Market is heating up. I would not walk away. Try to threaten the seller with lawsuit and force them to lower price.
What’s the recommendation from your agent?
Scare the seller but don’t walk away. Never sign the cancellation so that the house is yours.
harriet:
Realtors, you know, honest realtors can’t divulge those numbers.
But, after I read you guys and whatnot, I would simply put it, wait for the seller to perform, let escrow run its course, close the deal notating the seller is at fault for not performing. Savvy buyers, or naïve buyers don’t like the closing of a deal, they kind of smell rat, something is wrong, they killed the Realtor in there, yada, yada, yada. 
Buyer should be aware of the current market, he shall wait, or push for performance or close with no gain. Seller is probably waiting for market to pick up and get the surprise of his life or piles of gold coming his way. Not! 
If there’s a big gap between @Nishi and the runner up (>$15K), seller will not want to give up the top bid and pay up. Game theory.
You do realize this is an oxymoron, right?
Echoing the earlier sentiments here. If you want to buy this place (and maybe it took a lot of effort to find and have your offer accepted), $15k is nothing in the big picture.
I think haggling and stressing over $15k will just eat you up. It’s not worth it.
Is it appx or some statistics or someone else experience? Just would like to know more, why 15K?
We were quoted $350 per hour from a decent RE litigation firm in SJ.
Never heard of a litigation below $10k for something like this.
True!
I’m happy that we are having an active RE related discussion. Cheers to that!
“Seller to pay for repair costs for the items discovered via inspection”
Is such an open-ended clause even enforceable? Contracts should always spell out exact terms and conditions.
(Again, playing devil’s advocate.)
Oh boy! You got it!
I forgot my sarcastic emoticon. 
Well, let me tell you something here. Playing your devil’s advocate game, the guy in the electric chair here is the realtor not enforcing the spirit of the letter or contract.
Probably, the Realtor realized the repairs, which he should have known by experience or by word of the seller were not that much. So, as a buyer, in mutual accord with the seller, I would be asking the realtor to forfeit his commission to pay for repairs.
If I had the energy and $, I would sue this seller, and his Realtor. We are talking about a contractual agreement, buyer has done his due diligence, and seller after discovery doesn’t want to perform, well, there should be hell to pay.
If there’s no precedent on this one, no punishment for the seller for refusing to perform, anarchy will prevail.
Whatever discussion going on in this thread, your final decision is either of this option. No other choices left.
If you walk away, Seller may accept reduction in price or (if they have 2nd offer) they may choose one.
To walk away, you need to have some contingency clause.
What does your realtor say?
What about his broker. Consult with a lawyer to see if this clause is enforceable. My guess is you could get your inspection fees back if you can prove the seller acted in bad faith. But the legal cost could be more than the $16k
Depends on whether the house is Primary or rental. If rental, I can’t be bother to waste time i.e. walk away. If Primary, I would push for performance.
Ask the realtors involved to chip in for some of the costs. And offer to split the cost with the seller. Not a lot of money for a $1m deal. Lawyers would eat up the $16k for breakfast.
Look for a solution, or walk away.
Good idea. Ask the agents if they are willing to reduce their commission to partially compensate otherwise will lose the deal.
On a $1m deal realtors split $50k
My guess is the real costs of repairs is less than $8k. All parties chip in $2k each. Done deal.
So, I won the contest? 
Well, I agree that it is unusual for the seller to put this line in voluntarily. More typically, the contract would state that the property is to be accepted “as is”. Do you have a realtor to represent you (not the listing agent)? If so, this would be the person to address your concerns and communicate them to the seller’s agent. Both should have a good sense of market conditions and assess the options available (ie other bids vs other properties). $15K does not seem like a deal-breaker to me but I don’t know what kinds of repairs are needed or if their are many better prospects for you to choose from. Agree that going the legal route is a waste.