If we could speak to you, Mr & Mrs Buyer, in the middle of your tense negotiations about repairs to the home you’d like to buy, we would say this:

The bids you received from your agent and her inspectors/experts are great. We’re glad you’re doing your due diligence and we’re happy to credit you some money to get repairs done. However, there are many, many ways to repair all kinds of different items, and usually bids come in high. There are contractors, plumbers, engineers, inspector, and so many more tradesmen out there who are out of work and looking for ways to make money. Just because you have a bid from one expert (who’s certainly chums with your agent), it doesn’t mean you have to use that expert to repair the damage, and it certainly doesn’t mean you can’t go bid the job out and get that one expert to compete with five others to drop the price down to a reasonable level. If you feel the urge to bid the job out, ask for an extension on your contingency timeline. We, on the seller’s end, often speak with the very same contractors hired to do the inspections and ultimately the work, and over the phone we’ve always been able to talk them down from “I won’t do the job for less than $4250” to “I won’t do the job for less than $2000.” (For example.) Your agent has some great skills at beating us down, please ask her to use those same skills to beat those contractors down on their bids and you’ll see the money we’re offering will be more than enough. You’re going to love this house. Let’s move on already.

Sincerely,

The people on the other side.