You’re heading down the stretch toward the day of closing, getting keys to your new home and moving into your dream Seattle-area home. But there is this one important step that sometimes gets overlooked or underplayed – the final walk-through.
Here’s your chance to examine your future home just a day or two before ink hits paper at escrow to close the deal. It’s your last opportunity to check on the condition of the home and make any last-minute claims.
What could go wrong? Plenty! Just when you thought you were clear of surprises and checklists, here are five scenarios that can come to the fore at a walk-through.
Agreed-to Repairs
The home inspection and follow-up request for repairs were an important aspect of your purchase agreement. The seller agreed to address certain repairs and perhaps offer monetary credits at closing to complete the rest after you move in. It’s not uncommon to bring the home inspector who first reviewed your future home to this walk-through. The inspector, who will charge about $75 for the re-examination, knows exactly how the issue(s) should have been addressed and can act as an unbiased observer to ensure the work was completed – and done right.
If not addressed correctly, you have the inspector’s new findings as your evidence. This is a strong lever to pull to seek remediation before completing the purchase. Buyer brokers can also stand out by demanding the repairs be completed – or credits given to buyers – otherwise, they will order escrow to hold funds to seller at closing in the amount of 1.5 times the cost of the unfinished repairs.
Even if satisfied with the repairs, you should obtain copies from the seller (through your broker and the listing agent) of receipts and warranties related to the work. Should anything go wrong after you move in, the documentation will be useful in obtaining remediation from contractors who performed the work.
Warranties, Manuals, Home Records
Every home – new or old – has a history. Appliances, thermostats, garage doors, furnaces and other mechanical items have a story to tell. Without the ability to contact the departing homeowner every time you have a question, buyers should request copies now of important household documents. Bring a checklist to the walk-through of what you would want to have available to you – either original or digital copies – such as appliance manuals, warranties, as well as water heater and HVAC maintenance records. You want to know the age of high-priced items and frequency of repairs. If you cannot find the info during the walk-through, urge your real estate professional to pursue those records through the listing agent before closing. (Your broker will be present for the walk-through.)
Speaking of appliances, your walk-though should include a test of all electrical and mechanical items. You should ask your broker to get permission to run the washer, dryer, dishwasher and microwave.
Missing Items
You walk into your future home and remember the place just as before – minus the staged furniture – but there’s something not right. Wasn’t there a light fixture hanging in the dining room above where your future eating table would sit? There’s nothing now but a metal plate screwed into the ceiling.
There was no direct mention of the light in the purchase and sale agreement but, typically, all items attached to the home – major appliances, built-in shelving and custom window shades – stay right where they are.
In addition, anything fixed on the property – plants, shrubbery and built-in grills – generally stays with the home. A seller wishing to take items attached to the home should either remove them before listing the property or put in writing which pieces leave upon the sale. Homeowners can also sell personal property through a separate “bill of sale” document that is attached to the final purchase and sale agreement. Those items – a kitchen island on wheels, bar stools or backyard furniture, for example – should be negotiated and sold separately. (Your mortgage lender will frown upon – or outright disallow – adding personal property to the final home sale.)
If they take anything not discussed and agreed, sellers can possibly jeopardize the entire transaction or face legal action. Both parties – buyer and seller – should put everything in writing during negotiations to avoid any misunderstanding.
Scratches and Nicks
Maybe it’s just me but I exhale a long groan when discovering a new scratch on my car or a nick on the kitchen wall. The value of the car or home just slipped a notch.
Noticeable scratches on the floor of your future home can give you the same feeling. Intentional or accidental, you want it addressed. The mark will be difficult to prove it’s new unless you recorded a previous walk-through (video or photo) of the same area of the floor.
Sellers have an opportunity to declare defects in the disclosure statement. Their listing agent also has the duty of being truthful in their communication – even when nicks on walls or floors are overlooked by sellers.
This should not be a deal-breaker. In most cases, the matter can be resolved by having the seller make the fix or offering a credit at closing for the buyer to remediate the damage after move-in.
New-found damage
Furniture has been removed and all that’s left is the hardwood floors – with noticeable discoloration in the corner of the living room where the recliner once sat. Shame on the sellers for not mentioning the damage! Sellers and their agent should have completed a thorough walk-through before listing the home.
These are difficult issues to resolve – and sometimes require legal action or a quick compromise involving both real estate agents and their firms. Or, the deal could be delayed while sorting out the damage to the satisfaction of all parties. It’s not uncommon to call upon a real estate attorney for assistance in matters like these.
The walk-through is a critical step in the home purchase and should not be taken lightly. Check out an earlier blog post that I wrote on the topic.
Nobody wants to see a deal collapse at the final hour. Communication and compromise generally help resolve these potentially anxious moments.