Home Inspection Tips for Buyers and Sellers in the Tri-Cities | The Power Agents
Learn what buyers can and can't ask for after a home inspection in the Tri-Cities — and what sellers need to know before inspection day.
INFORMATION FOR BUYERS AND SELLERS
Steve and Emily Danner
7/5/20264 min read
What Buyers Can (and Can't) Ask for After a Home Inspection in the Tri-Cities
The home inspection is one of the most important steps in buying or selling a home — and it's also one of the most misunderstood. What happens after the inspector hands over that report can make or break a deal, and we've seen it go sideways more times than we'd like to count.
Whether you're buying or selling in the Johnson City area, here's what you need to know about navigating the inspection resolution period the right way.
First, What Is the Resolution Period?
In Tennessee, after the buyer completes their home inspection, there's a negotiation window called the resolution period. During this time, the buyer can submit a formal request to the seller outlining any concerns that came up in the inspection. The seller then has the option to agree, counter, or decline. If the two parties can't reach an agreement, the buyer can typically walk away and recover their earnest money.
It sounds straightforward. In practice, it's where a lot of deals fall apart.
What Buyers Can Reasonably Ask For
Buyers have every right to raise legitimate concerns after an inspection. The key word is legitimate. Items that are reasonable to request include true safety issues like faulty wiring, gas leaks, or structural problems, major systems that are failing or near end of life such as HVAC, roof, or plumbing, and material defects that weren't disclosed or visible before the offer was made.
These are the kinds of issues that affect the safety, livability, or long-term value of the home in a meaningful way. A seller who's been reasonable throughout the process will generally be willing to address them — either by making repairs, offering a credit at closing, or adjusting the price in a way that reflects the actual cost of the issue.
What's Changed — and What's Causing Problems
Here's something we're seeing more and more in our market right now: buyers who use the inspection report as a second chance to renegotiate the purchase price, not because something serious was found, but because they've had second thoughts about what they paid.
Every home inspection turns up a list of items. That's what inspectors are paid to do — find things. A leaking water heater is a legitimate concern, but a cracked outlet cover or a door that sticks in humid weather are not grounds for reopening the price negotiation. And under the Tennessee purchase contract, buyers are specifically barred from requesting repairs for purely cosmetic issues or alterations required solely to meet current building code. That matters — and a lot of buyers don't know it going in.
When buyers submit a long list of minor items or ask for a blanket price reduction after the fact, sellers feel blindsided. They accepted an offer in good faith, took the home off the market, and now feel like the goalposts are moving. That's when deals fall apart — not because the home had real problems, but because the resolution period became a second negotiation that nobody agreed to.
A Word for Buyers
If you found the home you want, protect the deal. Use the inspection for what it's meant for — identifying genuine issues that affect your decision to buy or the price you're paying relative to what you're getting. Pick your battles. Ask for the things that matter and let the small stuff go. A $200 repair item is not worth losing a home over, and a seller who feels like they're being nickeled and dimed is a seller who may decide to put the house back on the market.
If something truly significant comes up — something that changes the fundamental value of the home — that's a different conversation, and it's one worth having.
A Word for Sellers
Understand that some negotiation after inspection is normal and expected. The buyers aren't necessarily trying to take advantage of you — they may just be nervous first-timers who don't know what's standard. A reasonable response to a reasonable request keeps the deal together.
One thing sellers sometimes overlook: under the Tennessee purchase contract, you are required to have all utility services operational before the inspection — and the same goes for any pool, spa, or similar items. If the power is off, the gas is disconnected, or the pool equipment isn't running, the buyer may not be able to complete their inspection fully, which creates delays and complications that nobody wants. Get everything up and running before inspection day.
That said, you don't have to agree to everything. If a buyer submits a laundry list of cosmetic items or asks for a price reduction that has nothing to do with what the inspector found, it's okay to push back. Your agent should be helping you evaluate what's legitimate and what isn't, and guiding you toward a response that keeps the deal alive without giving away more than you should.
The Bottom Line
The inspection resolution period works best when both sides come to it in good faith — buyers focused on real issues, sellers willing to address them reasonably. When it turns into a second round of price negotiation, everybody loses time, money, and sometimes the deal itself.
If you're buying or selling in the Tri-Cities area and want guidance from people who've been through this process hundreds of times, we'd love to help. Reach out at thepoweragents.biz or call us at 423-747-7981.
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Emily Danner
Steve Danner
Tennessee Firm License: 266782