Last updated October 27, 2026
A seller doesn’t need multiple offers to sell above asking. We listed 5154 Autumn Ridge Drive in Imperial at $275,000 and signed a $290,000 contract with no competing offer. Then we worked through an $8,000 window request, two leaking foundation cracks, a roof and siding replacement and the paperwork that nearly held up closing. Step into my seat, make the calls, then read how each one played out.
$283,000 on a $275,000 list price, with an escalation clause that could raise it in $1,000 steps up to $295,000 if we received a qualifying competing offer. We didn’t have one.
That distinction matters. An escalation clause isn’t an unconditional offer at the maximum price. These buyers were offering $283,000, and telling us they might pay more if competition required it.
I could have advised the seller to accept $283,000, to keep the house on the market and hope for competition, or to negotiate directly. I chose to negotiate.
Yes. We got a $290,000 contract on a $275,000 list price without a competing offer, by knowing exactly what the seller needed and asking the buyer for that.
The seller was my brother-in-law, and we had already talked through what he wanted. His goal was $285,000 after the buyers’ requested closing-cost contribution, before his other selling expenses, and I had his approval to pursue that number.
The buyers’ offer also asked for help with their closing costs. That was their request; we never offered a concession on the listing. So I worked the number from the seller’s side. I told the buyer’s agent we had 10 more showings on Friday and a few more just scheduled for Saturday. Her buyers were willing to pay $295,000 if other offers came in, and nobody knew whether more offers would come. If she presented a contract that met our $285,000 target, we would accept it immediately: my seller would meet his net goal at $290,000, and her buyers would get their concession.
The revised offer came back at $290,000 with $5,000 in seller-paid buyer closing costs. That was the $285,000 the seller wanted, and the escalation clause was no longer needed.
The buyers didn’t have to risk losing the house if another buyer showed up, and the seller didn’t have to wait and hope. The showings already on the calendar created real urgency, but I never claimed another offer existed. That’s a meaningful distinction.
Because the seller already had an acceptable result available. We had a buyer willing to improve the terms, and the revised offer met his financial goal.
Waiting might have produced a higher offer. It might also have produced nothing. There’s a difference between creating negotiating leverage and gambling with a good offer. My recommendation was to lock in the result we wanted while the buyer was ready to move. Should you accept this offer? →
Deteriorated windows, missing screens, two actively leaking foundation cracks, and concerns about the roof and siding. The inspection was June 18, 2025.
The buyers were first-time homebuyers, and their agent told us they were especially concerned about the windows. The inspection notice asked for an $8,000 price reduction in place of replacing the windows and screens.
Getting a house under contract is one part of selling it. Keeping the deal together through inspection, appraisal, repairs and closing is another. An extra $8,000 would have materially changed the deal we’d just negotiated, so I didn’t recommend agreeing to it as presented.
We raised the seller’s contribution toward the buyers’ closing costs from $5,000 to $8,500, a $3,500 increase, instead of cutting the price $8,000. The purchase price stayed $290,000.
The $8,500 is the total contribution, not $8,500 on top of the original $5,000. We resolved the windows for less than half of what was requested. Credit, price reduction or repair →
It can. When my brother-in-law bought this house in 2020, he received about $1,500 in credit related to the windows. We talked about that while deciding how to answer the buyers’ request.
Looking only at 2025, the window concession cost him $3,500. Across his whole ownership, he had already received about $1,500 for the same issue, so the net cost of the windows to him was closer to $2,000.
It didn’t change the fact that $3,500 came out of his 2025 proceeds. But it gave us a more complete picture. Sometimes the right decision isn’t just about what you’re giving the current buyer. It’s about what the house has already cost you, and what you received when you bought it.
Separately from the windows. The seller had already received insurance proceeds for the roof and siding, and both were replaced with that money. They didn’t come out of the sale.
Instead of answering every inspection item with another price reduction, we sorted out which items were better handled with actual repairs and which with money. The buyers needed confidence that the issues were being addressed. The seller needed to avoid giving up proceeds he didn’t have to.
With polyurethane crack injection by a waterproofing contractor, $375 per crack, $750 total, completed July 10, six days before closing.
Two actively leaking cracks weren’t something I wanted to dismiss or negotiate away without a plan. I sent the inspection information to Quacker’s Waterproofing. They reviewed the report, noted concern about the diagonal direction of the cracks, and explained that the work would be waterproofing through polyurethane injection, not a structural repair.
Their first available appointment was July 17. Closing was July 16. Repairs scheduled after closing weren’t the outcome I wanted, so I asked whether they could move it up. After working through their schedule and access to the occupied house, they offered July 10, and we took it. The final invoice documented two crack injections totaling $750, with a limited transferable warranty, and I followed up to get the warranty information to the closing parties.
An inspection negotiation shouldn’t end with everyone agreeing that something will eventually get fixed. The work needs to be coordinated, documented and completed as agreed. The buyers wanted the water addressed, the seller wanted to close, and scheduling the repair before closing moved both toward their goals.
Paperwork. By June 25 the inspection contingency was resolved, but the last week still needed attention.
None of that shows up in an MLS sold-price report. It’s still part of the work it takes to bring a transaction across the finish line. On July 16, the title company confirmed the sale was fully funded.
$5,750 above the original asking price, after the closing-cost contribution and the foundation repair. That figure excludes commissions and other selling expenses. The roof and siding were paid for with insurance proceeds the seller had already received.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Original asking price | $275,000 |
| Accepted purchase price | $290,000 |
| Premium above asking | $15,000 |
| Total seller-paid buyer closing costs | −$8,500 |
| Foundation waterproofing | −$750 |
| Result above asking, after those items | $5,750 |
Count the roughly $1,500 window credit he received when he bought in 2020, and the result across both transactions is about $7,250 above the original asking price. That’s an ownership-period comparison, not a number on the 2025 closing statement. The two figures answer different questions, and sellers deserve to understand the difference. What will I net selling my house? →
Know the seller’s number before you negotiate, treat inspection requests as proposals, and judge the result by what the seller keeps, not the contract price.
Yes. It tells you the buyer is willing to pay more under some conditions. We used direct negotiation to turn that conditional willingness into a firm offer that met the seller’s number, without manufacturing competition.
No. Inspection requests are proposals, not obligations. The buyers asked for $8,000 for the windows; we agreed to $3,500 more and arranged real repairs for the other concerns. The seller didn’t have to concede every dollar to keep the sale moving.
Only part of it. A $290,000 contract sounds like $15,000 over asking. The real result depends on concessions, repairs, earlier credits and what it costs to close. The goal isn’t the highest number on paper; it’s terms that meet the seller’s goals and actually make it to closing.
Is polyurethane crack injection a structural repair?
No. In this sale, the contractor’s documentation described it as waterproofing and excluded structural repairs. It stops water coming through a crack. It isn’t a structural certification, and it shouldn’t be represented as one.
Is a seller-paid closing-cost contribution the same as a price reduction?
No. Here the purchase price stayed $290,000 and the seller’s contribution toward the buyers’ allowable closing costs went from $5,000 to $8,500. The seller’s cost is similar either way; the contract price and how the money is applied are not.
Should inspection repairs be finished before closing?
When you can, yes. Here the waterproofing contractor’s first opening was the day after closing, and we got it moved to six days before. Completed, documented work with a warranty is a much cleaner handoff than a promise.
More in this series: Lessons From a Sale · Four offers, a low appraisal and a close at $271,000 · Pricing a split-level in Lindbergh · Related: How I work with sellers · Should I accept this offer? · Price reduction after inspection
Grew up in South St. Louis, lived in Dogtown for 6 years, now in South County. You’ll find us at Wellspring on Lindbergh on Sundays. I'm not selling you a house — I'm showing you how to think about buying or selling a house.