Tips for a Successful Final Walk-through before Closing on a House You’re Buying

One of the very last steps in the home buying purchase is doing a final walk-through of your soon-to-be new home.

But while it might be one of the last steps, it’s also one of the most important steps. As a buyer, it’s important to do everything you can to make sure you walk out of that final walk-through armed with the information you need to move forward with your purchase.

So how, exactly, do you do that?

A recent article from realtor.com outlined tips to ensure you get the most out of your final walk-through, including:

• Make a checklist. As the old saying goes, failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Before you walk-through, make a checklist of all of the items you want to check, inspect, and review; that way, you’ll be prepared and won’t miss anything important.
• Inspect hard-to-reach spots. If you originally looked at your house while it was furnished or staged, there may have been areas you haven’t been able to inspect previously, and the final walk-through is the perfect (and last!) chance to check those areas out. For example, check the floors in spots that used to be covered by rugs, or check walls that had beds or other heavy furniture pushed against them.
• Look for any missing and/or swapped items. It’s also important to make sure that the previous owners didn’t take and/or swap out any items that were included in your purchase. For example, make sure that the stove and other appliances included in the sale are still in the house, and also look to see that they haven’t been swapped out with cheaper models.