Getting agreed repairs actually done before closing

Write the ask so it can be checked later

Most repair disputes at the walkthrough trace back to wording agreed three weeks earlier. Quote your inspector's own language and cite the page. A request phrased in your words invites an argument about whether the problem is real. A request quoting the report both sides received does not.

Name the outcome rather than the method. “Roof leak at the north valley repaired and the ceiling stain no longer wet” is checkable. “Fix the roof” is not, and it is satisfied by a tube of sealant.

Put the deadline several days before closing, not on it. A repair that is finished the morning of closing cannot be verified, which in practice means it was not really a condition at all.

Repair or credit decides who carries the risk

If the seller does the work, they choose the contractor. They are motivated to close, not to over-deliver, and you inherit whatever was done with no relationship to the trade who did it. For anything that matters structurally or mechanically, that is the weaker outcome.

If you take a credit, you choose the contractor, you supervise the work, and you keep the recourse. The trade-offs are real though: the work happens after you own the house, you are living with the problem in the meantime, and your lender limits how large a seller credit can be. Confirm that cap with your loan officer before you name a number.

Verification is your job, and a receipt is not verification

An invoice proves someone was paid. It does not prove the right scope was done, that it was done correctly, or that the underlying cause was addressed rather than the symptom covered.

A re-inspection is the answer for anything consequential. The scope is narrow, so it costs meaningfully less than the original inspection, and the buyer pays for it in almost every transaction because the buyer is the one with something to lose. Schedule it once the seller confirms the work is complete and you have the paperwork, ideally three to five business days before closing so there is room to raise a problem.

The final walkthrough is not a substitute. It is a check that the house is in the condition you agreed and that nothing was removed or broken during the move. It is not an inspection and it is not the time to discover a repair was skipped.

When the work will not be done in time

The usual instrument is an escrow holdback. Funds are withheld from the seller's proceeds at closing and released to the contractor when the work is finished and verified. It lets a deal close on schedule without you giving up the repair.

Availability is not universal. Whether a holdback is permitted, how much is required to be held, and how long the work has to be completed all vary by loan type and by lender, and on government-backed loans the more serious safety items generally have to be finished before closing rather than escrowed. Ask your loan officer early, because discovering the answer two days out is how closings move.

Permits and the paperwork that outlives the sale

If the jurisdiction requires a permit for the work, get the permit number and confirm the final sign-off happened. Unpermitted work does not stay the seller's problem. It becomes yours at closing, and it resurfaces when you sell, when you insure, or when something fails and the carrier asks who did the work.

Collect the manufacturer warranty documentation for anything replaced, along with the model and serial numbers. Roofs, water heaters, and HVAC equipment carry warranties measured in years to decades, and several of them follow the equipment rather than the person who bought it. Five minutes of paperwork at closing occasionally saves a five-figure repair later.