After the inspection, ask for the short list that protects the home and the deal — not the inspector's entire report. The asks that succeed in Edmonton are safety hazards, active water problems, and major systems that fail their basic job, supported by the report and, where the number matters, a quote. A 40-item wish list of cosmetic fixes tells the seller you are renegotiating the price in disguise, and in a balanced market that is how workable deals die.

How do you sort the report into ask, accept, and plan?

Ask: anything unsafe (faulty electrical, a failed furnace heat exchanger, missing railings over a real fall), anything actively leaking or damaging the home, and any major system at end of life that was not visible or disclosed at offer time. Accept: normal wear for the home's age — older homes are priced as older homes, and my post on buying or selling a home that needs major repairs shows how condition already lives inside the price. Plan: maintenance items you will handle after possession, budgeted from the report. If you have not read the hub yet, what a home inspection covers explains what the report can and cannot prove.

Ask for a repair, a credit, or a price change?

Completed repairs before possession suit safety items you can verify at the final walkthrough. A price adjustment or credit suits work where you would rather choose your own contractor and timing — a sewer line repair, for example, which my sewer scope guide covers. Keep the amendment specific: item, standard ("repaired by a licensed contractor, receipt provided"), and deadline. Vague asks produce vague fixes.

What if the seller says no?

Then the decision is the one your inspection condition was built for: accept the home at the agreed price with full knowledge, or walk away inside the condition window and keep your deposit position intact. That is not a failure — the condition did its job either way. What you should not do is waive conditions hoping to renegotiate later; after waiver, the report is information, not leverage.

"Travis negotiated repairs we hadn't even thought to ask for, and kept the deal friendly the whole way through." — Google review excerpt

Keep the relationship usable

Sellers respond to credible, documented, short lists — and you still need their cooperation through possession day: access, inclusions, and the home left in agreed condition. Firm and fair beats long and loud, every time. Create a free account to see new Edmonton listings the day they hit the market and I will help you write offers with inspection conditions sized to the home you are buying.

Inspection report in hand and not sure what to ask for? Call 780-720-8240 — I will try to call you this week, or reply with a good time and we will set a phone appointment to sort your list before the condition deadline.

By Travis Bannert, Realtor and Mortgage Broker

Travis Bannert, Realtor® | Bridge Realty Group, Maxwell Progressive Realty | 780-720-8240 | bridgerealtygroup.ca