Real Estate Definition: The "Final Walk Thru"

The "Walk Thru," "Final Walk Through," or "Verification of Property Condition" should always be preformed.  No matter what you call it, the walk thru is typically done a few days before a buyer is going to close escrow.  It is intended to do a few things:

1.)  If the buyer is purchasing the home from a seller that has equity in the home, typically the buyer asked for a few repairs to be done that came up during the home inspection.  The walk thru is an opportunity for the buyer to see that the agreed upon repairs have been completed.  As an agent, i typically go out to the house by myself a day or two early to confirm everything is done so i know ahead of time.

2.) Usually, by this time the seller has moved out of the home since you are only a few days until closing.  This allows the buyer to make sure the property is left in the condition it was at the time the offer was written.  Every once in a while the seller or tenant does a little damage as they are moving things out.  This allows a couple days to get a small repair taken care of.

3.) If it's a bank owned sale or a short sale, odds are it was an "as-is" sale and no repair items were agreed upon.  In this case the walk thru allows for the buyer to confirm it's condition.  Make sure no one has broken into the property and stolen anything or damaged the property.  I recently had an escrow where someone broke in and stole the appliances.  We had to renegotiate, get the sellers to put new appliances back into the property.  We pushed back the close a couple weeks, got the new appliances in and got the deal closed.

Just a little information for buyers.  The walk thru is one of the very last things you do before you close escrow and get the keys.  Most of the time it's just to walk back through the house and make sure everything is fine but every once in a while you are sure going to be happy you did the walk through.  In the example of the appliances, you don't want to have any surprises once you are already the owner and open the door for the first time.

clear skies,

_ doug reynolds