Usually the cleaner move is to build expected repair costs into your offer price up front and keep the standard structure, where repairs get negotiated after the inspection. If you are fairly confident a property needs, say, five to ten thousand dollars of work, put that in your offer price rather than proposing a separate repair-coverage arrangement. Doing so is simpler, and it puts your real number in front of the seller. One thing to keep straight about value: the market sets what a home is worth, whatever the asking price or an appraisal says. Some sellers are simply irrational and will not take a rational offer, and the only fix for that is moving on to the next house. We have had well-qualified buyers who insisted on a fixed discount under asking on every property and lost home after home while prices in their target area kept climbing. Discipline on price is smart. Rigidity that costs you the right home for years is something else. If you and the seller are close but stuck, an agent who earns their keep in the negotiation matters more than any single tactic. Sometimes the answer is a small price move, and sometimes the answer is walking away.