What is a walk through? When buying a new construction home, you should contractually have an opportunity to meet with your home builder, or one of their representatives, to thoroughly examine your house before closing. This process is called a walkthrough. This is not, however, what is commonly know as a private inspection that is performed by certified professionals; these are two separate events. A home buyer should hire a qualified new construction inspector just shortly before this meeting to inspect the roof, the mechanicals, the attic area and many other areas that take a trained eye to observe. Afterward, your inspection company will provide a report of its findings.

When you attend your new home walk through, you will be able to provide a copy of this inspection report to the builder. This is a very delicate moment. Oftentimes, some home builders tend to minimize the inspector’s findings. Whether it’s from being insulted about their workmanship or just plain ole pride, it happens. In some of these cases, the builders will say that they will take care of everything, but neglect to fully do that; this could be a ploy that is attributed to the buyer’s potential inexperience of construction matters; or, the builders disagree with the inspectors' findings and become evasive toward the buyers. Notwithstanding, when these things happen, this is when a versed new homes buyer’s agent can be of great benefit. This person has a good grasp of what the inspection report is conveying and all those tactics that are used to avoid properly taking corrective measures to address the issues that have been outlined by the home inspection. Home builders may try to minimize these problems, but they are important to a home buyer.

Now, back to the new construction walkthrough. It can take generally anywhere from one hour to several hours; take precautions to prevent the home builder form rushing you along. I am not suggesting dragging your feet, but don’t be shortchanged. One should use this opportunity to look for defects and imperfections in the hardwood flooring, countertops, carpeting, paint, drywall, appliances, cabinets, windows, tubs, showers, tiles and so forth. The general rule of thumb is a six-foot rule; if you stand in the middle of the room and see an imperfection, it should be corrected. Items that can only be observed by eyeballing them from six inches away would not apply. However, this is just a general rule. Your buyer’s agent can be of great help understanding this too.

Now that you have begun to notice problems, the builder should be highlighting these areas with either painter’s tape (blue tape) or writing them down on a walk through list. All major items should be referenced in the walk through list. For those items marked with blue tape, try to remember them so you can inspect them later; taking photos with your camera phone might be a good idea. The home buyer should walk around the outside of the home too. On occasions, I have seen the mailbox missing, so check for that. In addition, look at the landscaping. Is there any dead vegetation? If so, get it replaced because landscaping usually isn’t warranted after closing. On the exterior of the home, look for paint over spray, damaged siding, sloppy brickwork (mortar) and poorly sealed crevices.

Once the new home walk through is finished, the builder may require that you sign the list and give you a copy. You should have a second opportunity to “walk” the house again just before closing to ensure that all items were taken care of. All too often, some of these items may need to be finished after closing because of time constraints. If this is the case, try to put a timeline in an amendment for those items to be finished; or alternatively, do not close until they have been finished, but you may be limited by the terms of the new construction sales contract. If you choose the later option, it’s best to clearly spell that out in writing when you first sign a new home contract to purchase. The provisions in the sales contract generally prevail in such matters.

Disclaimer: This new homes real estate blog post is intended to be informational reading only, not legal advice. Each real estate transaction is unique unto itself, so this content may or may not apply. Hence, you may not copy, use and/or redistribute this real estate information about new homes, tips and/or ideas without prior expressed consent from the author. All Rights Reserved 

Stephen Graham - Associate Broker - Realty Professionals, Inc (770) 491.1494