I would not have a closing with my buyer without a final walk through!  I was an Exclusive Buyers Agent for 4 years in the beginning of my career and have had to hold a few closings up due to; not all things are out of the house, a new pipe leaking all of a sudden, even a broken window.  These are things that I do not feel should be my clients responsibility after the closing.  In most cases all is well, but I certainly do not want a call after the closing from my client to tell me that something is wrong.

Yes, sometimes something is missing, broken, or soiled that should have been taken care of before closing.  I always do a walk through when I have the buyer or both sides buyer and seller, and also when I just have the seller I make sure to be there.  That way there is no dispute from either side at or after the closing.  I want to know what's happening every minute.  Years ago I almost had a closing blow up because of an old washing machine.  Fortunately it was resolved at the walk through.

copper theft is a HUGE issue here in Indiana.  You should always do a final walkthrough.  What if the sellers decide to knock a few holes in the walls or take the furnace with them because they did not like the deal they have with the buyers?  

I know I don't want a call from a very unhappy buyer after they move in and find this out.

Its good business to make sure everything is good prior to closing. I hate surprises in that area!

A couple of days before a closing I knew my sellers had moved out so had to make sure everything was there that stayed or gone that was suppose to leave. He had put his stove out on the corner and put "free" on it. It was suppose to stay, he forgot, dragged it back inside and hooked it back up. gADS people!

The buyers agent never took his people through before closing, but I checked it out for them to make sure.

I've never had a closing held up because of a walk-through but I've heard plenty of horror stories.  Wouldn't close without one.

I always do a final walk through with my buyer clients 2 to 3 days before closing.  We check to make sure the home is still in the condition they remember and check for completion of any repairs we asked for. If the refrigerator is important, we specify make and model in the contract.

I always do a walk through with my buyers, if they are not able to attend I do one without them.  Quality Service/Quality Protection.

Actually, forgot my first closing!  Home had been vacant over the summer.  We went for the walk-through and the grass was a mile-high.  Negotiated a hold-back.  The Seller agreed that he would either take care of it himself or have a landscaper do it.  He got one week and it was done.

I wouldn't allow my buyers to not do a walk-through, and I would do it 15-30 minutes before the closing. If you do it the night before, there is still time for problems. I do not want to have to give up part of my commission to buy a new refrigerator ,replace any appliances or fix a costly problem. But, hey, if you don't need your commission check, you go right ahead and close without a walk-through, then prepare to hand your commission over to the buyer.  :)

WALK THRU!!! had a deal just a few weeks ago. During Walk thru the heater caught on fire up in the attice DURING the walk thru and was able to catch it and get the FD out in time before major damage was done. So since it was before closing sellers insurance had to take care of it, if we waited till after the closing then the buyer would of drove up to a pile of burnt wood!

I always do a walk through now! I didn't do it once and I regreted it later. The sellers left so much garbage and stuff undone that was promised that we had to go to court to get everything finished.

I want to know the home is still there like it should be! So far only one bad experience and unfortunately i was my seller!

Always! Just had one where the seller was an elderly gentleman and had lots of "stuff" gathered thru the years & no one to help move him.  He hired some derelicts to help, but they were not exactly reliable. The only thing they helped were themselves.  Buyers would have been stuck with all his stuff...boats, trailers, planes, you name it.  The agents & buyers finally helped move him, but the closing was extended for 3 days.  If your buyers can't make it, do it yourself. Had one a few years ago and the seller had taken the water heater out of the closet..who knew, so check all that too!

I have always done a walk through with my buyers before closing. I have even done walk throughs for buyers that can't be in town the day of closing. Ironically I had a walk through last Friday and the seller had turned off the A/C, and the sprinklers 2 weeks prior to closing. With the drought here in Florida the lawn was almost completely gone in the back, and badly burnt in the front, and the house was beginning to smell. Fortunately my buyers didn't stop the closing (they weren't at all happy), but they closed anyway. There were at least no surprised after they closed.

I always do a final wlak through. I once had done a final and found that new w/w carpet had been removed.

I had an instance where they sellers decided to take the very expensive fridge, washer, dryer so we proceeded, but had an hold on the sellers proceeds until they returned the items listed in the contract.

Another instance I was the listing agent and the seller took everything.  Ceiling Fans, Curtains, Appliance.  I was surprised that they left the drywall :)

I highly recommend final walkthroughs and leaving the keys with the title company so that after it has been walked they don't go back and take the drywall :)

I let the buyers atty advise their clients about the final walk but when they call me I advise them to bring a steno pad and make notes on anything they might see so their atty can address any issues at the closing table.

Walk throughs are great and the Zip Form Buyers Walk through is in even better for a listing agent.  Have the buyers sign the form and bring to closing.  End of story.

Ok Howard,  Buyers' Agent does the walk thru a few hours before the closing in New Jersey. If the Sellers' are out you can do it perhaps the day before, not recommended, just in case. When we get to the closing their attorney asks first of all did you do a walk thru, are you satisfied. We as Agents write the Contracts include in the contract the MLS # and include as per listing agreement what is on the listing and exclude what is on the listing. We are held responsible for the washers/dryers/refrigators etc. if we fowl up on the listing I have seen it happen that agents. The Listing Agreement must be perfect or you lose.

If they want to switch they must state in listing before Contract. As far as fixtures they must replace if it is special, Buyers' must be told ahead that that was my grandmothers' for example I will replace.

I now use camera or phone if there is a problem or anything is left it must be broom clean?????????

The lockbox is not removed until the walk thru and as a  buyers' agent I usually bring the lockbox and sign to the sellers' agent at the closing.

Call it being paranoid or being prudent, but I personally feel if I'm being paid to protect a buyer's interest a final walk through is a must.  If something was unsatisfactory in the mind of a buyer it's not much of a leap to think a disgruntled buyer would complain to the Realtor board, the state dept. of consumer protection, take me to court, etc.

In my mind, its really cheap professional liability insurance.

Yes Walk thru!  Most deals are fine and dandy but once in a while you will get something not so fine and dandy, like a house full of trash, food, beer cans, spray painted walls and worse... One of ours was a vacant house, kids had broken in and partied hardy!  Think of the mess the buyer would have run into if we didn't do a walk thru!  It is a lot easier to get the responsible party to take care of the problem before the close rather than after.

Jana

It's a part of the contract. Why wouldn't you encourage it? It's not the agent's choice, it's the buyers. I've never had an issue (knock on wood) but have heard of the fresh or new paint on the interior that changed colors once a china hutch or mirror had been packed up.

I do the same thing as kathy during my walk-thru.  I always have a camera ready and bring the lock box and keys with to deliver to the seller.  I let the sellers give the keys to the buyer and cuts down on problems and helps out the listing agent.  Signs typically stay up a few weeks after closing here as an additional form of advertising.

Never sold any home without doing the final walkthrough. Can't even imagine not doing one.

I think that Inman had an article where someone bought a home with "hard wood floors through out".  Went to closing and when he opened the door to his new home, he discovered that the hard wood only extended to the area rugs that were in every room.  Nothing but sub-flooring under the carpets!  Selling agent didn't know.

One creative way to cut costs huh?  Now I always look under the area rugs!

Well, I once did the walk thru, attended the closing and took the clients out to lunch. When I got back home the buyers were fit to be tied (where did that expression come from?). It turns out, the seller (my customer) had his friends rip out the inground lawn sprinkler system while we were at the closing table. When the attorney for the buyer tried to get it back or some compensation for it --well, that would have just cost the buyers more money and time to take them to court. In the end, it was decided to "live and let live". And that may be the moral of the story.

I am make sure that the seller understand's that they keep the utility on till the day or day after the closing. We had walk thru the house was vacant and seller decided to disconnect utilities. As a buyer's agent we had to escrow money and than did a final walk thru.

Another thing I make sure is all the home inspection items were done by professional and receipt provided. When the market was hot and buyers did not care about how the finish work on the walk thru items were done I always made sure it was done professionaly and they company receipt copy is given to my clients.

TAKE THE WALK.  It is the last time to check on cleanliness of the property and unexpected repairs due to vandalism or any number of events.  Some poor couple found a pick up truck in their living room two hours before closing.  It was the talk of the town for 10 days.  The agents handled the situation by closing anyway, getting the sellers insurance to pay lodging for the purchasers and when repairs were done everybody was happy.

Realtor, Columbus Ga