The final walkthrough is a chance to compare the house with the condition required by the purchase agreement. Bring the repair paperwork and the list of items that are supposed to remain.
What the walkthrough checks
The walkthrough confirms that the house is in the condition the purchase agreement requires: agreed repairs done, everything that was supposed to stay still there, nothing broken between the inspection and now. It is not an inspection and it is not an opening to ask for something new.
When it happens
As close to closing as the schedule allows, and after the sellers have moved out rather than before. A walkthrough done around a full house tells you about the seller's furniture, not about the floor under it. If the sellers are moving the same week, later is better, even if later means the morning of.
What to check, in order
- Utilities on. Water, power, heat or cooling. If they have been shut off, say so before you go any further, because nothing else on this list can be tested
- The agreed repairs, with the receipts and the invoices in your hand, not described from memory
- Everything the contract says stays: appliances, the mounted television bracket, the shed, the window treatments, the garage remotes and the keys
- Run water at every fixture and flush every toilet, then look underneath
- Open and close the garage door, the exterior doors and a window on each floor
- The floors and walls where furniture used to sit, which is where damage hides and where the movers left theirs
- The basement or crawl space floor, especially if it has rained since the inspection
- That the house is empty, including the garage, the attic and the shed. Left behind contents become your disposal problem at your cost
What it is not
Use the walkthrough to check the condition required by the agreement. A concern already accepted after inspection needs to be distinguished from incomplete agreed repairs, missing items or a change in condition. The contract determines the available response.
What happens if something is wrong
The purchase agreement determines the response to a problem found at the walkthrough. Possible arrangements include a repair before funding, a closing credit, an escrow holdback or a revised closing date. An agreement may also need the lender and closing agent's approval, so raise the issue before signing.
Use the checklist even when moving arrangements are already in place. Record concerns and contact the appropriate parties before closing, so any proposed response can be considered under the agreement.
Whether a particular problem gives you a right to delay or to hold funds is a question about your contract, and it belongs to your attorney. Whether the lender will permit a holdback or a credit belongs to the lender, and the answer changes by loan program. What a repair will cost belongs to the contractor, in writing, before anyone agrees to a number.
The note on whether you have to be in the room to close covers what happens after this, and the buyers page sets out the steps that lead up to it.
This note is general. It is not legal advice, and what you may do about a problem found at the walkthrough depends on your contract and on facts only your attorney can assess.