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<\/a>When does the final walkthrough take place?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Check your contract, but in many cases buyers have the right to complete a final-walkthrough, also known as a pre-closing inspection, within 24 hours before closing<\/a>. The walkthrough could take place a few days earlier than that, but the closer you schedule it to the closing date, the less time there is for something to go wrong before you get the keys.<\/p>\n \u201cThe final walkthrough is your opportunity to see it one more time before you close to make sure there aren\u2019t issues per se, but also just to take another look at it,\u201d said Matthew Cannon<\/a>, who with his wife, Jenny Cannon<\/a>, is a top-selling agent serving Florida\u2019s Sarasota and Bradenton areas.<\/p>\n Think of the final walkthrough as a follow-up to the home inspection, not<\/i> an additional inspection where you get to pick the house apart all over again.<\/p>\n The walkthrough confirms that the sellers took care of the negotiated repair items and that no other issues have cropped up in the meantime. Although you\u2019re not simply \u201ceyeballing\u201d the property, you\u2019re not taking out a magnifying glass, either. Expect a walkthrough to take about 30 to 40 minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cAn hour would probably be excessive,\u201d according to the Cannons.<\/p>\n Although you may be excited to reach this stage of the buying process, you should put on your \u201cbuyer beware\u201d goggles. It\u2019ll feel silly, but better to check now then when you\u2019ve just moved in only to realize in the dead of summer you have no AC.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to bring your entire inspection report along, which can be lengthy, but bring the summary page and examine the items that you\u2019ll need to address.<\/p>\n Check the outlets if the sellers promised to upgrade to ground-fault circuit interrupters, see if they patched up the damaged drywall or exterior wood rot on the outside, and test the sturdiness of the handrail you asked be extended for the home to be up to code.<\/p>\n Most sellers aren\u2019t intentionally dishonest but you never know which of your requests could have slipped through the cracks.<\/p>\n Make sure that you receive any receipts, manuals, or warranties related to repairs or appliances. It\u2019s also a smart idea to photograph the work for your homeownership records.<\/p>\n Review any documents carefully. Sometimes the guarantee of the work<\/a> will only apply to the person who paid for the project, so the warranty won\u2019t automatically transfer to you as the buyer. In that case, you\u2019ll need to make sure the quality of the repair is up to par and everything functions correctly before you take ownership.<\/p>\n If the purchase agreement had specified any furnishings or items that were to stay with the house\u2014a washer\/dryer, window coverings, antique fixtures\u2014either bring that agreement or a list of those items with you so you can check for them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a red flag if items previously attached to the house go missing. Items like light fixtures, built-in furniture, landscaping, doorknobs, toilet paper holders, major appliances like ovens and fridges, or anything bolted down should stay unless the seller made special arrangements in the contract to take them.<\/p>\n Your real estate agent may have addressed this already, but you\u2019ll also want to note whether you have any remotes for a garage-door opener, key fobs for a community pool or recreation center, or other items that the seller should pass along by this point.<\/p>\n Sellers must leave the house in \u201cbroom clean\u201d condition when they move out, which means swept, vacuumed, and free of debris or excess stuff the buyers haven\u2019t agreed to keep.<\/p>\n Check closets, cabinets, garages, basements, and sheds to make sure you aren\u2019t inheriting any unwanted \u201cgifts\u201d from the seller. (Note that sellers frequently leave paint or tiles for a new buyer as a courtesy for touch-ups, especially if they\u2019ve done work on the house right before the sale. However, check to see if the paint matches the homes current colors. If it\u2019s from 30 years ago, ask the sellers to dispose of it before they move out).<\/p>\n The best-case scenario is that it should be \u201ckind of a cursory walkthrough: Everything is the way it should be,\u201d Matthew Cannon said. \u201cHopefully, if there were any inspection items to be repaired, all that has been taken care of, and you\u2019ve been provided receipts.\u201d<\/p>\n Some buyers aren\u2019t so lucky, but no need to panic. There\u2019s always a solution, and usually the seller wants to work with you to get to closing as smoothly as possible.<\/p>\n This should be your go-to plan. Just let the sellers know what\u2019s wrong, and kindly request that they fix it.<\/p>\n The Cannons once visited a house on a final walkthrough where the seller had the interior painted but didn\u2019t move the furniture beforehand, leaving a large swath of wall\u2014about eleven feet high and eight feet wide\u2014a different color.<\/p>\n The seller brought the painter back to fix it. All it took was flagging the issue and a simple ask.<\/p>\n As for something major like the seller never completed roof repairs as agreed? Talk to your agent about holding money in escrow<\/a> to cover the cost or delaying the closing for a few days. Don\u2019t sign the final documents until the sellers fix the problem.<\/p>\n Depending on the exact terms of your purchase agreement and any inspection contingency<\/a>, you do have the option at this point of requesting time for further inspections, should something need another look based on new findings in the final walkthrough.<\/p>\n You also can back out of the deal altogether and get a refund of your earnest money deposit<\/a>\u2014the 1%-3% of the purchase price that you might have put down to demonstrate your serious interest in the property if the terms of the contract haven\u2019t been met.<\/p>\n Buyers also can renegotiate their offer, indicating whether the seller pays for the defect, both parties agree to split the costs, or the buyer will pick up the repairs. This happened with one couple in North Carolina who went to their walk-through about an hour before closing to find water gushing from the laundry room faucet<\/a>; the sellers agreed to cover the costs of repairs, and the sale was settled just a few hours later.<\/p>\n Because lenders are required to send borrowers a Closing Disclosure<\/a> at least three days before closing<\/a> to ensure that their loan terms are what they expect, the Cannons said they\u2019ve found it easier to take care of such last-minute items by escrowing the money or dealing in cash.<\/p>\n Experienced agents want the walkthrough to be as stress-free as possible, so they\u2019ll do \u201ca little buffering\u201d by visiting the property beforehand to ensure any major problems are being handled, Matthew Cannon said.<\/p>\n \u201cReally, your walkthrough should be a happy time,\u201d he added. \u201cNot that it\u2019s going to be 100% that you\u2019re never going to have an issue, but hopefully, the agents have done everything they can and looked at the house several times, so that you don\u2019t get surprises.\u201d<\/p>\n Header Image Source: (Petra Homeier\/ Shutterstock)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A handy little guide on what to look for in the final walkthrough, aka your last chance to check out the home before it\u2019s yours!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":12791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,653,646],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-final-walkthrough","category-making-offers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBasic functions<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n<\/b>
\nReview that the home\u2019s systems are working<\/a> with a few basic checks:<\/p>\n\n
Unfinished repairs\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
Copies of any receipts for repair work<\/b><\/h3>\n
Items that stay with the house<\/b><\/h3>\n
Junk left behind<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>How to resolve disputes that arise during the final walkthrough\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
Ask nicely<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
Hold off on closing<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
Investigate further<\/b><\/h3>\n
Re-open negotiations<\/b><\/h3>\n
Ask your agent to do a little detective work ahead of time<\/b><\/h3>\n