You’re THIS CLOSE to owning a new home, that you can almost taste it! The closing paperwork is prepared, your new house passed the inspection and you’re happy with your loan. All that needs to happen now is the final walk-through.
Realtor.com’s Home-Buying Guide shares what to look for when going through the last trip through the house.
Create a checklist
Before your walk-through, work with your realtor and real estate lawyer to create a comprehensive checklist covering all of your concerns with your home – the items that you’d like to see addressed or fixed. Look at your notes from previous walk-throughs and the inspection report to determine what areas of the house you should double check. Other things to add to your inspection list include ensuring that all appliances work – make sure to turn them on while you’re in the house – as well as the bathroom plumbing. Check the windows, doors, and all outlets and lights. If anything is amiss, bring it up with the sellers as soon as possible and negotiate a fee the sellers can give you by personal check to cover the costs of fixing it yourself. It’s your last chance, so make it count!
Ensure required repairs were completed
Most sellers are good, ethical people, but you never know if your dealing with a sneak until the final walk-through. After all, the selling process can be hyper complicated – leaving required repairs unfinished because priorities have been focused elsewhere. Ask for copies of paid invoices for all repairs. If it’s a simple repair, ask them to send you a photo of the completed work before the walk-through, so there are no surprises. And while civility is key, this is not the time for preternatural politeness. If you do find something wrong that they’d vowed to address, it’s worth the awkwardness of bringing it up face to face and demanding compensation.
Inspect previously hard to reach spaces
During your final walk-through, inspect everything you couldn’t check out earlier due to lack of time. You always want to make sure you aren’t stuck with any problems that were previously hidden from a view. Take a careful look at the hardwood below for any water damage or rot. This goes double if you’re buying a home with a basement once filled with boxes or clutter. Basements are ground zero for mold, water damage and other structural issues, and it’s easy for sellers to hide (or miss) problems behind a layer of clutter.
Look for missing items – or secret swaps
Make sure all appliances and fixtures you’d like during earlier visits are still present – or haven’t undergone a subpar substitution. Basically anything connected to the home by plugs or pipes should stay – or if the sellers intended to keep something other than their furniture and belongings, it should be specified in the contract. Swapping out the bronze cabinet pulls for mediocre chrome replacements isn’t OK either, and you have ever right to demand them reinstated before the home changes hands.
Don’t panic over a little dirt
You might be expecting a picture-perfect ready home with polished hardwood floors and shining countertops – but a few real estate contracts mandate those expectations, instead asking for the place to be “broom clean.” Which does not mean “scrubbed within an inch of its life.” Everyone has a different definition of broom plan, and if the place is a little dirty it’s not the end of world. Don’t stress over minor problems such as scratches in the hardwood or marks on the walls. It’s certainly not worth raising a fuss over – not only will it annoy the sellers, but chances are you’ll cause more damage during move in.
