What to Look for During the Final Home Inspection Before Closing
After all the time and effort you’ve put into your searches, you’ve finally found your dream home (or at least one in your price range that excites you a little). You have made an offer, looked around the house, and it will soon be time to close.
But before you do that, you will need to do a final inspection of the home to ensure that all the agreed changes and improvements have been made. According to Terry Williams’ article on BobVila.com, this is why final traversals are so important and what to look for before closing an object .
Why is it important to do the final walk
If you’ve already looked around the house, you might be wondering why you need to make another pass through the house before closing. In short, because you want to make sure that any necessary improvements that you and the seller agreed on after reviewing have actually been made.
“Most likely, we were not in the house after the inspection, so the purpose of the inspection is to make sure it is in the same condition, to confirm that the agreed work after the inspection has been completed, and that everything included in the proposal remains at home,” said BobVila .com Stephanie Minnich is a sales agent for the Falk Ruvin Gallagher Team at Keller Williams Realty in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin .
What to look for during the final examination
In addition to everything that has been discussed since the home inspection that has not yet been done, here is a list of other things to look out for, courtesy of Minnich andBetsy Ronel , a licensed Compass real estate seller in Westchester County, NY who there was also an interview for the BobVila.com article :
- The water must be turned on and working.
- Luminaires must be in place and in good working order.
- There should be no damage to walls, floors, furniture, doors, windows, garage doors or external property.
- Aside from the potentially empty space, the home should look the same and be as healthy as it did when viewed before.
- Beware of unexpected problems such as engine damage or a recent storm causing water damage.
- Confirm that everything included in the offer is still in the house. This includes fixtures, appliances, and other agreed items.
- Confirm that all inspection work has been completed. For example, check a window that needs to be repaired or a new water heater that needs to be installed.
And if you and the seller have not agreed on the inclusion of furniture or other items in the house, all their trash should be removed by the time of the final inspection.
What to do if something is wrong
If the home does not live up to your expectations – either because something is not fixed after the inspection, a new problem has arisen, or you discover a defect that the owner had previously hidden – this can delay closure, but in most cases, does not stop the sale.
“Usually the closing of the deal is delayed and the buyer’s and seller’s agents work together to resolve any issues,” Minnich explains. “It can either be resolved quickly or we are working together on a plan to move on and close the house.”