Home Seller Whose Buyer Wanted A $750 Repair Credit Fixes A Tub Faucet, An Outlet And AC Insulation Herself For Under $50

The buyer wanted a $750 credit to cover repairs. The seller looked at the inspection report, picked up a few tools and decided to do the work herself. By the time she was done, the whole list had cost her under $50.

Home seller making inspection repairs beside a stock photo of a chrome bathtub faucet.

The home seller behind @fionaleona_ walked through every fix on TikTok, from a tub faucet to an outlet to insulation on the air conditioner line. Her caption makes her point with a smile: the girls can in fact be the handyman. Here is how each repair went, and what it cost.

@fionaleona_

Repair One: The Tub Faucet

The inspection report said the tub faucet was not working correctly. It was not sending water up to the shower the way it should, and there was a little bit of leakage. She explains that mineral buildup on an old faucet is often the cause, and that the easiest way to solve the problem is simply to buy a new faucet. Hers cost $11.

Installing it, she says, is super easy. Remove the old caulking from the wall, then use an Allen wrench to take off the old faucet and put the new one on. It may feel like it will not fit, but she says to keep testing it and it will. If a small gap is left, do not worry, because caulk will cover it. Spread the caulk with your fingers, then wipe away the residue with a wet towel.

Repair Two: The Crooked Faucet

The second item on the list was that the faucet was crooked. This one was the best deal of the day. All she did was twist it straight and recaulk the space around it. The cost to the seller was zero dollars.

It is a reminder that not every line on an inspection report needs a contractor or a purchase. Some items, like a faucet that sits slightly off, take a minute and a tube of caulk you may already have in the garage.

Repair Three: The Discolored Outlet

Next was an outlet with discoloration that she could not clean off. Her solution was to buy a new outlet for $9. She says it is not as scary as you think, but she is firm about one rule: turn off the breaker first. You will know the power is off because all your lights go dark.

Once you remove the plate and the outlet from the wall, you will see a couple of wires. She says the ones coated in white or black are usually the live wires, and the copper one is the grounding wire. She admits that she took far longer than she expected because she did not read any of the instructions. When the light came on, she knew the new outlet was working.

Repair Four: The Safety Locks

She also replaced the safety locks. She says the job was easy, needing only a couple of screws. This was the priciest part of the list, at $25, but the work itself took very little effort.

Small safety items like these tend to catch a buyer’s eye during an inspection, because they affect whether a home feels secure. Fixing them quickly, with a screwdriver and a replacement set, takes the issue off the table before the negotiation starts.

Repair Five: The AC Insulation

The last request was the one she liked least. The buyer wanted the insulation on the air conditioning line replaced, and she was quoted $75 for the job. Her answer, she says, was absolutely not. She bought the foam tubing at Lowe’s for $4 and installed it herself.

Her warning for this one is the same as for the outlet: turn off the breaker before you start. It is a simple habit, and it is worth repeating any time you work near an air conditioning unit.

Adding It All Up

The math is easy to follow. The faucet cost $11, the crooked fix was free, the outlet was $9, the safety locks were $25 and the insulation was $4. That comes to $49, compared with the $750 credit the buyer had asked for. Even the $75 quote for the insulation alone was higher than her entire bill.

Of course, not every seller has the time or the comfort level to do repairs like these. But the savings are hard to ignore, and they show how much padding can sit inside a repair credit request.

What Sellers Can Learn From This

If a buyer sends you a repair list after an inspection, do not assume the only choices are paying a credit or hiring a pro. Go through each line and ask three questions: is it a safety issue, is it simple to fix, and what would the parts cost? Many items turn out to be a trip to the hardware store and an afternoon.

Before you start, get the facts straight. Read the report, take photos before and after, and keep your receipts. Those records show the buyer exactly what was done and what it cost, and they help if the buyer wants proof.

Safety comes first. Shut off the power at the breaker before touching any outlet or working near an air conditioning unit, and if a job looks beyond you, call a licensed professional. Electrical work in particular has rules in some places about who may perform it.

A Smart Way To Handle The Repair List

Once the work is done, tell the buyer in writing and offer to share photos and receipts. Ask whether the repairs satisfy the request and whether the credit can come off the table. A buyer who sees the work completed is often glad to move on.

It is a good lesson for anyone selling a home. A $750 request may look big, but a few small repairs can bring it down to the cost of a lunch out. Take a deep breath, grab a screwdriver, and see what you can fix yourself.

Willow and Hearth