Deal-Breaker vs. Routine Inspection Issues
The same four-bucket framework MoveConnected's AI-extracted repair plan uses, explained so you can apply it yourself.
Address before closing
Safety hazards and issues that could affect financing or occupancy — active leaks, exposed wiring, non-functional systems, structural concerns an inspector flagged for further evaluation. These are worth raising firmly in negotiation, and in serious cases worth a second opinion from a specialist before you close.
Consider negotiating
Real, costly issues that aren't urgent enough to hold up closing but are expensive enough that a buyer reasonably didn't expect to inherit them — an aging HVAC system near the end of its life, a roof with 3–5 years left, deferred maintenance that adds up. Good candidates for a repair credit or price adjustment.
Plan after closing
Real but non-urgent items you'll want to budget for over your first year or two of ownership — items you're not going to fight over now, but shouldn't forget either. Worth noting in a maintenance calendar so they don't get lost after the excitement of moving in fades.
Routine maintenance
Normal wear for the home's age — minor cosmetic items, things any homeowner deals with regularly. Not worth spending negotiating leverage on; asking for too many of these alongside real issues tends to weaken a negotiation rather than strengthen it.
Why this framework, specifically
These four categories match exactly what MoveConnected's inspection tool assigns automatically to every item it extracts from your report, so an article you read here and the plan you get from uploading a report use the same language.
Upload your inspection report and get every item automatically sorted into these four buckets, with a plain-language reason for each.
Sort your own report