What to Ask the Seller to Fix After a Dallas Inspection

What repairs should you ask the seller to fix after a home inspection in Dallas?

Ask the seller to address safety hazards, structural problems, and failing major systems — active roof leaks, foundation movement, electrical hazards, plumbing leaks, and HVAC that doesn't cool. Skip cosmetic items like chipped paint or worn carpet. In Texas your contract is sold as-is, so the seller owes you nothing unless you negotiate it during the option period, usually on a TREC Amendment. In Dallas's 2026 buyer's market, sellers are saying yes to reasonable requests far more often than they did a few years ago.

By Paul Blair | June 8, 2026

Your inspection report just landed, it's forty pages long, and the option-period clock is ticking. Now you have to decide what to actually ask the seller for — without overreaching and blowing up the deal, or underreaching and overpaying for somebody else's deferred maintenance.

This is one of the most common questions Dallas buyers are searching right now, and it comes loaded with anxiety because you're making the call fast, under a deadline, with real money on the line. Here's how I walk clients through it.

First, understand what Texas actually entitles you to

This trips up almost every first-time buyer. The standard Texas contract — the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract — is an as-is agreement. The seller is not required to fix a single thing the inspector flags. There is no state list of "mandatory" repairs that a private seller must make.

What you have instead is leverage and a window. The window is the option period, the negotiated stretch of days (usually seven to ten in DFW) when you can terminate for any reason and get your earnest money back. That termination right is what gives your repair request teeth. If the seller won't budge on something that matters, you can walk. Any repairs you do agree on get written into a TREC Amendment to Contract (Form 39-10) and signed by both sides before the option period ends.

So the real question isn't "what does the seller have to fix." It's "what's worth spending my limited leverage on." If you want the full mechanics of how that window works, I broke down the Texas option period and the deadlines that protect Dallas buyers in a separate post.

The three buckets every inspection item falls into

When I read a report with a client, I sort everything into three piles.

Worth asking for — safety and major systems. These are the items that cost real money, threaten the home, or put someone at risk:

• Active roof leaks or missing shingles, especially after North Texas hail
• Foundation movement beyond normal settling
• Electrical hazards — double-tapped breakers, an outdated panel, missing GFCI outlets in kitchens and bathrooms
• Plumbing leaks, sewer-line problems, or a water heater with no proper TPR discharge piping
• HVAC that isn't cooling, which matters enormously here

Not worth asking for — cosmetic and wear items. Chipped paint, a dented garage door, a stained section of carpet, a sticky window, minor caulk separation. Asking a seller to fix these is the fastest way to annoy them and lose goodwill on the items that actually matter. You bought a resale home; some wear comes with it.

The negotiable middle. An aging-but-working roof, an HVAC unit near the end of its life, a few non-functioning outlets, older appliances. These are judgment calls, and they're where a good agent earns their keep — knowing which ones a Dallas seller will reasonably address and which ones they'll laugh off.

What DFW inspections flag again and again

Dallas homes have their own predictable problem list, shaped by our soil and our weather. Knowing the pattern helps you tell a real red flag from background noise.

Foundation. A Texas chapter survey of civil engineers found roughly 40% of DFW-area homes show some degree of foundation distress. We sit on expansive clay that swells in spring rains and shrinks in our brutal summers, so some movement is normal. Hairline drywall cracks and a few nail pops usually aren't an emergency. A door that won't latch, stair-step cracks in brick, or significant slab elevation differences are worth a structural engineer's opinion during your option period. I go deeper on this in buying a house with foundation problems in Dallas.

HVAC. From June through September our systems run almost nonstop at 100 to 107 degrees, so DFW units often last only twelve to fifteen years versus fifteen to twenty nationally. An AC that can't hold temperature on a hot afternoon is a legitimate, expensive ask.

Roof. The metroplex averages more than ten significant hail events a year. A full replacement runs roughly $8,000 to $18,000 depending on size and materials, so active leaks and storm damage belong firmly in the "ask" bucket.

Here's the seller's-eye view that helps you negotiate: many of the must-fix safety items — GFCIs, breakers, TPR valves, small active leaks — cost the seller only $500 to $3,000 to handle, but left alone they trigger buyer credit demands of $5,000 or more. Framing your request around that reality tends to get a yes.

Repairs, a credit, or a price cut — which to ask for

Once you know what you're asking about, you have to decide how you want it solved. There are three forms, and they are not equal for you as the buyer.

1. Seller makes the repairs. Simple in theory, frustrating in practice. Sellers on their way out the door hire the cheapest contractor they can find, and the work can run right up against your closing date. It's the best route when the seller is a builder or flipper with their own crews — less so for a typical homeowner.

2. A closing-cost credit (money at closing). Usually the cleanest option for buyers. The seller credits you a dollar amount toward your closing costs, and you hire your own contractor and control the quality and timing after you own the home. The one caution: lenders cap how much seller credit they'll allow, and credits have to be structured correctly, so loop in your loan officer before you name a number.

3. A price reduction. The seller drops the sales price and you take the home as-is. This lowers your loan amount and your monthly payment over the life of the mortgage, and it's the simplest thing for an appraiser and lender to digest. The trade-off is you fund the repairs yourself, out of pocket, after closing.

There's no universal right answer. For control and quality, a credit usually wins. For long-term payment savings on a clean as-is deal, a price cut wins. For a builder, repairs can be fine. The right call depends on the specific items, your cash position, and your timeline.

Why 2026 changes the math in your favor

For most of the last few years, buyers waived inspections entirely just to win a house. That market is over. Dallas-Fort Worth is firmly a buyer's market in 2026 — active listings are up nearly 40% over last year, and the typical home now takes around 48 to 62 days to sell.

When inventory is this deep, sellers can't shrug off a reasonable repair request and assume the next buyer will waive everything. Your inspection is leverage again. That doesn't mean you nickel-and-dime — it means you can confidently ask the seller to handle genuine safety and major-system items and expect cooperation.

A practical tip that wins these negotiations: order your inspection the moment your option fee and earnest money are delivered, and get a written bid or two on the big-ticket items before the deadline. A request backed by a contractor's estimate is far harder to argue with than a round number you pulled from the air. And remember the appraisal is still ahead of you — if it comes in soft, that's a separate negotiation, which I cover in what to do when a Dallas appraisal comes in low.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the seller required to make repairs after a home inspection in Texas?

No. The standard TREC contract is an as-is agreement, so a private seller isn't obligated to fix anything the inspector finds. Any repairs are negotiated during the option period and written into a TREC Amendment. Your leverage is your right to terminate and recover your earnest money if you can't reach agreement.

What repairs are reasonable to ask for after a Dallas inspection?

Focus on safety hazards and failing major systems — active roof leaks, electrical hazards, plumbing and sewer leaks, foundation movement beyond normal settling, and HVAC that won't cool. Leave cosmetic and ordinary wear items off the list. Reasonable, safety-focused requests get the best response, especially in the 2026 buyer's market.

Should I ask for repairs or a closing-cost credit?

For most buyers a credit is cleaner, because you choose your own contractor and control the quality and timing after closing. Sellers leaving the home tend to hire the cheapest fix. Just confirm the amount with your lender first, since there are caps on how much seller credit a loan will allow.

How long do I have to negotiate repairs in Texas?

Your window is the option period, typically seven to ten days in DFW. You'll want to schedule the inspection immediately so you have time to review the report, gather bids, and sign an amendment before the deadline. Miss the option-period deadline and you lose your easiest path to terminate.

What inspection issues are most common in Dallas homes?

Foundation movement from our expansive clay soil, HVAC strain from long 100-plus-degree summers, and roof damage from frequent hail. Many homes also flag missing GFCI outlets, double-tapped breakers, and water-heater valve issues — small fixes for a seller but common sources of larger buyer credit requests.

The bottom line

After a Dallas inspection, spend your leverage where it counts: safety, structure, and major systems, not cosmetics. Decide whether repairs, a credit, or a price cut serves you best, back your request with real numbers, and use the option period before it closes. In 2026's market, a fair, well-documented ask usually gets a yes.

If you're inside your option period right now trying to decide what to push for, that's exactly the call I help buyers make while the clock is running. Reach out to me and the Grey Square team and we'll read your report together and build the request.

About Paul Blair

Paul Blair is the founder and broker of Grey Square, a virtual real estate brokerage representing buyers and sellers across Dallas and Los Angeles. With 22 years in the business and more than $200 million in closed transactions, Paul works the full range of the market, from luxury homes in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow to estates in the Hollywood Hills and across the Westside. Connect with Paul and the Grey Square team at greysq.com. TX TREC #9011505 · CA DRE #01792671.