Who wins when sellers offer buyers a credit?

A bath obviously needs work.  The walls need another coat of paint.  The floors need to be refinished.

Such are among the improvements that sellers might be quick to acknowledge.

Their idea, which often is endorsed by their brokers enthusiastically, is to offer a credit to the buyers.  To their thinking, it’s a win-win situation: Buyers are tempted and sellers are rewarded with a contract.

But as Westchester broker Phil Faranda, a friend of mine and inveterate blogger, recently pointed out,