{"id":15372,"date":"2020-03-30T09:05:16","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T16:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=15372"},"modified":"2020-05-15T00:58:11","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T07:58:11","slug":"buyer-who-is-present-at-final-walkthrough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-who-is-present-at-final-walkthrough\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Time for the Final Walkthrough! Who\u2019s Going to Be There?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The final walkthrough<\/a> can be a thrilling time for buyers: You get to see firsthand what you saved for, dreamed of\u2026 and will soon be yours!<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s be clear: This isn\u2019t the time to host a housewarming party and get preoccupied with selfies. The final walkthrough is a serious and important event, which you\u2019ll want to undertake carefully, calmly, and with as few distractions as possible.<\/p>\n

In short, it\u2019s your last chance to resolve matters that could only become more complicated after closing<\/a> if not addressed at the final walkthrough. \u201cIt becomes much more difficult to get resolution once you\u2019ve closed,\u201d notes Kendall Gigax<\/a>, a top-selling agent in the Toledo, Ohio, area. \u201cBecause then it\u2019s going to involve an attorney.\u201d (And nobody<\/i> wants that.)<\/p>\n

So make sure you\u2019re ready for a smooth and thorough process with this expert-sourced guide to what to look for at the final walkthrough \u2014 plus, who should be there and who definitely should not<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Source: (Curtis Adams \/ Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s the point of a final walkthrough?<\/h2>\n

The final walkthrough is your last opportunity to take a look at what you\u2019re buying before it\u2019s officially yours \u2014 and to raise any objections about what you find in the process. So make sure you use the final walkthrough to perform a series of basic tests and observations<\/a> of various facets of the home.<\/p>\n

What you note in the final walkthrough should be a home in the exact same condition as it was in when you originally made the offer. You need to check the floors, ceilings, and walls for any damage \u2014 in particular, any new cosmetic damage since you made the offer. Note whether the floors are \u201cbroom clean\u201d \u2014 that is to say, cleared of all personal items and swept clean<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As well, you\u2019ll want to check the appliances. Do these all work? How about the outlets? Turn the lights on and off, to make sure those all work, too.<\/p>\n

In the bathrooms, check whether all the toilets flush. And in all plumbed areas, make sure all the sinks drain; run water in each one to do a test. Note where there may be any signs of recent or old water damage that was missed somehow.<\/p>\n

Open all the doors and windows to test their condition. Test the fireplace, and check the air conditioner and the furnace in your final walkthrough, as well.<\/p>\n

The good news is, you\u2019re likely to find the house as you expect it. \u201cWe have not had any major issues with possession transfer,\u201d Gigax says. \u201cI do not expect to learn the house is not in the shape it should be. It\u2019s unusual for that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who should be present at the final walkthrough?<\/h2>\n

Well, of course, you<\/i> should be present as the buyer! Experts warn strongly against skipping this step, even if you\u2019re busy. Do plan to go yourself, rather than send a proxy for something this important, if you can avoid it.<\/p>\n

Your agent should also be present, and should bring the seller\u2019s disclosure form and the inspection report (along with any repair amendments that might also exist) to confirm the house is in the condition outlined in the purchase agreement.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s usually about it!<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the final walkthrough, it\u2019s usually just me and the buyers,\u201d Gigax says. \u201cWe\u2019ll just walk through and make sure that they\u2019re satisfied. Usually it takes 5 to 10 minutes because usually the house looks exactly the same as when we saw it last.\u201d (And while it can<\/i> be that short, don\u2019t feel the need to rush through it \u2014 take a half an hour or more if you need to feel you\u2019ve thoroughly checked out the space.)<\/p>\n

But consider this scenario, which underscores the importance of that final walkthrough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had an investor who was buying a home this family was selling of a deceased relative<\/a>. The house was supposed to be cleaned out on the day of closing, because possession was given at closing,\u201d Gigax recalls. \u201cWe walk in and the house was filled with stuff. Furniture, boxes, garbage<\/a> \u2014 it was just a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Gigax called the sellers and all parties met at the title company to discuss how to resolve the matter. \u201cHow we handled it is the sellers gave my buyers a couple thousand dollars to hire people to come in and clean it out,\u201d Gigax says. \u201cThe sellers didn\u2019t want to delay closing by waiting so they could get somebody out there, and obviously, my buyers didn\u2019t want to take on the huge expense and effort that would have been involved with clearing the house. So that\u2019s how we rectified that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gigax notes that you can address issues noted at the final walkthrough \u201cany way you want as long as everyone\u2019s in agreement and happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she warns, \u201cHad we not done that final walkthrough, the buyers\u2019 only recourse would have been to go through an attorney \u2014\u00a0and who knows how long that could have taken. That\u2019s why that final walkthrough is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

If your home is new construction<\/a>, you might want to arrange for a builder\u2019s representative to also be at the walkthrough, because you\u2019ll expect everything to be in brand-new condition without any defects \u2014 that\u2019s what you signed up for after all.<\/p>\n

And if there\u2019s some other unique circumstance to your specific home purchase, it might<\/i> be appropriate for the seller to be there as well \u2014\u00a0but that\u2019s a rarer circumstance that should be determined case by case.<\/p>\n

Who should not<\/i> be at the final walkthrough?<\/h2>\n

In most cases, the seller should not be in the building for the final walkthrough, nor should the seller\u2019s agent. The buyer shouldn’t have to feel any pressure coming from that camp.<\/p>\n

To keep you focused and distraction-free, avoid bringing your kids. The same goes for your parents, friends, or your interior decorator. The goal is to clearly uninvite from the final walkthrough anybody whose purpose distracts from your essential goal: to confirm that the house is in the condition it needs to be before you take possession.<\/p>\n

And if it isn\u2019t? Well, you\u2019ve caught it in time to act \u2014\u00a0and typically, issues can be resolved without too much difficulty at the final walkthrough stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people don\u2019t want to be sued,\u201d Gigax says. \u201cSo if we point out what the seller\u2019s responsibility was and what\u2019s in the contract<\/a>, they\u2019ll often do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

No fuss, no mess.<\/p>\n

Header Image Source: (Curtis Adams \/ Pexels)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Make sure you\u2019re ready for a smooth and thorough process with this expert-sourced guide to what to look for at the final walkthrough \u2014 plus, who should and should not be there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":15374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,629,635],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-home-financing","category-auctions-foreclosures"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWho Should Be at the Final Walkthrough \u2014 And Who Definitely Shouldn\u2019t?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Make sure you\u2019re ready for a smooth and thorough process with this expert-sourced guide to what to look for at the final walkthrough \u2014 plus, who should and should not be there.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-who-is-present-at-final-walkthrough\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It\u2019s Time for the Final Walkthrough! 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