The buyer's inspection and your response under Form 35

The buyer's window and what they can do with it

Form 35 gives the buyer a set number of days after mutual acceptance to inspect and to give written notice of a decision. The number is filled in on the first page of the addendum; your agent knows yours, and Jennifer, RexMont's transaction administrator, calendars it the day the contract is signed. The buyer may bring a general inspector and, if the inspector recommends it, specialists such as a sewer scope operator, a roofer, or a structural engineer.

At the end of the window the buyer has three choices in writing: approve the inspection and move on, terminate the agreement and recover the earnest money, or request repairs or other changes on Form 35R. If the buyer's inspector recommends a further evaluation by a specialist, Form 35 also lets the buyer give notice requesting additional time for that inspection, and the addendum states how many days that adds.

A buyer who says nothing by the deadline has a result written on the form as well. The consequence of silence differs by version, so ask your agent what yours says rather than assuming.

What a Form 35R can ask for

The 35R is the buyer's written response. It can ask you to perform specific repairs, to reduce the price, to credit closing costs, or to make some other modification to the agreement. It can also combine requests. The buyer may attach the relevant pages of the inspection report, but Form 35 does not obligate the buyer to give you the whole report unless the addendum on your file says so.

Two things the 35R cannot do: it cannot change the contract by itself, and it cannot make you do anything. It is a proposal. The agreement changes only when both sides sign the same terms. Until then your contract stands as written, and the buyer's only unilateral option is to terminate within the window.

Requests on Eastside homes tend to cluster around a few systems: the sewer line on older Seattle and Bellevue houses, roof life, water intrusion in crawl spaces, electrical panel brands flagged by insurers, and deferred maintenance on decks and drainage. Your agent will tell you which requests are routine and which are unusual for a home like yours.

Your response: agree, counter, or decline

Once the 35R arrives you have a response period, written on Form 35 and measured in days from receipt. Within it you answer in writing with one of three moves. You can agree to everything requested. You can propose something different, such as a credit instead of a repair, some repairs but not others, or a different contractor scope. Or you can decline the request entirely.

Each choice hands the decision back to the buyer for their reply period, also written on the form. The buyer then accepts your proposal, terminates and recovers the earnest money, or in some cases makes a further proposal if both sides keep talking. If you do not respond within your period, Form 35 treats that as a rejection of the buyer's request, and the buyer's reply period starts from there.

Your agent drafts the response with you and explains the market context, including how likely a replacement buyer is at the same price, but the decision is yours. What you cannot do is ignore the deadline or answer informally; a text to the buyer's agent is not a response under the addendum.

Access, utilities, and presenting the home for the inspection

Form 35 requires you to provide access for the inspections and to have the utilities on. Plan for the inspection to take two to four hours for a general inspector, longer if specialists come the same day, and for the buyer to be present for part of it. You and your pets should be out of the house for the appointment.

Present the home the way it was presented for showings. Inspectors need to open the electrical panel, reach the water heater and furnace, get into the attic and any crawl space, run every appliance, and test each window and door. Clearing those access points ahead of time avoids a report note that says an area could not be inspected, which buyers read as a red flag.

• Leave water, gas, and electricity on and any pilot lights lit.
• Clear a path to the electrical panel, water heater, furnace, attic hatch, and crawl space access.
• Unlock outbuildings, gates, and the garage; leave remotes where the agent can find them.
• Replace burned-out bulbs and empty the dishwasher, washer, and dryer so they can be run.
• Gather receipts and permits for past repairs and leave copies on the counter.

Repairs you agree to, and the receipts that prove them

When you agree to perform repairs, the signed 35R becomes part of the contract and sets the deadline for completion, usually a number of days before closing, along with the standard that the work be done in a workmanlike manner. Use licensed contractors where the work requires a license, and keep every invoice. The 35R typically requires you to deliver receipts to the buyer, and the buyer's inspector may return for a reinspection before closing.

Some sellers prefer to offer a credit toward the buyer's closing costs in place of repairs. A credit avoids scheduling contractors and disagreements over quality, and it lets the buyer choose the contractor after closing. Whether a credit is workable depends on the buyer's loan program and lender limits, and your agent will raise that with the buyer's side before you settle on a number.

Form 21 separately requires you to keep the property in the condition it was in at mutual acceptance, normal wear and tear excepted, until the buyer takes possession. The buyer's final walk-through checks both that condition and the agreed repairs.