Why do you need to do a walk through before closing?

When you are under contract to buy a home, you have an inspection, where you learn everything good, and bad, about that property.

A buyer asked me why we need to do a walk through before we close, when they learned about everything from the inspection?

Things happen every day. Roofs leak, AC’s give out, water heaters flood, and movers dent things as they leave.

You are making probably the biggest purchase of your life, and you probably haven’t been in the home for weeks. Don’t you think you should double check to make sure it is exactly how it was when you made an offer on it?

Sometimes, sellers can be a bit “creative,” where they switch out appliances or fans.

I once had a closing where we went to do the walk through, an hour before closing, and the seller hadn’t even moved out yet!

So what happens if there is a problem?

Guess what? It is not your house yet, and it falls on the seller, because it is still their house.

Depending on the severity of the issue, you might have to delay the closing until it is resolved. Or, you just issue a credit or hold an amount in escrow, to be used to fix the problem.

So don’t forget that walk through prior to closing, and if everything isn’t exactly as it should be, speak up!