You’re buying a home. You’ve completed your inspections. You’re waiting to close. Now what?
You’ve made it through the inspection period and the seller has agreed to complete some home repairs. Congratulations! Now what? A week before closing I remind my clients about the closing process and to schedule a final walk through before closing. Besides asking the seller to provide any invoices or photos showing the repair has been completed- schedule a final walk through at least 3-5 days before your closing date. It’s always a good idea to double check that seller has completed the items they’ve agreed to repair.
Often you’ll find that a seller is scrambling to get those last repairs done, or cleaning up their move out. You’ll walk through the house with your real estate agent and verify that the items have been repaired. I’ve found that a day or two before closing is just not enough time to remedy unfinished repairs. If a seller has not performed the agreed repair, do not give authorization to close until you are satisfied. This may delay your closing and you’ll have to write an extension to close.
Here are some repair and final walkthrough tips-
- Make sure your repair requests are written in detail or refer to a specific scope of work.
- In addition to your inspection report, get a professional estimate for repair.
- If you are asking for a sewer repair, request that the seller scope the line after the repair and provide you the video of the scope.
- Make good judgement about work that is being completed by homeowner or needs to be completed by a licensed & bonded contractor. There is a lot of work that a homeowner can do on their own. If the repair is related to a “service” of a major appliance, structure, or health/safety issue- request a professional handle that repair.
- If a repair is being completed after closing, for example a sewer repair- ask for escrow to hold back additional funds in case the repair exceeds the provided estimate.
- Your repair request agreement has a date written in which the repairs need to be completed by. If you haven’t seen photos or invoices come in, check in with your REALTOR® to request them from the seller.
If you are thinking about buying a home- give me call! I’d love to help you through the real estate process.
Julia Robertson | Broker | Living Room Realty
541-505-1111 | julia@rebyjulia.com