Real Estate Blog - Do you do a thorough walk through before closing?

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Do you do a thorough walk through before closing?

When I was new to real estate, I was sitting at the closing table when the buyer leaned over to tell me that at the walk through she had discovered that under the beautiful rug in the living room there was just plywood, yes plywood. This was such a shock to me. I think this was my second listing, the rest of the room had such beautiful flooring, it never crossed my mind that I should have looked under the rug. Thankfully the buyer was very nice and did not make a big deal about this.

I was thinking about this and I suddenly remembered that once my husband and I purchased a house that was supposed to be broom swept, totally empty but when we closed and moved in we found the attic full. I guess the seller's idea of cleaning and emptying the house meant putting the stuff in the attic. My excuses for not checking the attic were, I was not in real estate, it was a FSBO, and since I was pregnant I did not participate in the process except for the closing. Yes, I did not feel like house hunting so my husband did it all. My only instruction was "I trust your taste."

Well, from these experiences I really learned a valuable lesson as to how important it is to do a thorough walk through, and I discovered another important service provided by real estate agents.

Walk through

Author Jennifer Fivelsdal - Keller Williams Realty Team - 845-758-6842

Posted by Jennifer Fivelsdal, Fishkill NY on 03/07/2008 10:08 PM

Comments (22)

real estate, closing, buyers, walk through, sellers, house for sale

Originally posted at: Rhinebeck Living: Do you do a thorough walk through before closing?

This post has been included in New York Information Dutchess County, NY Information

22 Comments on Do you do a thorough walk through before closing?

MAR

2008

I am shocked as a listing agent how many agents and buyers show up at closing and have not been in the house in weeks. Think about it you walk the house make the offer do the inspection and then have to wait two three four weeks for the closing you show up at closing buy the house then find out that when you have the water turned on for the inspection a leak went unnoticed behind the refrigerator.

Then on top of it the buyers agent ask me when I am gone to pull the lock box so the buyer can meet me to get a key..CRAZY

I to agree and I too learned it from a personal experience: I bought a little (3bed/2 bath Villa) years ago and the front bath had sliding glass doors in front of the bathtub and shower the day we saw the house and made an offer on it. Strangely enough when we closed the REALTOR did not suggest a walk-thru and I had little knowledge of the process at the time-so when those sliding doors were gone, I thought I must have remembered wrong. Then I saw the patched holes where they had removed the screws. Little things but, still a lie and I didn't exacly get what I paid for. On the other hand less than 2 years later I made 8K when I sold it. Having only added new carpet and some paint and floor tiles. I remember it but, the resentment isn't so strong anymore.

The memory still drives me to do that final walk-thru the same day of the closing and if there were repairs to be done I still ask the inspector to re-inspect, all due to a silly shower door.

Hi Jennifer,

Yes, we do a walk through all the time, it's built into our purchase contract. I also ask the seller and the seller's agent to be present. That way, if the seller wants to pass on any additional info they can. Plus I don't want to be responsible for explaining how things work, I'd rather it come from my consumers.

One more thing, if we have a really good selling situation (as most are) if it's my seller I sometimes ask (in advance) if they think the nearby neighbors will be at home. Depending on the response, I ask my seller to contract them to meet their new neighbors at the conclusion of the walk through. This way the new buyer gets to know their new neighbors and as an agent you get to make another contact. They absolutely love it!

MAR

2008

Eric - That should never happen, it is important to do check just before closing because so much can change in a few weeks. The seller could switch the appliances, there could be a leak etc..

Doris What you learn from any experience is never forgotten. In my case now I have to look very carefully under all rugs and check the attic

Lynda - Getting everyone to the walk through is a great idea, you can get last minutes questions answered. I also love how you go along with the buyer to meet the neighbors.

I thought eveyone did a walk through? I have always had one as the buyers agent and the sellers agent. Interesting.

Conducting a walk-thru is the last important phase before the closing. I would hope that every buyer does one to be in a position to discuss any issues, as a result of the walk-thru, at the closing table.

I'm amazed at the number of seller's agents that aren't available to meet me and my clients for the final walk through. I have had clients say they don't think they're necessary if the house is vacant, but I encourage them anyway. If the buyer isn't interested, I go alone. Just to make sure the pipes haven't froze, vagrant taking up shop, etc. When the house is occupied, you never know what's behind or under the furniture.

Amen sister... I learned my lesson a few years ago on inventory. I am in a resort area so more than 50% of the homes have inventory. We had a list, signed by all parties and my client, being a lawyer and the buyer, took a video tape of the home, and low and behold on the close day, no furniture in the home. It was there the week before on the walk thru, now I go through every home the day before we fund, just in case... Yikes, fortunately we won the small claims case and the seller had to cut my client a check for the furniture.

Jennifer, I lift up the rugs, because if it has been a sunny room the hard wood can be a different tone. Yes, we have had a few surprises over the years. We do walk throughs 24 hours before closing here, but I usually do mine on the way to the closing, easier.

We always accompany our buyer clients on their pre-closing walk throughs. We've caught many problems that way and kept many buyers satisfied.

Wow! The buyer sure did pick the perfect time to tell you something she should've told you during the final walk-through. But I am glad you wrote this post. From now on,I am lifting every carpet in the houses that I preview. Great post.

There is a new CAR form that the sellers complete and lifts some of the liability from agents and broker if completed and presented to a buyer.

I once had a house burn down two days before closing ... of course, I was informed by the listing agent, but suppose I was not and did not do a walk-through ... just thinking of a worst case scenario!

Jennifer, I usually go to my closings, and I have heard some good ones about what people have found on their walk through. Things are not always as they first appear.

Hi Jennifer, you bring up a great point. I like for my final to be complete 3 days prior to closing, just in case there are any problems. We then do another walk through prior to closing to make sure all is the same. It's more work, but I would rather be safe. Great topic.

MAR

2008

Jennifer - I love the walk through phase when working with buyers. I can always sense the excitement when we walk into a home where in less than 24 hours they will be the owner(s).

Walk throughs - oh my gosh - I need to blog about the craziest one I ever had - lets just say - when the buyer and I showed up - there were no doors, or light fixtures - nice reminder Jennifer

I have had mostly good walk-through experiences but one really bad one sticks out in my mind. Fortunately, I had my camera and sufficient time between walk through and closing to email my client's attorney the photos. We had come together at the last minute to work out a solution that the buyers would have a $500 credit for carpet and money was held in escrow until the seller came back to cut the knee high grass and cart hi junk to the local dump. The lesson I learned that day - always have a camera and leave sifficient time between walk through and closing so nobody is caught off guard and things don't get ugly AS aat the closing table.

MAR

2008

Megan- I do too, it is a very important part of the buying process.

Derrick - This is the last chance to catch something before the closing, I can't see why anyone would not want to take this final step.

Lissa - It is even more important to do the walk through when the property is vacant, as you pointed out the pipe could have been frozen and you wouldn't want to find this out after closing.

Kim - The video came in handy, your client must have appreciated you going the extra mile.

Missy - That is so true, if the seller plans to take the rug it would be best to take it up to give the wood floor time to even out the color. I too ran into this issue.

I won't close without a walk thru. If buyer insists, I make them sign a release. As always, C Y A!

Oh, most definitely I perform a walk-through the day of closing! It's a great idea to make sure that the home is actually still standing - or that a tree hasn't fallen through the roof. It's probably a good idea to go through, run all the water and flush the toilets to make sure that there aren't any leaks or overflows, too.

MAR

2008

It's important to take photos as a listing agent, too (not just the best room shot of each room, but all the details). I've had buyers at a walkthrough swear an appliance was switched for an older/poorer one, but when I have the photos from the time the listing was taken it diffuses the situation. Sometime homes look so different when all of the sellers furniture and decorations are gone.

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