Your new Scottsdale home: Tips for a successful walk-through
Home inspection completed? Check. Appraisal done? Check. Repairs successfully negotiated? Yup. All that’s left now is to close on the purchase of your new home. Right?
Not so fast – you have one final task, the final walk-through. This will happen just before closing on your new Scottsdale home and it’s your chance to ensure that the home you’ll soon be getting the keys to is in the same condition as when all the contract’s contingencies were removed.
We have a warning for you: do NOT rush the final walk-through of your new home. This is your only chance to complain about anything new (of a negative nature) that has happened to the home since you last saw it. Allow yourself plenty of time.
Keep in mind that this tour isn’t to find or cure anything you missed during your previous home inspections; this tour is only to find damage that occurred when the homeowners moved out and also to ensure that agreed-upon repairs were completed.
Delays happen
You should never close on the home until you’ve done the final walkthrough yet, the closer you get to that end game, the quicker things start to move. Ideally, you’d like at least three days before the close of escrow to get this done. Sometimes, however, the seller delays moving and the date is pushed up right next to closing. This give him or her almost no time to remedy any concerns you have after the walkthrough so you may have to delay closing.
Ask your agent to remind the seller’s agent that all utilities should be left on after the sellers move so that you can ensure that nothing leaks and everything is in working order. Having utilities reconnected before the walkthrough will also cause delays.
Don’t forget to take your purchase agreement with you to remind yourself of any items the seller promised to repair.
The Walkthrough
We advise our clients to start at the front door and walk completely around the interior of the home, looking from ceiling to floor. Remember, you are looking for new damage only. This might include torn floorcoverings, scraped walls and any other type of damage that may occur when one moves out of a home.
Also check that the promised repairs have been completed, that the appliances are all there and that they work. Check the performance of the water heater by running the hot water, ensure the freezer works and the icemaker. Turn on the heater and then the air conditioner.
Outside, run the sprinklers and check for leaks, turn on the lights in the pool to ensure they work, run the hot-tub. Use the remote to open and close the garage door and check to ensure that all of the landscaping remains, intact.
Finally, look for instruction manuals (for the automatic sprinklers, pool, spa, water softener, etc.) and if any are missing, ask your agent to get them from the listing agent. Also, request removal of any personal items the seller left behind.
If you note any problems, take photos and ask your agent to go about seeking a remedy for them. It’s far better to postpone closing on your Scottsdale home for a few days than to accept the home with problems. Once you close, that home is yours and seeking remedy for problems after that is far more challenging.
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