What Contractors Need From Your Repair Amendment

You have the repair amendment. You have a contractor lined up. Now the question is whether you are giving that contractor everything they need to estimate the job accurately, schedule the work efficiently, and produce documentation that satisfies the lender.

Most agents hand off the amendment and assume the contractor will figure out the rest. That assumption causes delays. A contractor who has to follow up three times to get the closing date, the property access details, and the lender documentation requirements is a contractor whose estimate comes back late.

Fix Before Closing handles post-inspection repairs for DFW real estate agents and home sellers. Here is exactly what contractors need from the repair amendment to get the job done on time.

The Repair Amendment Itself

The first thing every contractor needs is the repair amendment document. Not the repair amendment report. Not an email summary of what the agent remembers from the inspection. The actual amendment that the buyer submitted and the seller agreed to.

The amendment defines the scope of work. It lists each repair item with enough specificity for a licensed contractor to estimate the cost and schedule the trade. When contractors receive the repair amendment report instead of the amendment, they spend time sorting out which items are actually in scope. That wastes time in a compressed option period.

If the amendment has not been fully executed at the time you contact the contractor, submit the most recent draft and note clearly that it is pending execution. A good contractor can begin the estimate process on a draft and refine it once the final version is signed.

The Closing Date

The closing date is the single most important piece of scheduling information a contractor needs. Every decision about how to schedule trades, whether to run parallel or sequential work, and how many days to allocate to each repair comes from knowing the hard deadline.

An agent who submits an amendment without the closing date is asking the contractor to build a schedule without knowing when it needs to be finished. That leads to conservative scheduling assumptions that may not match the actual urgency of the situation.

Give the contractor the closing date in the first submission. If the closing date changes during the transaction, update the contractor immediately. A two-day extension can meaningfully change how repairs are scheduled. A two-day compression can require immediate re-sequencing of trades.

Property Access Information

A contractor who cannot get into the property cannot estimate accurately and cannot complete the work on time. Property access information needs to be resolved before the first contractor visit, not after.

Lockbox Code or Key Availability

Most DFW listings in active transactions use a lockbox. Provide the lockbox code or confirm key access before the contractor is scheduled for the site visit. If the property is occupied, confirm whether the contractor needs to schedule around the occupant’s availability. Fix Before Closing coordinates scheduling directly with the seller or their representative, but the agent needs to confirm access is available before the first visit.

Occupied Versus Vacant

The status of the property affects scheduling significantly. A vacant property can be accessed at any time within business hours. An occupied property requires coordination with the seller to avoid disrupting their schedule. For multi-day repair jobs that require multiple trades, the occupant needs to be prepared for contractor presence across several days.

HOA or Building Access Requirements

Properties within HOA communities or multi-family buildings sometimes have contractor access requirements. Insurance certificates, advance notice to the HOA office, elevator reservations in multi-story buildings, and parking restrictions for contractor vehicles are all issues that come up. If the property is in a managed community, flag this in the submission so the contractor can address access requirements before scheduling.

Lender and Loan Type

The loan type on the buyer’s side determines the documentation standard the contractor must meet. This information needs to reach the contractor before the estimate is finalized, not after the work is completed.

FHA Transactions

FHA loans have specific repair requirements that go beyond standard completion documentation. Appraisers for FHA loans flag safety and habitability issues that must be resolved before the appraisal will support the loan. Health and safety items including peeling paint on pre-1978 homes, broken windows, missing smoke detectors, and HVAC systems that are not functioning properly are all FHA appraisal concerns. Fix Before Closing understands FHA repair requirements and builds documentation around them.

VA Transactions

VA loans carry similar requirements with some additional specifics. VA appraisers are particularly attentive to roofing condition, foundation issues, plumbing function, and electrical safety. The VA has minimum property requirements that must be met before funding. Any repair listed in the amendment that touches these categories needs to be completed by a licensed contractor and documented to VA standards.

Conventional Transactions

Conventional loans have more flexible repair documentation requirements than FHA or VA, but lenders still require evidence that agreed repairs were completed by qualified contractors. A receipt from a handyman without a license is not sufficient documentation for most conventional lenders. Licensed contractor receipts and completion certificates are the standard.

Contact Information for the Seller or Listing Agent

The contractor coordinates scheduling directly with the person who controls access to the property. In most DFW transactions, that is the seller or the seller’s representative. Fix Before Closing contacts the seller directly once the estimate is approved to schedule all trades.

Provide the seller’s name and contact number in the submission. If the seller prefers to communicate through the listing agent, note that clearly. If there is a tenant in the property during the transaction, provide the tenant contact information. A contractor who has to make three calls to figure out who to call for scheduling is a contractor whose start date gets pushed.

Re-Inspection Requirements

Some repair amendments include a buyer’s right to re-inspect the completed work before closing. If the amendment includes a re-inspection clause, the contractor needs to know this before scheduling work. Re-inspection requirements affect how repairs are sequenced because all work needs to be completed far enough before the closing date to allow time for the re-inspection and any follow-up.

Let the contractor know the re-inspection window when you submit the amendment. If the buyer’s agent has indicated they plan to schedule a re-inspection regardless of whether the amendment requires it, pass that information along as well. That allows the contractor to build in buffer time before the re-inspection rather than completing repairs at the last possible moment.

What to Expect From a Professional Contractor After Submission

When you submit a repair amendment to a professional post-inspection contractor, here is what a smooth process looks like compared to what a problematic one looks like.

What a Professional Contractor Does

• Returns a line-item estimate covering every item in the amendment within one business day for standard scopes
• Identifies any items that require a site visit before estimating and schedules that visit immediately
• Confirms the closing date and builds the schedule around it from day one
• Coordinates all licensed trades under one project manager so the agent is not managing multiple contractor conversations
• Produces photos, receipts, and completion certificates as standard documentation on every job
• Keeps the agent updated throughout the job so there are no surprises at closing

Warning Signs in a Contractor’s Response

• Asks for the repair amendment report instead of working from the amendment
• Does not ask for the closing date before producing an estimate
• Quotes a timeline that runs past the closing date without flagging the problem
• Cannot confirm licensing and insurance for every trade on the job
• Does not mention documentation or completion certificates
• Asks the agent to coordinate between multiple sub-contractors directly

How Fix Before Closing Handles the Repair Amendment

Fix Before Closing is a post-inspection repair contractor built for DFW real estate transactions. Submit the repair amendment through fixbeforeclosing.com/repair-request/. Include the closing date, property access details, loan type, and seller contact information. We return a line-item estimate covering every item on the amendment.

Once approved, we schedule all licensed contractors, coordinate directly with the seller, complete every repair, and deliver photos, receipts, and completion certificates for the closing file. All contractors are licensed and insured. Every repair carries a one-year workmanship guarantee. We handle electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, and general carpentry under one repair request. If your closing is inside two weeks, contact us today at 817-438-0079. The sooner we have the amendment and the closing date, the more options we have to protect your timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I send the contractor the repair amendment report or just the amendment?

Send the repair amendment only. The amendment defines the actual scope of work the seller agreed to. The repair amendment report includes observations outside the amendment that are not the seller’s responsibility. Sending the full report slows the estimate process and introduces scope confusion.

What if I do not know the closing date yet when I submit?

Include your best estimate of the closing date and flag that it is not yet confirmed. We can begin the estimate process and adjust the schedule once the closing date is firm. If the closing date changes significantly after we have started, contact us immediately so we can re-sequence the work.

Does the loan type affect how Fix Before Closing documents the repairs?

Yes. FHA and VA transactions have specific documentation standards that go beyond standard completion receipts. Fix Before Closing builds documentation around FHA and VA requirements as standard. Let us know the loan type when you submit the amendment so we can align the documentation from the start.

What if the buyer requires a re-inspection before closing?

Include the re-inspection clause details when you submit the amendment. We build the repair schedule to ensure all work is completed early enough to allow time for the re-inspection and any follow-up before the closing date. A re-inspection that happens the day before closing with no buffer is a risk to the deal.

What cities does Fix Before Closing serve in DFW?

We serve ten cities across the Fort Worth side of the Metroplex: Keller, Fort Worth, Euless, Grapevine, Haslet, Hurst, North Richland Hills, Roanoke, Saginaw, and Southlake. Submit your repair amendment and we will confirm coverage right away.