A walk-through, simply put, is verifying that the house that you’re buying is in the same condition you saw it originally. The amount of time beween when you originally put your bid and the time you actually closed can be considerable. It could be 30 days, it could be 90 days. Bottomline is that the a lot can happen between that time and you as the buyer want to make sure that nothing has changed since then. Preferably, the walk-through is performed the day of closing–not the day after or 2 weeks before.
A great example of what can happen during that time is a couple of years back a client had the winning bid on a home in Rye Brook. Everything was going according to plan until we performed our walk-through. Apparently, the seller of the house made no attempts to repair the home after it was flooded with 3 feet of water during the 100 Year Flood we had back in 2007. The seller was under the impression that it was the buyer’s problem since the house was under contract during the storm. Needless to say…the deal did not happen. Of course, this is an extreme situation, but it does happen. Other minor things that can occur during this time is that sellers may take appliances that were originally in the contract. The house could have been vandelized if it was vacant. Recently we had an incident where the boiler and all the copper pipes were actually stolen from a foreclosed home. Anything is possible these days. As a buyer you want to cover all bases. This house is not technically yours until the money has been paid to the seller and the seller hands over the keys to the home. Up to that point, the house is still the responsibility of the seller.
As a buyer, a couple of things to look for during a walk-through.
-The house still may be full of the seller’s belonging. A home that has been sold must be left ‘broom-swept’ unless otherwise negotiated in the contract of sale. The seller must remove all their personal items and sweep the home before the closing.
-Everything nailed in stays with the house unless otherwise indicated in the contract. This includes light fixtures, cabinets, carpets and appliances. Typically the seller has a chandelier that they will exclude from the sale. Sellers typically will need to replace it with something else.
-Check all the faucets and toilets. Verify that there’s running water and that everything is as you last remember. (note that many foreclosed homes will not have utilities turned on before or after the inspection or walk-through).
-Verify that the furnace/boiler is still operational. I had an incident where the boiler had been off for 3 months during the contract period and when we turned it on during the walk through, the boiler started to leak.
-Turn on all the appliances. Check to make sure the stove, refrigerator, washer/dryer, microwave…whatever–is still functional. More importantly, verify that the appliances were not switched for something of a lesser quality.
-And of course verify that the house is still there. Don’t laugh! It has not happened to me, but I’ve heard of some horror stories from colleagues in other parts of the country.
There’s a million things you should be checking for, the list above is only but a few. Obviously, if the items were not working when you originally inspected the house, then don’t expect them to work during your walk-through. That is unless the repair of said item was in the contract. For example, if the stove was not working during the inspection, then you can negotiate the repair or even replacement of that stove before moving forward.
Ultimately, no one wants to be bamboozled. No one likes to feel like they were taken for a ride. As a seller, if something happened during the contract period it would make sense to address the issue before closing. As a buyer, it’s not buyer beware, but make sure that common sense is used at all times. Not everyone has the best of intentions. People like their expectations to be managed properly and rightfully so. If the house was white when you bid on it, you don’t expect it to be blue when you do your walk-through. If you saw a stainless steel stove when you bid on the house, the assumption is that it still will be there when you close–unless the contract explicitly indicated that the stove was not staying. And that rule applies to the rest of the house as well.
