Buyer Wants Repairs After Inspection? What Cobb County Sellers Should Do

You don’t have to say yes to everything on the list. A repair request is an offer to amend your contract, not a demand.

Here’s a number that surprises a lot of sellers: 83% of buyers use their inspection report to ask for something, a repair, a credit, or a lower price. If you’re selling anywhere in Cobb County, from Marietta to Smyrna to Acworth, or across the line into Cherokee County in Woodstock or Holly Springs, you should plan on getting a list. The question isn’t whether one shows up, it’s how you respond to it.

Metro Atlanta’s market gives buyers more room to push right now. Georgia MLS data for August 2026 shows active listings up 3% year-over-year and pending sales down nearly 29% from a year earlier, and Redfin puts the average home selling about 2% below list price, with more than a third of listings taking a price cut along the way. A buyer who doesn’t love your answer on repairs has other houses to look at, which is exactly why how you respond matters more than what’s on the list.

In Georgia, a buyer’s repair request typically comes through as a proposed amendment, most often on the GAR “Amendment to Address Concerns” form. Until you sign it, and it’s delivered back, your original contract stands exactly as written. You’re not agreeing to anything by receiving a list, you’re agreeing when you sign.

That said, you’re not negotiating on your own timeline. Georgia’s due diligence period is set contract by contract, typically 7 to 10 days in the metro area, sometimes shorter in a competitive situation, and it’s the buyer’s window to inspect, ask, and, if they don’t like your answer, walk away and get their earnest money back. This is the same window that governs most of the contingencies in your contract, so before you respond to a repair list, check how many days you actually have left. If it’s tight, your agent can request an extension using the matching GAR form so you’re not rushed into a bad answer.

Not every item on the list deserves the same response:

• Fix directly: active water intrusion, unsafe or outdated electrical, a failed HVAC system, rotted framing, and roof leaks. These are the items a buyer’s lender or insurer will flag anyway, an aging roof can even affect whether your buyer can get insurance at all, and if this buyer walks, the next one finds the same thing.
• Consider a credit instead: cosmetic items, deferred maintenance, and anything where coordinating a contractor before closing would be more hassle than it’s worth.
• Consider a price reduction: if the credit you’d need pushes past what the buyer’s loan allows, lowering the price can accomplish the same thing, though it permanently changes the recorded sale price.

This is where a lot of sellers get surprised. A buyer’s lender caps how much of a credit their loan can absorb, and it varies by loan type:

• Conventional loans: 3% of the sale price with less than 10% down, up to 9% with 25% or more down
• FHA loans: up to 6% of the sale price
• VA loans: up to 4%, and only toward specific costs
• USDA loans: up to 6%

Whatever you offer, the credit can’t exceed the buyer’s actual closing costs, no matter what the contract says. If you’re negotiating with a first-time buyer putting 3% down on an FHA loan in Kennesaw or Powder Springs, their cap is different than a buyer putting 20% down on a conventional loan in Marietta or Mableton. Ask your agent what the buyer’s loan type is before you counter, it tells you what’s actually usable to them.

An escrow holdback, money set aside at closing to cover a repair completed afterward, is the last resort, not the first move. It works, but it adds complexity most sellers and their attorneys would rather avoid unless there’s no other way to get to closing on time.

The bottom line: a repair list feels personal, but it’s rarely about you. Sort it into safety, deferred maintenance, and cosmetic before you respond, and you’ll almost always land on a fair answer faster than reacting item by item.

A few things make this go smoother, whether you’re negotiating a repair list in Smyrna, working through a tight due diligence deadline in Acworth, or fielding a first request on a home in Marietta:

1. Read every item before you react. Sort the list into safety/structural, deferred maintenance, and cosmetic. Most negotiations end in a partial counter, not a full yes or no.
2. Ask for the supporting estimate. A serious request usually comes with a contractor’s number attached. If it doesn’t, ask for one before you agree to a dollar figure.
3. Let your agent carry the conversation. A buyer’s agent hears “no” very differently from their own agent than from you directly.
4. Write the scope precisely. If you agree to a repair instead of a credit, spell out the materials, the standard of work, and the timeline in the amendment itself.
5. Know your walk-away number before you counter. Decide ahead of time what credit or price adjustment you can live with, so you’re negotiating from a plan instead of a reaction.

This is one reason inspection-related disputes are consistently among the top reasons contracts fall apart before closing, not because the issues are usually severe, but because sellers and buyers negotiate them without a plan.

Whether you’re in Marietta, Smyrna, Acworth, Kennesaw, Powder Springs, Mableton, Woodstock, or Holly Springs, a repair list is a normal part of selling right now, not a sign your deal is in trouble. A pre-listing inspection is the most reliable way to find out what’s on that list before a buyer does.

Let’s Build Your Response Together

If you want to walk through a real repair list, yours or one you’re expecting, let’s set up a free CMA and listing conversation. No pressure, just a plan.

Ken Mandich is a Realtor® and team lead at Complete Realty Team, serving Metro Atlanta with a focus on Cobb and Cherokee County. As an active real estate investor, Ken brings a rare combination of hands-on investing experience and full-service agent expertise to every seller and buyer he works with. He’s built his business around clear communication and walking clients through every step of the process, from pricing a home right to closing with confidence. You can reach him at 404-410-6465 or [email protected].