Will Your House Pass the Final Walkthrough? 7 Pro Tips To Make Sure It Does

The final walkthrough is not an official inspection, but it is the buyers’ last chance to perform a checkup and make sure there are no surprises that go against the terms of your contract.

You’re obligated as a seller to leave the house in “broom clean” condition when you move out, which means the space is swept, vacuumed, and free of debris or excess stuff the buyers haven’t agreed to keep.

If you fail to meet these standards, buyers will bring it to your attention before the deal can close, and you’ll have to come to an agreement to remedy the situation. Ultimately, issues that crop up during the walkthrough could cost you in the form of closing delays or a hit to your bottom line.

When does the final walkthrough happen?

Most of the time, the final walkthrough happens either on closing day or the day right before. That timing isn’t set in stone, though, since both the buyer and seller can negotiate when it happens. While it’s technically possible to do it a week or even two before closing, buyers usually avoid that because too much can change in the meantime.

“A lot can happen, even in a week, if the seller has already moved out and the house is vacant,” explains Keane. “That’s when the toilet leaks and the roof leaks, when no one is there to notice it. It’s Murphy’s Law, but it definitely could happen, and a buyer’s safeguard is to do the walkthrough as close to closing as possible.”

How does a seller avoid problems from cropping up during the final walkthrough?

The easiest way to avoid closing delays during the final walkthrough is to stick closely to what’s in the contract and make sure everything in the home is working as it should. When all the agreed-upon repairs are done and the house is in solid shape, there’s a lot less for buyers to flag at the last minute.

Follow these pro tips to make sure this final step in the sale goes smoothly.

Tip #1: Don’t remove any items attached to the house unless you’ve made an explicit agreement to keep them.

Generally speaking, anything that’s attached to the home (big or small) stays with the home when you move.

If you want to take any of these types of items with you, you have to negotiate that directly with the buyer and get it into the contract. Otherwise, if the buyer arrives for the final walkthrough to see that the stove is missing, and you haven’t communicated your plans to them and gotten their explicit permission, that’s going to be a closing delay.

During the contract negotiations, your real estate agent will help you understand what stays with the home when you move and what you’ve agreed to in the contract.

“If the seller is supposed to leave something like the curtains or the garage refrigerator, or even a certain piece of furniture which had been negotiated, the agent would speak with the seller just to make sure to do those things, so that the walkthrough goes smoothly,” says Keane.

Tip #2: Don’t leave behind anything the buyers haven’t agreed to keep.

“I had a seller who had their attic stuffed to the brim with stuff,” Keane recalls. She explains that the issue had come up on the inspection report as an area that needed to be cleaned out before closing.

“The seller knew from our discussions about broom clean and the requirement to clean the house of debris,” she says. “But they were hoping the buyer wouldn’t notice, or they were in a rush. Well, the buyer did pull down the attic stairs during the final walkthrough and peek in, and everything was still there. The sellers ended up having to give a credit for the buyer to empty the attic themselves post-closing.”

Indeed, “broom clean” does not mean that you can sweep stuff under the rug. If the buyer does a thorough walkthrough (as they should), they will notice if you’ve left a mess for them to clean up.

Be prepared for the buyer to check the garage, attic, basement, drawers, and closets to make sure you haven’t left your box of high school yearbooks or 10 years’ worth of holiday decorations crammed into the crawl space. You also can’t leave behind the recliner you couldn’t sell on Craigslist and expect the buyers to just deal with it.

Doing so will cost you, literally. You’ll need to fix the situation by agreeing to leave some cash on the counter or paying to have a contractor come out and deal with the issue post-closing.

Tip #3: Be sure to check the shed for items you forgot to pack.

So you’ve cleared out the inside of the house, but there’s one more thing: Don’t forget to check the outdoor storage shed and make sure to clear all of your lawn tools, firewood, and bags of ice melter. You’ll also need to remove any garden furniture or outdoor decorations that you did not explicitly agree to leave behind.

Tip #4: Handle garbage and yard debris pickup a week before the walkthrough.

As you’re cleaning out the house for the big move, you might think to put your bags of trash, compost, recycling, and debris on the side of the lawn for pickup. If those items are there during the final walkthrough, it could present a problem if garbage pickup is still a few days out.

If the city levies a fine for a code violation, then as the seller, you could be on the hook to cover the cost. Your best bet is to take care of your garbage pickup the week prior to the final walkthrough.

Tip #5: Take care of any repairs you agreed to in negotiations and have the receipts out to prove it.

If the buyer negotiated certain repairs in light of the home inspection and the seller agreed to fix them, those repairs need to be made before the walkthrough. You must have proof of receipt showing that the work was taken care of and when.

Make sure to get a receipt detailing each project, keep it in a safe place (don’t lose it or accidentally pack it), and be prepared to have that documentation out for the buyer to review during the walkthrough.

Tip #6: Hold off on canceling utilities until after closing.

The most common mistake sellers make at this stage of the sale is shutting off the utilities too soon, leaving a home with no electricity and gas during the final walkthrough.

Note that when you cancel utilities, you can request a shut-off day but not a shut-off time. So if you cancel utilities for the day of the walkthrough, you don’t know if the buyers will come through before or after the house is disconnected from gas, electric, etc.

“If you turn off [the] water or electricity and the buyer walks through, and the lights aren’t working, they don’t know if it’s simply [that] the power got turned off or if there’s a short circuit, or some kind of other issue which would make the property in a different condition than when they had their inspection,” explains Keane.

In general, you should avoid canceling utilities in advance because you never know if your closing day could get delayed a day or even a week, and you are responsible for keeping up the house until you officially hand over the keys.

The best course of action is to make a five-minute phone call to the utility company on the same day you plan to cancel, typically right after closing wraps.

Don’t be afraid to lean on your agent to help you keep tabs on everything. Keane supplies the utility contact information to her seller clients so they don’t have to go digging for that information during such a busy time.

Tip #7: Start collecting keys and warranties for the big handoff.

A few weeks before the final walkthrough, a million little things start coming together, so it’s a wise idea to stay organized and make sure you don’t pack stuff that you’ll need later.

Now’s when you should start rounding up stuff like the garage clickers, community pool keys, clubhouse keys, basement keys, porch keys, and putting them all in a Ziploc bag for safekeeping.

Is your washing machine still under warranty? Does your oven have extra settings that the buyer may be curious about? You should also proactively gather up manuals and warranties without having to worry that you accidentally put them in a box.

Depending on your agreement with the buyer, you likely won’t hand these over until the final paperwork goes through, but you want to have them all in one place.

Sail through the final house walkthrough to closing

The final walkthrough might feel like a small step, but it can carry a lot of weight right before closing. It’s the buyer’s last chance to make sure the home is in the condition they expected and that everything in the contract has been properly completed. For sellers, that means even minor oversights can quickly turn into last-minute stress or delays.

The good news is that most issues are preventable with a bit of planning and attention to detail. Knowing what buyers typically look for puts you in a much stronger position to stay ahead of surprises. To make sure everything goes smoothly all the way to closing, partner with a trusted real estate agent through HomeLight.