Final Walk-Through Checklist: What to Check Before You Close

Final walk-through checklist before closing

Take this with you to the last look at the home before you sign. General information, not legal advice: your contract says what the seller must deliver. Ticks are saved in this browser only.

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Bring with you

• A copy of the contract, including any addenda about repairs and what stays with the house.
• Your written repair requests and anything the seller agreed to in reply.
• The inspection report, marked at the items that mattered.
• A phone for photos, a charger to test outlets, and a flashlight.

Agreed repairs

• Urgent: Go down your repair list and look at each item with your own eyes.
• Ask for receipts or paperwork for repairs that a professional made.
• Look for damage that is new since the inspection, including from the seller's move.
• Photograph finished repairs and anything still unfinished.

Systems and fixtures

• Run water at sinks, tubs and showers, and flush each toilet. Look underneath for leaks.
• Turn the heating and cooling on and confirm that each responds.
• Test lights, switches and outlets, and the garage door opener and doorbell.
• Run each appliance that is supposed to stay.
• Open and close doors and windows, and check every lock.
• Check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Items that should stay, and condition

• Check each item the contract says stays: fixtures, window coverings, appliances or anything else listed.
• Note anything that was in the home during your showings and is now gone.
• Check whether the seller has moved out and cleared the rooms, attic, garage and outbuildings, if the contract says so.
• Check that the home is in the condition the contract describes.
• Ask about keys, remotes, gate codes and manuals, and where they will be handed over.

If something is wrong

Do not sign over a problem you have noticed without first asking your agent or a real estate attorney what your contract allows.

• Urgent: Take photos and write down what you found, with the room and the time.
• Tell your agent right away, so they can reach the seller's side before closing.
• If a fix could move the closing date, tell your lender and closing agent too.

  CFPB says lenders must provide the Closing Disclosure three business days before the scheduled closing, so a date change can affect the paperwork.

  Source: CFPB, Closing Disclosure explainer

• Ask what the options are under your contract: a repair, a credit, a delay or something else.

  Those options come from your contract and your state's rules, so a real estate attorney is the person to ask.

• If a credit is agreed, make sure it is written down and shows up in the final figures.

  CFPB says to check that a seller credit reflects what you agreed with the seller.

  Source: CFPB, Closing Disclosure explainer

• Get any agreement in writing, signed by the people the contract requires.

Sources (1)

1. CFPB, Closing Disclosure explainer consumerfinance.gov

In short: Walk the home before you sign: confirm the agreed repairs were done, test the systems, check that included items are still there, and raise any problem with your agent first. CFPB says the Closing Disclosure comes three business days before closing.

The final walk-through is your last look at the home before it becomes yours. It is usually scheduled shortly before closing, and its purpose is narrow: to confirm that the house is in the condition your contract describes and that what was promised has been done. It is not a second inspection, and it is not the moment to renegotiate the price.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your contract controls what the seller owes you, and a real estate attorney can tell you what your options are if something is wrong. Your lender and closing agent can tell you how a change might affect the closing date.

Where the walk-through sits in the schedule

CFPB's Closing Disclosure explainer says lenders are required to provide the form three business days before your scheduled closing, and calls those days the time to resolve problems. The walk-through often happens inside or just after that window, which is why the paperwork and the property tend to get checked in the same few days. If you find a problem and the closing date has to move, tell your lender, because the timing of the disclosure follows the scheduled closing. The closing disclosure guide covers the form itself.

Worked example: the missing curtain rods

Imagine you arrive and notice the curtain rods that were on the windows at your showings are gone. Your first step is not to confront anyone. Check the contract's list of items that stay. If rods are listed, take a photo of the bare windows, note the room, and call your agent from the driveway. If they are not listed, you may have no claim, and you will have learned that before signing rather than after.

Apply the same reasoning to everything on the list. Compare what you see against what the paper says, document the difference, and use your agent as the messenger. Then ask what the contract lets you do: accept it, ask for a credit, or hold the closing until it is made right. Those choices belong to you and your contract, not to this page.

How to use the list

Print it or open it on your phone. Bring the contract, your repair list and the inspection report. Go room by room rather than category by category, running the water, switches and appliances as you pass them. Take photographs of everything that matters in either direction: finished repairs that look right, and problems that are not.

If you find a problem

Write it down with the room, the time and a photo. Contact your agent before you sign anything. If the solution is a credit, make sure it is agreed in writing and that it appears in the final figures: CFPB tells you to check that a seller credit on the Closing Disclosure matches what you agreed with the seller. When the problem is large, or the seller disputes it, stop and ask a real estate attorney. Do not sign over a known problem because the day feels rushed.

Questions people ask

Can I walk through more than once?

Ask your agent. Many buyers see the home once close to closing, but what is allowed is a matter for your contract and the other side.

What if the seller has not moved out?

Check what the contract says about the condition and possession of the home at closing, and raise it with your agent right away.

What comes after?

Signing, copies and keys. The home buying timeline shows that last stage, and the inspection checklist is the earlier list that fed your repair requests.

Sources

1. CFPB, Closing Disclosure explainer consumerfinance.gov