A: Doing a final walk-through is a MUST in the days before a scheduled closing with so much of your money being put into what is probably one of the biggest investments of your life! So, when you conduct the walk-through, be prepared for the worst! Here are some tips as well a great way to handle yourself if the apartment isn’t in the condition you were hoping for!

When To Schedule The Walk-Through - This is one of the last steps of the buying process. The final walk-through should be held at least 2-3 business days prior to the closing. The reason is you want to give all parties involved in the transaction (buyer, seller, both attorneys, lender, etc..) enough time to reschedule should the closing have to be postponed by a few days. Don’t wait for the seller broker to contact you to schedule this. Instead, be proactive and have your buyer broker or yourself (if no broker representation on the deal) contact the seller broker a week before the closing to set a date for a last check.

Wait For Apartment To Be Vacant - For existing apartments, you must wait for the seller to have moved out before conducting a final walk-through. In these types of deals, you are looking for damage beyond ‘normal wear & tear’ that may have occurred to the property. Minor scratches on the floor or walls from the hired moving company DO NOT count as major damage and will not be enough to postpone a scheduled closing. However, holes in the walls or chunks of flooring missing ARE something that should warrant a complaint!

For new developments, you are really looking for unfinished work, damaged materials, water damage, etc.. For large buildings with many units, one has to expect a few little things to be in need of attention, so rather than get all emotional about it, do the right thing and follow my advice a few paragraphs down on what to do! Chances are in this scenario that the closing will take place and the money would be put into escrow until the problems are resolved OR the closing will take place as it normally would and the issues will be addressed in the first week or two of occupancy for ALL new residents. Generally the first few weeks of occupancy in a new development is the time frame given to fix any and all minor issues reported.

What To Check For - As you do the walk-through, check to see if all electric outlets are working, the appliances are working, and that no major damage beyond ‘normal wear & tear’ occurred. The deal is, the property should be in the same ‘AS IS’ condition as it was upon the day you reached a fully executed contract of sale for the apartment! Checking for water damage or fire damage is also a good idea and should warrant a complaint if you find evidence of either.

What To Do When Problems Arise - It’s very possible that you do find some major issues a few days before the scheduled closing! Good thing you did the walk-through! Now, its up to you to make a checklist of the problems (with worst problems at the very top) and take a picture of the actual issue at hand. When you get home, put all this into a word document and add in the images to physically show the problem you are complaining about! Call your attorney and lender and tell them to postpone the closing and then give this checklist + backup pics to the seller broker. The seller broker should have no excuses for not addressing the issues you brought up, IF you brought them up in this manner.

In the end, all the major issues should be addressed so that a 2nd walk-through can be scheduled and the closing can finally take place soon after!

SAMPLE CHECKLIST + PICS (thanks to a very thoughtful and thorough client of mine)