7 Things to Look for During a Final Walk-Through for Your New Home

7 Things to Look for During a Final Walk-Through for Your New Home
The final walk-through is the 2nd happiest time when you are buying a home. The happiest time is when you are handed the keys to your new home at the closing table.
Below is a list of things to look for during your final walk-through:

Appliances - Make sure all appliances are working. Turn on the stove and oven, start the microwave, check the fridge to make sure it's on, turn on all the a/c units if it's not an HVAC system, turn the heat on, run the dishwasher & garbage disposal.
Repairs - make sure all repairs that the seller promised to get done are completed. Always good to have a checklist on hand to make sure you didn't miss anything.
Termite Treatment - If your home inspector picked up past or present termite damage, make sure the seller has the termite treatment paperwork to hand over to your lender. Banks will not close a loan without it.
Leaks - Run the water for the kitchen sink and bathrooms to make sure there are no leaks.
Basement - Check the basement for water. Most times if the basement had no evidence of water in the beginning there will not be water now. But, I have seen it happen so it doesn't hurt to check.
General Damage - Check the walls for large holes that weren't there before. Again, I've seen holes in walls that I know weren't there before. Make sure windows are not broken and working properly. Check all doors for damage.
Contract Contingencies - Make sure whatever else the seller agreed to repair that is stated in the contract has been taken care of.

What happens if some things are not repaired or new damage? Usually you call your attorney and they will tell you it can be resolved at the closing. Most times things can be resolved quickly unless it's something catastrophic like a collapsed roof or water damage.
Call Jackie today (631) 703-0201 and I will walk you through the home buying process.

Jackie Connelly-Fornuff
Century 21 AA Realty in Lindenhurst, NY

Serving the South Shore of Long Island of Suffolk and Nassau Counties: Long Island Residential Listing Agent, Buyer's Agent, Condo, Coops and Short Sale Specialist.

Always Moving at the Speed of You!

Cell/Text: (631) 703-0201
Office: (631) 226-5995 Ext. 242
Email: JackieConnelly@optonline.netWebsite: www.LongIslandRealEstateLady.com
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Posted by Jackie Connelly-Fornuff Century 21 AA Lindenhurst NY on 07/24/2013 04:58 AM

Comments (67)

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7 things to look for during a final walkthrough for your new home, what happens during a final walk through, jackie connelly fornuff

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67 Comments on 7 Things to Look for During a Final Walk-Through for Your New Home

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JUL

nice list thanks for reminding us

My buyers and I generally do a walk-through a couple of days before closing, once the sellers are out. No major issues have surfaced for me; sometimes piles of junk are left that need removing, little stuff like that. The walk through is an important last step, not to be ignored.

Excellent post on what takes place. Very thorough.

Excellent post Jackie! You hit all the key points!

Great list! I have had walk thru issues with appliances missing, fans missing etc...Whenever possible I prefer to do a walk thru a couple of days prior to closing to allow time to correct issues if any arise and then a final walk thru just before the actual closing.

Or when a big redwood tree was cut down in the dead of night the day before the walk through and after the sellers had already signed all the docs. Ouch..almost had a lawsuit over that.

Great post and I agree totally.
But I had once a transaction where the buyer thought that he can reopen the negotiations based on his own realtor knowledge from 20 years ago. During the whole process he was not listening to my recommendations and did not read the documents carefully. That was a rough ride to the closing.

I'm laughing because at my last "walk thru", the buyers agent did a whole 2nd home inspection. Tested the pool equip, ran the garbage disposal, ran the a/c and heater. It took an hour to do a "final walk thru" on a vacant house that was 1000 sq ft!

Good points. As a buyers representative I also will take digital photos of any unexpected deficiencies that are discovered during the walk through. At minimum if there is any denial I can show the seller and their agent our concern. Pictures are worth a thousand words, especially if there is disagreement.

Good stuff, Jackie. Hope you can make the meetup on Aug. 19th. Look for my post on it.

Thanks for this simple list. I have buyers all the time asking me what they should look for upon intitial inspection and the final walkthrough. will not just go through this list to give them an idea of what should look for.

Hi Ginny, thank you. For that to happen an hour before closing must have made things stressful!
Hi Ron, thank you and have a great week.
Hi Christine, thank you!
Hi Terry, thank you. I also prefer a day or two before for the same reasons as you.
Hi Hella, oh boy! It's funny what people take with them :)
Hi Andrea, sometimes former agents are the worst.
Hi Liane, that is crazy. Going a little overboard.
Hi Bill, smart. Very smart thing to do. Have a great week.
Hi Jill, thank you and I will keep an eye out for it :)
Hi Tyler, always good to be prepared.

Usually Contracts here in NJ state that property is to be "broom clean". It's interesting that some Buyers expect the Sellers to have the home professionally cleaning just prior to Closing. And some Sellers elect to have it professionally cleaned because that's the way they want to do business. In a light-hearted way, I usually tell Buyers to plan to scrub out that bathtub before the first use (as Sellers are not required, unless agreed to in Contract, to have that cleaning crew come through).

Good list. I do this with my clients usually 1-2 days before closing. I have a similar list. If we find any issues I take pictures and notify the listing agent immediately. I know agents to do the final walk through after closing. How scarey is that?

During my recent walk thru the washer and dryer were missing. The renters had purchased new ones and had the owners removed. The owner forgot about this and paid $1500 at closing for new buyers.

Hi Jackie, we do not usually do that thorough of a walk thru inspection. We rely on the requirement of the contract to require the seller to maintain the home in workable condition.

Good list. You never know what may have happened overnight so do it on your way to closing.

It's typical in our area to do a walk through with the buyers a few days before closing. It was fun to read the other posts. Knocking on wood, I haven't had any major surprises during a walk through yet.

Don't forget to look carefully at the areas that were blocked by storage items (garage walls).

when I was a buyer the last day before close of an escrow I went to inspect property and found out there were few broken windows and paint on the floor I did not have full time Agent representing me and made the misstake by hopping I'l have those things fixed after the escrow needless to say I got nothing but now I'm there with my buyers to make sure it's same condition as we originally agreed to make an offer.