By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass
TL;DR:
The first question isn't which repairs to make. It's where the buyer sits in the inspection contingency, which on Long Island typically runs five to ten days from contract signing. Inside that window a buyer can generally withdraw and recover their deposit, which means a seller's leverage is limited. Outside it, the calculation changes completely. After that, sort the requests into three categories: safety and habitability items that an appraiser may require anyway, deferred maintenance the buyer could plainly see and which is usually already in the price, and cosmetic items that can be declined routinely.
Where the Buyer Sits Determines Everything
Before evaluating a single line item, a seller needs to know one thing: whether the inspection contingency is still open.
On Long Island the inspection contingency typically runs five to ten days from contract signing. Within that period, a buyer who is dissatisfied can generally withdraw and recover their deposit. Once it expires, that exit closes — the buyer who wants out is walking away from a ten percent deposit, which on a $900,000 sale is $90,000.
Those are entirely different negotiations. A request arriving on day four comes from someone who can leave. The same request on day twelve comes from someone who mostly can't, and both sides know it.
The seller's first call is to their attorney, to confirm where the contingency stands and what the contract actually provides. Sellers who skip that step negotiate without knowing their own position, and frequently concede more than the situation required. This is one more reason engaging an attorney before listing rather than after an offer pays off — the contingency terms accepted at contract signing are what set this leverage.
Worth adding a note about tone. Inspection reports read alarmingly by design. Inspectors flag everything they observe, and a forty-page report on a fifty-year-old Long Island home is normal rather than damning. What matters is which items the buyer actually raises, not the report's length.
Sort the Requests Into Three Categories
Once the timeline is clear, triage what arrived.
Safety and habitability items — a failed heating system, active water intrusion, hazardous electrical conditions, significant structural concern. These are usually worth conceding, and not primarily out of goodwill. When the buyer is financing, the lender's appraiser can return the appraisal subject to repairs, meaning the lender won't fund until those specific items are corrected and re-inspected. A seller who wins the negotiation and then loses the appraisal has won nothing. Government-backed loan programs apply documented condition standards that make this more likely, though conventional appraisals flag health and safety items too.
Deferred maintenance the buyer could see — a roof visibly near the end of its life, dated systems, worn flooring. These were generally visible during showings and reflected in what the buyer offered. A seller has a reasonable position for declining, and saying so plainly usually holds.
Cosmetic items — paint, landscaping, minor fixture wear, anything aesthetic. Decline routinely. Buyers occasionally include these to pad a list, and conceding them signals the whole list is negotiable.
The useful test for a borderline item: would an appraiser or lender care, and could the buyer plainly see it before making the offer? Items failing both are declinable.
Repair, Credit, or Reduce
Where something is worth addressing, three instruments exist and they aren't interchangeable.
Making the repair puts the seller in control of cost and quality, and it satisfies a lender condition directly. It requires coordinating licensed contractors on a closing timeline, which is the practical burden. For anything an appraiser flagged, this is frequently the only path — a credit doesn't satisfy a repair condition.
Offering a credit hands the buyer money and lets them handle it. Simpler for the seller and often preferred by both sides. One constraint the original discussions of this usually miss: seller contributions are capped by loan program, with the ceiling varying by program and by the buyer's down payment. A seller agreeing to a credit above that limit has agreed to something the lender will not fund, discovered days before closing. Confirm the applicable cap with the buyer's lender before agreeing. The full treatment of how concessions work covers the limits and the credit-versus-reduction distinction.
Reducing the price lowers the loan amount and the appraisal hurdle, which is useful when the appraisal is also at risk. It's the bluntest instrument and it's public in a way a credit isn't.
Contractor estimates are the seller's most useful tool in any of these conversations. A buyer requesting $12,000 for an issue a licensed contractor quotes at $4,200 has been answered with a document rather than an argument.
The Track That Runs Alongside
Long Island sellers conflate two separate things and it costs them.
The inspection is the buyer's assessment of physical condition. Municipal searches are the buyer's attorney checking what the governing town or village has on file — permits, violations, certificates of occupancy. They happen on different timelines, they surface different problems, and one does not substitute for the other.
An inspector notes a finished basement. The municipal search reveals whether it was ever permitted. A seller who resolves the inspection item hasn't touched the permit question, and an unclosed permit or a certificate of occupancy that doesn't match the house can hold up a closing regardless of what the inspection negotiation settled.
This matters especially where jurisdiction is fragmented. In Port Washington and Manhasset, several incorporated villages each maintain their own building department alongside town-governed areas — so the first question is which office even holds the record. The full picture of how permit issues surface and resolve covers what each type costs.
The Move That Prevents Most of This
A pre-listing inspection is the single most effective thing a seller can do about inspection negotiations, and it happens months before any of them occur.
Knowing what an inspector will find lets a seller address the significant items quietly, on their own schedule, with their own contractors — or price for them deliberately and disclose them upfront. Either way, the buyer's inspection produces confirmation rather than discovery, and a confirmation is a much shorter conversation.
It also removes the asymmetry. Without one, the buyer's inspector knows more about the house than the seller does, and the seller is reacting to information they've never seen. That's a poor position at a moment when the buyer holds a live exit.
The related point: repairs completed before listing become part of the property's disclosed history, and documentation helps. Invoices and permits turn a disclosed item into a resolved one. The full treatment of what the disclosure form asks covers how that works, including when "Unknown" is the honest answer.
A Worked Example
Consider a composite case — a Nassau County seller under contract at $835,000, receiving an inspection request on day five of a seven-day contingency.
The buyer asked for $19,000 covering eleven items. Sorting them changed the conversation entirely. Two were safety items — an ungrounded circuit and a water heater at end of life — and both were the kind an appraiser could flag. Four were deferred maintenance plainly visible at showings, including the roof's age. Five were cosmetic.
His attorney confirmed the contingency had two days left, so the buyer's exit was live and speed mattered.
He addressed the two safety items directly, obtaining contractor quotes totaling $3,400 and offering to complete the work before closing rather than credit for it — which also removed any appraisal risk on those items. He declined the visible deferred maintenance in writing, noting it had been apparent and was reflected in the price. He declined the cosmetic items without comment.
The buyer accepted. Total cost $3,400 against a $19,000 request, and the closing held its date. The sorting did the work, not the negotiating.
Where to Start
Before listing: get a pre-listing inspection and address or price for what it finds. Call the building department that governs the property and find out what's on file, since that's a separate track from anything an inspector sees.
When a request arrives: call the attorney first and establish where the contingency stands. Sort the items into safety, visible deferred maintenance, and cosmetic. Get contractor estimates on anything genuinely in dispute. Confirm contribution limits with the buyer's lender before agreeing to any credit. Respond to the categories rather than to the list.
Sellers wanting a read on where their home sits before any of this begins can start with a quiet look at present value.
The Honest Bottom Line
Most inspection negotiations resolve for a fraction of the opening request, and the sellers who do best are the ones who sorted before they responded.
The two things that most change the outcome both happen earlier than the negotiation. A pre-listing inspection removes the information asymmetry that makes this moment uncomfortable. And knowing where the contingency stands tells a seller how much room they actually have — which is the difference between conceding strategically and conceding out of anxiety.
For anyone working through a specific request, with no pressure attached, that conversation is available whenever the timing suits.
This is general information, not legal advice. Inspection contingency terms, withdrawal rights, deposit recovery, and lender requirements vary by contract and by transaction. Consult a licensed New York real estate attorney about your specific situation.
FAQs
How long does a buyer have to raise inspection issues on Long Island?
The inspection contingency typically runs five to ten days from contract signing, though the specific window is set by the contract. Within it, a buyer who is dissatisfied can generally withdraw and recover their deposit. Once it expires, that exit closes, and a buyer wanting out is walking away from a ten percent deposit — $90,000 on a $900,000 sale. Where the buyer sits in that window largely determines a seller's leverage, which is why the first call should be to the attorney rather than to a contractor.
Which inspection requests should a seller agree to?
Sort them into three categories. Safety and habitability items — failed heating, active water intrusion, hazardous electrical, structural concerns — are usually worth conceding, because an appraiser can return the appraisal subject to repairs and the lender then won't fund until they're corrected. Deferred maintenance the buyer could plainly see at showings is generally already reflected in the price and can reasonably be declined. Cosmetic items should be declined routinely, since conceding them signals the whole list is negotiable.
Is it better to make repairs or offer a credit?
It depends on the item. Where an appraiser has flagged something, the repair usually has to be made — a credit doesn't satisfy a lender's repair condition. For everything else, a credit is simpler for the seller and often preferred by both sides, with one constraint: seller contributions are capped by loan program and by the buyer's down payment, so a credit above the applicable limit is something the lender won't fund. Confirm the cap with the buyer's lender before agreeing to any amount.
Can a seller just say no to inspection requests?
Yes, and it's frequently the right answer for cosmetic items and visible deferred maintenance. What determines whether it's safe is where the contingency stands. Inside the window, a buyer who is refused can withdraw and recover their deposit, so a seller declining everything is accepting real risk. Outside it, the buyer has far less recourse. Declining in writing, with a brief reason — the condition was visible and reflected in the price — is more effective than declining without explanation.
Does a pre-listing inspection actually help?
It's the most effective preventive step available. Knowing what an inspector will find lets a seller address significant items quietly on their own schedule with their own contractors, or price for them and disclose upfront. Either way the buyer's inspection produces confirmation rather than discovery. It also removes the asymmetry where the buyer's inspector knows more about the house than the seller does — a poor position to occupy at a moment when the buyer still holds a live exit from the contract.
By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass
Eric Berman | Long Island & Queens Associate Broker | Compass
1468 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, NY 11030
(917) 225-8596 | eric@ericbermanre.com | theericbermanteam.com
