What Is A Final Walk-Through?
Nov 28, 2007
Author: Family Realty LLC

What Is A Final Walk-Through?

The notion of a “final walk-through” seems to confuse both buyers and sellers of homes. What is a walk-through? What is its purpose? Is it just a formality? Read further and let’s take a look.

The final walk through is an “inspection” of the property, performed by you (the buyer), just prior to closing to verify that the real estate you are buying has not been altered since you executed a contract to purchase the property. In most cases, your agent will accompany you and help you examine the home.

While performing your walk through, you should look closely for anything that may have changed since the last time you were at the home, remember the purpose of this is to verify that everything you’ve contracted to buy is still there, that is, that nothing is missing, or replaced by a cheap substitute. In addition, you want to be sure that the seller hasn’t left anything there that they (and you) didn’t want to keep. Sellers will often leave items that they don’t want to move or throw away, forcing you to deal with the unwanted items before you move in. Don’t let this happen to you.

Below are a few common items to check when performing your walk-through:

• Repairs you’ve requested have been made.
• All items that were included in the sales price – draperies, lighting fixtures, etc.
• Screens and storm windows are in place or stored.
• All appliances (if applicable) are present and operational.
• Hot water heater, HVAC, etc are operational
• No plants or shrubs have been removed from the yard.
• All personal items of the sellers and all debris have been removed.

Your final walk through isn’t something to be taken lightly. It’s important not to get emotional and to resist the urge to get perturbed or too giddy. If everything isn’t right, there are official ways to address these issues. If everything seems to be alright, look even closer to avoid problems after closing; you can always bask in the joy of new home ownership after closing, buy your walk through should be approached as important business to verify the details of a very major purchase.