Sometimes unforeseeable issues arise after signing a Purchase & Sale Agreement, but prior to closing the sale. Hopefully, through negotiation, most of these have a workable solution. Remember, in most cases, it is more productive to reach an agreeable compromise, rather than searching for another buyer who is willing to accept the house as is.

Imagine the roof inspection your prospective buyers have ordered reveals that the roof will only last another year or two. The prospective buyers immediately balk, not wanting to incur the time and cost of replacing the roof. Their plans were to move in with minimal repairs. The additional cost of the new roof, they say, is just too much.

At this point, communicate with the prospective buyers through your agent. Calmly discuss the situation and how it can be solved to the benefit of all. Once the extent of the damage is agreed upon, you can jointly decide what to do about it. While the buyers hadn't planned on that expense, you show them that instead of a limited roof life that they would get with most existing homes, they'll have a new worry-free roof that won't cost them in repairs for the next decade or so. Since the roof wasn't in as good shape as you had thought, you agree to lower the purchase price to help offset the cost of the new roof.

In other cases, the most workable agreement for both parties might be for the deal to be called off. Ideally, the seller can always find another buyer and the buyer can always find another home. However, market conditions often play very heavily into this decision process. Additionally, financing institutions often require the home they are placing a mortgage on to be in working condition with an acceptable remaining life.

Therefore, if the repairs are going to be a necessity in order to secure a future sale, why not complete the repairs now, and close the deal with your existing buyer. By remaining open minded, negotiating calmly and looking at all possibilities, what could have been a "deal breaker" can be turned into a win-win situation for both the buying and selling parties.