Final Walkthrough on Closing Day

It took me a while to post this video on YouTube of my final walkthrough on closing day because…I’m lazy, with video editing at least.

Sue me!

This past Monday was closing day for my clients! Yay! They were moving from Forest Hills in Queens to Cortlandt Manor in Westchester County. I got there a little bit earlier than they did because they were caught in some traffic coming up north.  In this video you will see the outside of their beautiful bilevel home on a gorgeous lot that backs into a creek. Talk about an upgrade!

We had to perform a final walkthrough on closing day prior to closing because of their work schedule. A Final walkthrough can be done on the same day or a few days before a scheduled closing, whichever works best for the clients, just as long as it’s done before closing. Do not skip it and remember that the closer to the closing day, the better. The purpose of a final walkthrough is to insure that the home is in the same state it was in during the inspection. Of course, this would be minus any furniture and trash that belonged to the old owners. Homes should be broom swept but if a seller wanted to, they could do a deep cleaning as well.

Other things that you check during a final walkthrough:

• Operational appliances
• Working hot water heater
• Working heat and/or air conditioner
• Electrical outlets are operational
• No noticeable damage like holes in the walls, broken windows, or any other damages that were not there before
• No leaks
• Windows and doors are operational
• Electricity is operational
• Home is vacant

Of course, if you are purchasing a home that is in need of repair or a gut renovation, it may be in disarray. In those cases, you wouldn’t expect for it to have working water or electricity if it didn’t have it already. In example, if you are buying a bank owned or REO property, the power may be shut off. Or, it may not even have an operational kitchen. In these cases, you wouldn’t expect it to have those items when you do your final walkthrough unless the seller agreed to rectify those issues. Always expect that the state of the home should be in the same state as when you did your home inspection.

I will say it again, do not skip it!

It is so important to get this done before closing and to check everything! You never know what you might find after you close if you don’t check the home prior to closing. Once you close on a property and issues arise that could have been addressed during the final walk-through, it is all on you! When issues arise during the walkthrough, you would bring it to the attention of your attorney. At that point, your attorney would negotiate with the seller on ways to rectify the issue.

Let’s say you walked into the home during the final walk-through and found that the place was trashed. You would let your attorney know and at the closing table, the attorney would negotiate with the seller. They may state that the seller has to put $5,000 in escrow and within 10 days, clear out the home. If the seller doesn’t clear out the home, the buyer gets the $5000. If the seller does clear out the home before the deadline, the seller gets the money back. This is just a possible scenario of what would happen if an issue arises during the final walk-through.

But if you didn’t do a final walkthrough and an issue was found after closing, you are now responsible for it, not the seller. You can’t go after seller after the fact.

So do your final walk-through!

For my clients, everything in the home was operational and the condition of the home was what we had expected it to be. It day went smoothly and now they are fellow neighbors in the Hudson Valley! I had a bit of a laugh as they had sent me a text later that day, saying that they got stuck by the creek. Instead of asking help, they asked for Sangrias! Love my clients sense of humor!

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the video and found this information useful. If you are need of assistance with buying or selling real estate, contact me! I’m here to help!