Like a few of our other members, I recently bought a townhouse. The final walkthrough is tonight. Is there anything in particular that I should be looking for (besides checking all the stuff in the P&S has been taken care of)?

TIA

P.S. - Will post pics and more info after the closing on Friday.

 

Look for everything. Seriously. Check every appliance, every faucet, every drain, every toilet, every thermostat, open/close/lock every window and door, every light switch that's hooked up to a fixture, every fan, all walls and seams, all tubs and sinks for caulking, and so on. Check everything... and go when it's still sunny out so you can see everything.

We hired an inspector who did his own final walkthrough for us 1 week before we closed. Then we checked every item during our final walkthrough and if there were open items from his inspection we put it on the punchlist from our inspection. Even so we had two pages of items on our punchlist after our final walkthrough. They were mainly small things, but still.

FYI, we hired the inspector from the start, so he did a foundation inspection, pre-sheetrock inspection, and 2 pre-closing inspections (1 after the house was done, and 1 seven days before we closed as mentioned). Hiring the inspector was the best thing we did b/c he found stuff we would have NEVER found. We're also using an inspector for our 1-year warranty service.

 

Are you buying new construction? If not, most of what JB mentioned does not apply.

One thing I was told was as soon as you walk in, run the dishwasher and the washer/dryer. By the time you finish the walkthrough they should be done their cycle.

 

^ Well, everything except some of the inspector stuff would apply...

If it's a resale he should check everything even further, b/c once you buy a resale... it's yours. At least with new construction you have a builder warranty....

 

Yanzo, is the seller offering a home warranty? If not, you might want to look into getting one yourself. They're not that expensive.

 

Not true, well unless the buyer's lawyer is a true dick.

Things like nail pops, wall seams, caulk around tubs and sinks are not applicable. My father-in-law handles closing all the time and, well at least in Jersey, the only things a seller can get dinged on are things that are functioning in a way that are not considered reasonable. So if I have to pull with all my might to get the sliding glass door to open, that could be considered unreasonable.

We had a window in our front room which has lost it's seal. It didn't leak, it just had some moisture in it. Our lawyer, and our RE agent as well said it's functioning as a window should. The seal is insiginificant.

Oh and the older the house, the less and less gets dinged.

 

^^ That is true... stuff like that would not apply to a resale either. I never bought a resale, so not sure what you can nit-pick about and what you cannot.

And yes, if it is a resale he should definitely look into a home warranty...

 

I would have to disagree there - the older it is the more it gets torn apart...since ours was 8 years young they said they were not too concerned, but if it were older they would be looking at things under a microscope - checking for rot, roof conditions etc. Wiring...etc.

Who knows - probably all subjective depending on the guy doing the inspection. A prick is gonna find everything (I would LOVE to have that job - missed my calling for sure) - someone else may over look stuff.

Bottom line to starter of this thread - JB said it - check it all. Do NOT assume anything. Bring either an outlet tester or small lamp or alarm clock and test all outlets. Open every window to see if it sticks - look for water damage everywhere. get up in that attic - bring a flashlight...plan to spend a couple hours there or more....this ain't no 10,000 investment - this is big - you have to protect yourself. Congrats on the purchase! Mine is just a concrete basement right now - pictures coming soon....

 

^^^ that sounds like the home inspection stuff not the final walkthru stuff.

I was under the impression the final walkthrough was just to check to make sure they didn't put any additional holes in the walls throwing some major parties since the inspection. It is not supposed to be a fine tooth comb walkthru

 

Exactly. It comes down to "Hey this worked when we did the home inspection, now it doesn't"

 

I agree with the rest. Youre asking too late. The final walkthrough is to see if they fixed anything or anything new has popped up.

My initial took an hour and a half, the final took 15 minutes.

 

Honestly we really can't offer that much advice until we find out if it's new construction or a resale, b/c certain items are handled differently and it depends if the house is new or not...

 

oh you guys are totally right - sorry - that is inspection what I was saying. I agree - final is a walkthrough to make sure the keg party the sellers had night before did no damage

 

Thanks for the responses. It is a resale, not new construction.

The majority of things you guys are talking about were done during the home inspection - when they SHOULD be done. Our inspector took 4 HOURS to do our 1300 sq. ft. townhouse - he was VERY thorough. There were a few things he caught, which were written up in the P&S as contingencies for the sale. I will definitely double check to make sure those contingencies have been taken care of.

I was under the impression that the final walkthrough is a quick sweep of the townhouse to make sure issues have been taken care of and that no new major things have occurred since the P&S signing.

And to those who asked, a home warranty that the seller bought is being transferred to us during the sale.

 

Then I wouldn't worry too much about it. Look for the big stuff, holes in walls, necessities not working (plumbing, stove, fridge, AC, heat...)

 

What does a home warranty "do", per se?

 

Between that and making sure the contingencies were taken care of you should be all set. Other then that I really can't add much b/c I've never purchased a re-sale... so the others may be able to help more...

 

It typically covers major appliances as well as structural parts of the house like the roof.

BUT, you need to read yours carefully to see what it covers.

 

On a walk thru, you just make sure that stuff that's supposed to be sold with the house is till there like lighting fixtures, doors, appliances and any other stuff that was aggeed apon in the P&S...

All the minor details should be covered under a home inspection...

I just made sure the house was in order and the fireplace insert and a couple other things were still here when I did my walk thru...

I also had the seller show me how the alarm worked, and a couple of other things that made it easier to transition into the house...