Did you know there’s something called a final walk-through prior to closing? It is just like it sounds, a final opportunity for the buyers to go through the property to make sure everything still works (or is in substantially the same condition as the home inspection), that nothing was damaged or taken during the move, and that any repairs requested were completed. Here’s an overview of what happens:
- Normally done within 5 days of closing, I prefer to do it right before closing or the night before depending on what time closing is.
- You will retest appliances, heating, cooling, plumbing, and walk-through the property to look for any damage or taken items.
- If any repairs were requested as part of a home inspection negotiation, receipts should be provided so you can see and/or test that the repair was completed.
- You’ll want to make sure nothing was left behind, both for the owners and because you don’t want to deal with other peoples trash and having to get rid of any big items.
- If any issues arise, we call those “walk-through items” and then you have a few decisions to make:
- If something is broken that wasn’t at the time of the home inspection, the sellers can either give you a credit at closing towards the repairs, or
- They can escrow funds, meaning put $X into an escrow account with the settlement attorney who will pay for the repair upon completion and refund any used portion back to the seller, or
- The seller can take care of it after closing (this is usually dependent on the relationship during the transaction…)
- The buyers can take it as is if they wish (for example, if they were going to remove or replace it anyway)
- Either way, the point of the walk-through is to make sure you’re getting the property in the condition you expected to.
The walk-through is the final step in the process before you go to closing and get the keys!