90%, 6% when it is between 75.01% and 90%, and 9% at 75% or less. For an investment property it is 2%. Fannie Mae also says these contributions must not exceed the borrower's closing costs, that any excess is treated as a sales concession deducted from the sales price, and that they cannot be used for the down payment. FHA, VA and other programs have their own rules. Ask your loan officer how a repair credit would be handled on your loan before you agree to one, not after.

A lower price avoids those caps, but it changes the numbers the lender works with, and the house still needs the repair. An escrow or holdback, where money is held at closing until work is finished, needs the lender and the closing agent to agree. Which option fits depends on the item, your loan and how much time is left, which is exactly the conversation to have with your agent.

How to write a home inspection repair request in Florida

The best repair requests are short, specific and easy to say yes to. Your agent will usually draft the document, but the content comes from you and your report. Compare two ways of asking for the same thing. "Fix the electrical problems" gives the seller nothing to price and nothing to verify. "Correct the double-tapped breakers at the main panel described on page 14 of the inspection report, using a Florida-licensed electrical contractor, with a permit if the building department requires one, and provide the invoice before the walk-through" can be priced, done and checked.

Build each request around these elements:

• The finding: what it is and where, with the page or section of the report and a photo reference.
• The fix: the specific repair, written as an outcome, such as "leak stopped and damaged drywall replaced," rather than a vague category.
• Who does it: a contractor licensed for that trade in Florida.
• The permit: obtained and finaled where the building department requires one.
• The proof: paid invoices, permit numbers and any product warranties delivered to you before the walk-through.
• The deadline: work finished early enough before closing to check it, not the morning of.
• The alternative: where you would accept money instead, the amount and how it is applied, based on a written estimate.

Put the items in order of importance and attach the estimates you have. Keep the tone neutral: the report describes the house, not the seller. And remember that a request does not change the contract. Only a written amendment signed by both sides does, and it should repeat the specifics rather than refer loosely to "the inspection items."

What sellers often refuse, and how to respond

Expect pushback on some items. Knowing the common objections lets you decide in advance which ones are worth a fight.

• Cosmetic items. Worn carpet, paint, minor cracks and similar items are the first to be refused, and under the standard form they are expressly excluded. Drop them unless they point to a real defect, such as a stain caused by an active leak.
• Conditions that were visible or disclosed. Sellers often argue that an obviously old A/C or an original kitchen was priced in. Your answer is evidence of something new: the A/C works but its drain pan is rusted through, or the old roof shows an active leak in the attic.
• Systems that still work. A water heater near the end of its life is still working, and sellers resist replacing what works. A credit toward a replacement is often an easier ask than the replacement itself.
• Upgrades to current code. A home built decades ago was built to the rules of its time, and sellers rarely agree to bring it up to today's code. Ask instead for items that are unsafe, leaking or not working, which is a stronger position.
• Long lists. A request with dozens of items can lead a seller to reject the whole thing. A short list of serious items, ranked, usually gets further.
• Your contractor choice. Sellers want to hire their own contractor. If you need control over quality, ask for a credit instead, or ask that the work be done by a licensed contractor with a permit and invoices.

When the seller refuses an item that matters to you, you have three honest moves left: accept it, offer a compromise such as splitting the cost, or decide that the house is not right on these terms. Under the AS IS form, that last decision has to be made, in writing, before the inspection period ends.

A negotiation timeline inside the inspection period

Negotiations fail most often because they start too late. Working backward from the deadline makes it clear how little slack there is. Here is a practical order of events, which your agent will adjust to your own dates. For the days before the negotiation starts, our day-by-day plan for Miami buyers maps out a full 15-day period.

1. Effective Date. Get the deadline in writing from your agent and book the inspections the same day: the home inspection, plus a 4-point and wind mitigation report if the house is older or your insurer will want them.
2. Inspection day. Be there at the end, when the inspector walks you through the findings. Ask which ones deserve a specialist and which are routine maintenance.
3. Report day. Read the full report, rank every finding and send the insurance reports to your insurance agent for quotes.
4. The following days. Specialists visit and send written estimates. Your insurance agent tells you whether anything must be fixed before the policy can be written.
5. Request delivered. Your agent sends the written request, with estimates attached, leaving several days before the deadline for the seller to answer.
6. Answer and amendment. You accept, counter or withdraw. Whatever is agreed goes into a signed amendment, or the parties sign a written extension if more time is needed.
7. Before the deadline. If there is no agreement you can live with, deliver written notice of cancellation before the period ends, as your contract requires.
8. Before closing. Collect invoices and permit numbers, check the work and complete the walk-through.

Every step after the inspection depends on the report, so the date of the inspection sets the pace for everything else. Our home inspection reports arrive within 24 hours, and insurance reports usually the same day, which leaves room for specialists and a real back-and-forth with the seller.

Permits, re-inspection and proof that repairs were done

An agreement to repair is only as good as the work that follows. Florida law, in Section 553.79, makes it unlawful to construct, alter, modify, repair or demolish a building without first getting a permit from the local building department, and the Florida Building Code lists the minor work that is exempt. Many repairs that come out of inspections, such as roof work, electrical panel changes, water heater and A/C replacements and re-piping, usually need one, but the building department decides. Ask for the permit number, and before closing check the city or county permit records to see whether the final inspection has passed. A permit left open can complicate insurance, a refinance or your own sale later.

Re-inspecting the work

Both FR/BAR forms give you a walk-through on the day before closing, or on closing day before the closing itself, and a follow-up walk-through if needed. You or your representative can go. Under the standard form, the walk-through expressly covers whether the seller made the repairs and replacements the contract requires. Under the AS IS form, it covers the seller's maintenance and its other contractual obligations, which is where an agreed repair amendment would sit, so confirm with your agent how yours is worded. In the version of the CRSP form we read, a buyer who skips that inspection is treated as accepting that the seller's repair obligations were met.

A walk-through is short, so plan it. Bring the amendment and the invoices, and match each item to the work: a new breaker panel with a permit number, a replaced water heater with its discharge line and pan in place, a roof leak repaired and the attic below it dry. Run the A/C, the water and the appliances. If you want your inspector to look at the finished work, ask when you book whether a re-inspection visit before closing can be scheduled, and have the invoices and permit numbers ready for that visit.

The paperwork to keep

• The inspection report and the insurance reports, as delivered.
• Every contractor estimate used in the negotiation.
• The signed amendment, extension or any other change to the contract.
• Paid invoices for the work, with the contractor's name and license number.
• Permit numbers and proof of final inspection where a permit was required.
• Warranties assigned to you at closing, such as a roof, termite or equipment warranty.
• Updated insurance forms if the repair changed what the 4-point or wind mitigation report showed.
• The closing statement showing any credit or price change.

That last insurance item is easy to forget. A 4-point written before the seller replaced the water heater or the panel still describes the old equipment, so ask your insurance agent whether the insurer wants an updated report after the work is done.

When walking away makes sense

Cancelling is not a failure. It is the reason the inspection period exists, and some findings justify it even when the price looks right. Walking away is worth serious thought when:

• The structure shows signs of movement or significant damage that a specialist cannot size before the deadline.
• The house cannot be insured on acceptable terms without work the seller will not do or pay for.
• Water damage is widespread, the source is unclear or there are signs of hidden mold behind finishes.
• Major additions or enclosures were built without permits and the path to permitting them is unknown or expensive.
• The total of the repairs you would inherit is more than you can absorb after closing.
• The seller refuses reasonable safety or insurance repairs and you have lost confidence in what else may be hidden.

If you go that way, follow your contract exactly. Under the AS IS form, deliver written notice before the inspection period expires; your deposit is returned, but you still pay for your inspections and must repair any damage they caused. Under the standard form, the right to end the contract comes through the repair limit process described above. In either case, let your agent or attorney handle the notice, because a late or informal cancellation can put your deposit at risk.

If you are the seller: answering a repair request

Sellers face the same deadline from the other side. Under the AS IS form you may decline any request, but the buyer can still walk away until the inspection period ends, and the next buyer's inspector is likely to report the same conditions. Under the standard form, your 10 days to make the repairs, get estimates or order a second inspection start when the buyer's notice reaches you, so line up a licensed contractor quickly. Either way, a reply that answers each item with a repair, an estimate or a counteroffer usually keeps a sale alive better than silence. These talks are easier when the house had a pre-listing inspection before going on the market, because the larger items were already repaired, priced in or disclosed. Your agent delivers the answer in writing, and questions about what the contract requires of you belong with your attorney.

South Florida factors that shape repair negotiations

A few local conditions come up in negotiations here again and again. Miami-Dade and Broward are inside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone of the Florida Building Code, while Palm Beach County is not, so roofing, window and door work in those two counties is permitted under that zone's stricter rules, and the permit and product approval paperwork matters later for the wind mitigation form. Salt air near the coast corrodes A/C condenser coils, exterior electrical equipment and metal fasteners, which shortens their lives and puts them in more reports. And many South Florida homes have Florida rooms, enclosed patios or converted garages under low-slope roofs, where the permit history is often the real question.

Condos add a different twist. In a unit purchase, the roof, structure and common elements usually belong to the association, so a repair request to the seller can only cover what is inside the unit: the panel, plumbing fixtures and supply lines, the water heater, the A/C and the unit's windows and doors where the association documents make them the owner's responsibility. For a sense of what tends to show up in each part of the region, see our list of findings that come up most in South Florida, and our local pages explain what is typical in each city.

The bottom line

Negotiating repairs after a home inspection in Florida comes down to three things: knowing which contract you signed, ranking the findings honestly and getting every agreement in writing before the inspection period ends. Under the AS IS form, your leverage is the right to cancel; under the standard form, it is the seller's repair obligation up to the limits written in the contract. Either way, the strength of your position depends on how early you inspect and how clear the report is. If you are buying in Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach County, call or text (954) 297-0317 or send us your address and deadline, and you will have a firm price before anything is scheduled. You can also read more about our home inspections for South Florida buyers.

About the author

Peter Lemos, Certified Master Inspector®

Owner and lead inspector of Global Home Inspectors in Hollywood, FL. Peter holds InterNACHI certifications in wind mitigation, 4-point and mold inspection and has served Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties since 2008.