Walk-throughs are a way for buyers to give their real estate investment one final inspection before closing the sale. To new homeowners with a lot already on their plate, walk-throughs can seem like just another chore – but they’re also the last chance you get to make sure the house’s problems don’t become your problems. Here are a few things worth checking out as you make your final rounds:
1) Run the plumbing through its paces. Chances are good that any unseen problems with your new home are going to be related to the plumbing. Since you can’t inspect every pipe thoroughly, discovering issues with your water lines is more of a wait-and-see affair. But you can help safeguard your real estate investment by flushing every toilet and testing every faucet during your walk-through. Make sure that everything runs well and that the water heats up quickly before giving the plumbing your approval.
2) Inspect your windows and doors. While the panes and hinges on your windows and doors might have seemed great before you committed to buying your house, your walk-through is the perfect time to really give them a close inspection. Although things might seem fine on the surface, a little warped wood or disjointed glass could be indicative of a larger problem like a leak or asymmetrical framing.
3) Circle spots that need paint. The paint job in your home isn’t going to be perfect. There will be spots that need retouched, and that’s just a fact of life. While it might only take an afternoon or two to paint over the rough patches, there’s no reason that you should have to rectify the previous owner’s mistakes. Instead, put sticky notes by all the spots that need repainting as you notice them, and let the seller correct the mistakes for you.
4) Listen for creaks. At its best, a creaky floor is annoying. At its worst, it portends serious structural problems in the future. Either way, a noisy floor shouldn’t be your problem to deal with if you haven’t closed the sale yet. If you notice that a floor creaks more than it should, ask your seller to pay for it to be inspected and repaired.
Your final walk-through is a time for fine-tuning your new real estate investment before the title transfers to you. While you should always point out any little repairs that need to be completed before you feel ready to move in, this is not the time to bring up any serious issues that might compromise the sale. As long as you remember to keep it thorough and keep it casual, you’ll be moving into your dream house in no time.
