Final Walk Though Home Inspections

If you've never closed on a home before, then you should understand exactly what's expected when you conduct your final walk through home inspection.  These inspections are typically conducted on the day you're scheduled to close on the home - which is an already stressful day.

So knowing what's important and what to look out for during the final walk through can save you a good deal of grief later on.  There are two really important categories of items to look out for during your walk through - and that's what we're going to discuss:

• The first has to do with the repairs on the home that were previously found and agreed to during the original home inspection.
• The second has to do with any new damages to the home that may have occurred after that inspection.

Purpose of the Walk Through Inspection

As the buyer of a new home, it's important that you're getting exactly what you think you're paying for in that home.  That's the reason home inspections are conducted by professionals - to help us identify existing and potential problems with the home that can cost a significant amount of money to repair later on.

Many times these problems can be obvious to the buyer - such as a leaking roof.  But the home inspector may also discover hidden problems with the house's electrical system or plumbing.  Conducting an inspection provides the buyer with some reassurances that they are paying a fair amount for the home, and they are somewhat insulated from unexpected repairs in the near term.

This is the very reason that the commitment to purchase a home is often contingent upon the inspector's report and negotiating the repair of problems identified by the inspector with the home's seller.  So one of the reasons for the final walk through is to make sure the repairs have been made to the home as negotiated with the seller.

The second purpose of a final walk through inspection is to make sure the owner has not damaged the home since the professional inspection occurred.  The most common example is floor and wall damage that happens when the seller moves out of the home.

Conducting Walk Through Inspections

So how exactly do you conduct this walk through inspection?  First off, the inspection needs to take place before you close on the home.  That's why the walk through often occurs on the same day as the closing.  So you can get one last look at the home before you buy it.

If you can, it's a good idea to have a professional inspector accompany you during the walk through to make sure the repairs have been addressed satisfactorily and completely.  It's also helpful to take a digital camera along with you during the inspection to document your findings.

Checking Repairs to the Home

You don't need to wait until the last minute to inspect a home for all repairs - especially ones that cost a significant amount of money to fix.  For example, if the home needs new sidewalks or roof, it's easy enough to verify these repairs have been completed before the closing date.

That being said, there is simply no replacing the final walk through of the home immediately before purchase.  You have far more leverage to get the owner to repair the home before you've purchase it then afterwards.  After the closing, you own the home.  It is very difficult to get someone to repair your home regardless of the promises made by the seller.

Conducting Walk Through Inspections

As you're conducting the walk through you're really looking for two specific categories of damage.  You've got the list of repairs to be made to the home - as agreed earlier with the seller.  You need to go through each item and verify that the repair was made - and the repair was made to your complete satisfaction.

You're also looking through each room to make sure it is in the same condition as it was when you originally signed the contract to buy the home.  For example:

• Did the movers bang up the walls, rip the rugs or scratch the wooden floors?
• Did the moldings around the doors get damaged when they moved an appliance from a room?
• Does the heating and air conditioning system still work?
• Are all of the appliances still working?
• Have all the items that the seller agreed to remove from the home out of the home?
• Did the seller leave "junk" behind in the basement, attic, yard or garage?
• Are all of the items that the seller agreed to leave in the home still there?

Don't underestimate the time it can take to conduct this final inspection.  Depending on the size of the home, this walk through can take several hours to complete.  Remember, you're going to be flushing toilets, running water, turning on dishwashers, opening and closing doors.

A home or house is a complex building and you need to make sure everything is working as expected.  If you rush through the inspection, you might be faced with thousands of dollars in repairs later on.

Resolving Inspection Problems

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned when buying a home.  If you find during your final home inspection that the seller has not lived up to their part of the agreement, then you really have three courses of action at your disposal.  In any of these arrangements, you need to work with your attorney to come to a satisfactory arrangement.

• Placing Repair Money in Escrow - The first option is to have the seller place an amount in excess of the anticipated repair costs in escrow or a trust with your attorney.  This is an important point; make sure the money is sufficient to cover the costs of the repairs.  As the repairs are made, the money can be removed from the escrow account to pay for the repair.
• Reducing Price Paid - Your second option is to negotiate the costs with the seller and have those costs removed from the selling price of the home at closing.  Again, you want to have enough money to be able to make the repairs so make sure you're negotiating with enough information to make a proper estimate of repair costs.
• Delaying the Closing - Finally, if you're uncomfortable with either of these two options, you've got a third path to resolving these inspection problems - delay the closing itself.  Again, you need to work out the exact details with your attorney but it's not unreasonable to ask the seller to help you pay for costs that you'll incur because of the delay in closing on the home - especially if they've purposefully ignored the repairs in the first place and you're forced to live elsewhere and/or pay to have your furniture placed into storage.

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