Buying A Home? Don't Skip The Final Walk Through!

Just before closing on the home, you want to do your final walk through! Why? Not doing a final walk through is like buying a car, paying for it, driving it off the lot and never test-driving it! This step is your opportunity to meticulously inspect the property just before closing the deal. So why is this step a critical one ?

WHAT IS THE FINAL WALK THROUGH?

This is the last step before you go to the attorney's office to sign the papers and close the transaction! One of the pieces of paper you will sign is one that says you have had a chance to see the property and you are accepting it in it's current condition! Although you may have done an inspection, that could have been done weeks before closing! And the appraisal is only going to do a cursory inspection of the property. And if you asked for repairs to be done, even if you have a receipt from the company who completed the repairs, you still want to make sure that the house is as you anticipate it being! Even if you are building a new home, it is important to do a final walk through to ensure that the contractors and sub-contractors building your new home didn't miss anything - if they did, it can be added to the punch list for the builder to correct before closing! And even if you are buying a home "as is", where the seller is not doing any repairs, it is still important to do that final walk through prior to closing!

So the final walk through is the opportunity for the buyer to confirm that the property is as you expect it to be.

WHEN SHOULD YOU SCHEDULE YOUR FINAL WALK THROUGH?

When you should do your inspection depends on the house! For instance -

• Was the house vacant when you made your offer? If so, and if all the owner's belongings were gone, you will want to walk through the house just to make sure it is still in the same condition as when you made your offer, that everything is in good condition and still working. If it is the middle of the winter, you will want to make sure that the seller kept the heat on, so pipes didn't freeze! You will want to make sure that the repairs were completed! You will want to make sure there was no vandalizing of the house between the last time you saw the house and the day of the final walk through! So, in this case, a walk through a day or two before closing is when I would suggest doing the final walk through - just in case there are any issues that need to be corrected by the seller before closing!
• Was the house occupied and full of personal items when you made your offer? If so, then you will want to wait until the seller has removed all their items from the house. And that may be very close to the day of the closing! In our area, you will get possession of the house and the keys to the house at the time you are signing the paperwork at the attorney's office! In this case, you want to make sure that the seller has removed everything from the house and left it in broom clean condition!
• Did the seller agree to complete any repairs, per the contract and any addendums? If so, then you want to make sure that those repairs were properly completed before closing! Depending on the repairs needed, you may need to schedule to bring your inspector back to the house with you during the final walk through, just to make sure everything was done properly. And if any permits were required to do the repairs, you will want to make sure you receive copies of these permits! You may need to schedule your final walk through a few days away from closing, and based on the inspector's schedule.

THE 10 THINGS YOU WILL WANT TO CHECK OUT DURING YOUR WALK THROUGH!

Keep in mind that per the contract and any addenda that were signed, the seller agreed to convey the house to you in the same condition as when you saw the house, plus any agreed upon repairs. So when you are going through the house, you want to check the following:

1. Is the home broom clean? Broom clean is one of those terms that can be in the eye of the beholder! At a minimum, the home should have all garbage removed, the refrigerator (if conveying) should not have any food in it, and floors and carpets should have been swept of any debris!
2. Did sellers remove all their items from the house? You want to make sure that there was nothing left in the attic, in the basement or crawl space and in the garage! Don't forget to check those areas during your walk through!
3. Did sellers complete the repairs they needed to? If you asked the seller to complete the repairs, hopefully you have receipts showing the repairs were completed as requested. Sometimes, there are repairs you can see (ex - seller needed to put the anti-tip bracket on the stove, or fix a plumbing leak - these are easy enough to see if they were completed), but there are others that you may not be able to easily see (such as in a crawl space). If you are unsure about whether or not the repairs were properly completed, you may wish to have the inspector come back in for a limited re-inspection!
4. Is HVAC and water heater working? Check and make sure before you close!
5. Did the sellers leave the items that were supposed to convey with the house? In our area, refrigerator, washer, dryer don't normally convey unless agreed to by the seller. If the seller was to leave these items, make sure they are still there AND they are the same ones that were in the house when you made your offer! And, if you were purchasing any of the seller's personal property, are those items still there?
6. Check out the plumbing fixtures! Even if there was no issues when you did your inspection, they may now be leaking! The contract here says that this should be in working order at the time of closing - unless you have agreed to buy the house as is!
7. Test light fixtures & outlets to make sure they are working! Flip on all the light switches to ensure they are properly working. Bring a phone charger with you and plug into each outlet to ensure they are turning on.
8. Open and close the garage door! You want to make sure they are still working properly!
9. Check for any new damage both inside and outside the house! Make sure there are no new holes in the walls, that there is no new damage to the exterior, that the roof is still the way it was at the time of the contract, etc.
10. Are all garage door remotes and spare keys in the house? You want to make sure that the seller left these somewhere for you!

Make sure you don't nitpick the house during the walk through - it is to be expected that you may find small nail holes in the walls where pictures were hung, or that the carpet may have gotten a little dirtier since you wrote your contract.   Make sure to focus on the bigger issues!

WHAT IF SELLER IS RETAINING POSSESSION AFTER CLOSING?

In our current real estate market, it has not been unusual for a buyer to allow a seller to retain possession of the house after closing.  Many times it is at no charge.  In this case, when you do a walk through before closing, it will not be vacant.  Hopefully, you have signed a Possession After Closing Agreement with the seller and have collected a deposit, which is to be held by your attorney.  So, I normally will recommend to the buyer that they still do a walk through before closing to ensure that the repairs that the seller agreed to make have been completed.  After the seller vacates, you should do a second walk through.  Per the agreement we use here, if there are any damages to the house that you want the seller to pay for, you need to make that request within 5 days of the seller vacating the house.  If there are any issues that are found after the seller has vacated, you need to make sure you document it with pictures and an estimate on the repair cost and submit that to your closing attorney who is holding the deposit.  

WHAT IF THERE ARE ISSUES DISCOVERED DURING THE WALK THROUGH?

If issues are found during the walk through (ex: repairs not properly completed, damage found that was possibly caused by the moving company, etc), now is the time to bring it to the attention of the listing agent as well as your closing attorney.  Make sure you document it with plenty of pictures.  This is your time to make sure that these things are taken care of prior to closing on the house!  It may end up delaying the closing by a few days to allow the seller to correct these issues!  Depending on the issue, some of the seller's proceeds from closing may need to be held back to allow for the repair to be done after closing - but be careful here, the lender will need to approve this and they may not be agreeable to allowing an escrow to be held for a repair that should have been completed prior to closing!

Basically, it is very important that you, the buyer, make sure you get a final walk through before closing.  Never assume that the home will be in the same condition as when your offer was accepted!  Don't assume that the seller will have properly completed the agreed upon repairs.  Make sure that the home of your dreams is ready for you on closing day! 

If you are thinking of buying a home and have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.  We can grab a cup of coffee and chat about the home buying process!