Money · Answer
Who pays for repairs before listing?
The short answer
There's no default answer. You decide it together and put it in writing: which repairs, a cap on the spend, who fronts the money, and whether that person is repaid from the sale proceeds before the split. If you each have an attorney, they can write it into your agreement, so nobody is arguing over receipts at the closing table.
- 01
Agree on the list first
Money fights start when the list is vague. Before anyone calls a contractor, I walk through the house and give both of you the same written list of what I'd fix before listing and what I'd leave for a buyer to price in. You don't have to take every suggestion. You do have to agree on the ones you'll do.
Then set a dollar cap for each item, or for the whole project, so neither of you can approve a bigger job on the other's behalf. The guide on preparing the house after one of you moves out has a fuller checklist.
- 02
Fronting the money, getting it back
Often one of you has more cash available right now. That person can pay the contractor and keep every invoice, and your written agreement can say they're reimbursed from the proceeds at closing before the remaining money is divided. If you both sign instructions to that effect, the title company can show the reimbursement as its own line on the settlement statement.
Keep the receipts together. A shared folder works.
- 03
When you can't agree
If one of you wants a new roof and the other wants to sell as is, that's a negotiation for your attorneys or a mediator, not for me. I work for the sale, not for one side, so I'll give you both the same information about what a repair may or may not change and let you decide.
If the question ends up in front of a judge, ORS 107.105(1)(f) lets the court consider reasonable costs of sale when it divides property. Whether a repair counts as one is for your attorney. For a related choice, see should we stage the house or sell as is?
That's their call, and yours.
- 04
Small jobs count too
Agreement matters even for small things. A weekend of painting, a dump run or new blinds can feel too minor to write down, but those are exactly the costs that turn into a dispute when one of you remembers paying for them and the other doesn't. Put them on the same list with the same cap. If one of you is doing the work yourself, agree up front whether your time counts for anything or only the materials do.
Decide now. Not at closing.
Sources · checked 23 Oct 2026
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