Can a seller credit replace agreed-upon repairs in a DDRA?

QUESTION: Recently, a home sold where several repairs were requested and agreed upon by the parties using the Due Diligence Request and Agreement (Form 310-T) (“DDRA”). As the closing date approached, the buyers’ inspector indicated that the repairs were not completed in a good and workmanlike manner. The sellers disagreed, and the transaction nearly fell apart. After some cooperative negotiations between the agents, the closing attorney drafted an amendment allowing the repairs to remain as-is while increasing the seller’s concessions to the buyers.

In the future, can agents simply use the Agreement to Amend Contract (Form 4-T) to amend the seller’s credit and accomplish the same result?

ANSWER: No. While Form 4-T is the appropriate form to amend the amount a seller agrees to pay toward a buyer’s expenses, executing Form 4-T alone would not relieve the seller of the obligations created by an already executed DDRA. Once the parties have agreed to repairs in the DDRA, those obligations must be completed in a good and workmanlike manner prior to Closing. If they are not, then the seller may be in breach of contract.

Form 4-T is the proper form to use if there is a change in seller concessions. However, it does not, by itself, terminate or modify the seller’s separate contractual duty to complete agreed-upon repairs. In your case, a custom attorney-drafted amendment was necessary to make sure the DDRA was terminated, even though there was a dispute about the repair quality. This is because the amendment needed to expressly release or terminate the seller’s remaining repair obligations under the DDRA and confirm that the increased concessions are a negotiated resolution of the dispute regarding the quality or completion of the repairs.

Creative solutions like you describe can be effective in helping transactions reach the closing table. However, brokers should remember that when modifying or resolving contractual obligations, it is important to ensure the parties’ agreement is clearly and fully documented, and to encourage their clients to consult with legal counsel when reducing these types of negotiated resolutions to writing.

It is also important to note that Form 310-T should not be used to address seller concessions in any scenario. As explained in this Q&A, seller concessions should be handled on Form 4-T and not Form 310-T. While these forms can, and often are, used together, each should only be used for the purpose for which they were designed. And in scenarios such as this case, a custom attorney-drafted addendum should be used.

Release Date: 4/30/2026

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