What Should I Check at the Final Walkthrough in Georgia?

What should I check at the final walkthrough in Georgia? Check that every repair you and the seller agreed to has been done, with any receipts that show it, that the home is in the condition you expect, that everything the seller agreed to leave is still there, that the systems run, and that you know where the keys and remotes will come from. If something is off, tell your agent that day, before you sign anything at closing.

By closing week, every promise about this home lives on paper: the contract, the amendments, the invoices, your own inspection photos. The final walkthrough is the moment you carry that paper into the rooms and read the house against it.

This guide is from Andrew and Jassey Nguyen. NRG Nguyen Realty Group is a real estate team with Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road helping buyers in Atlanta, Georgia check a home against their contract before closing. Our guide to how long it takes to close on a house in Georgia maps the weeks leading up to this visit. This one stays inside the house.

When does the final walkthrough happen?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau places it before the signing: "Before you sign any papers, do a final walk-through of the home." Our team's closing-week update to buyers explains what the walkthrough is for and asks when they would like it, the day before closing or the day of. It plans for about 15 minutes. That timing is our team's own practice, so check your contract and ask your agent what applies to yours. Take longer if the home needs it. The CFPB's closing checklist gives buyers this advice for the whole closing: "Don't rush."

Each of those two days offers something different. The day before leaves more hours to answer a problem. The day of closing shows you the home nearer to the moment it becomes yours. Ask yourself which matters more for this purchase. A long repair list or a seller still packing can each point you toward a different answer, and our team can help you weigh it.

If your contract lets the seller stay after closing, the walkthrough may happen with their belongings still in the rooms. Our guide to staying in a home after closing in Georgia covers that written agreement, including the condition the home must be in at move-out. Read those terms before you walk.

What is the final walkthrough for?

The CFPB describes the purpose this way: "Make sure everything that you and the seller agreed would be repaired has been repaired and anything the seller agreed to leave in the house is in place." Its closing guidance adds a broader line: "Inspect the home and make sure it is acceptable and any agreed upon repairs have been completed."

A final walkthrough is a comparison, not a second inspection. Your inspection and your decisions about it belonged to the due diligence period, and our guide to that period in Georgia explains why your ways out of the contract become much narrower once it ends without a termination. This visit asks one question. Is the home you are about to buy the home you agreed to buy?

What should I bring to the walkthrough?

Gather the paper the day before, so the visit starts with the answers already in your hands.

• The signed amendment listing every agreed repair
• The invoices and receipts for that work
• Your inspection report and any photos you took during due diligence
• The part of your contract that says what stays, with any changes made since
• Your phone, for photos and to test outlets with a charger

Ask for the invoices before the walkthrough, through your agent. Our guide to what repairs Georgia sellers make after an inspection explains what a repair line should say, including what proof the buyer receives and the date the work will be finished. The amendment you signed is your checklist.

How do I walk the home, room by room?

What follows is practical guidance to fit to your home. Begin with the repairs, wherever they are in the house. Stand in front of each one with its line from the amendment and its invoice. Does the invoice describe the same work you are looking at? Does the repair do what the amendment says? Take a photo of each finished item. Then walk the rest of the home in one direction, so no room gets missed.

The kitchen. Run the faucet, hot and cold, and open the cabinet underneath to look for moisture. Turn on the range and the oven. Start the dishwasher and the disposal. If the refrigerator or another appliance is staying, confirm it is the one you agreed to and that it runs.

The bathrooms. Run each sink, tub and shower until the water turns hot. Flush each toilet and watch it refill. Look under each sink. Hot water at the far end of the house is worth confirming.

The bedrooms and living spaces. Look at the walls and floors where furniture used to stand. Open and close the doors and the windows. Turn on the lights and the ceiling fans. Plug your charger into a few outlets. Look up at the ceilings and compare them with your inspection photos.

The heating and cooling. Set the thermostat and listen for the system to start.

The basement, crawl space and garage. Look for signs of water that were not there at your inspection. Open and close the garage door with the wall button and the remote. Check that anything the seller agreed to remove from these spaces has gone, and that anything agreed to stay has stayed.

The outside. Walk the exterior and the yard. Look at any outside repair on your list, along with the gutters, the fence and the back steps. Note anything left behind that you did not agree to keep.

The utilities. The steps above need water, power and any gas the home uses. Ask your agent to confirm with the seller's side, ahead of the visit, that they will be on. The CFPB says you "may want to contact the providers a few days prior to closing" to set up your own service.

What should stay in the house, and which keys do I need?

Your contract and any amendments decide what stays. Read those lines as you walk and confirm each item is in place. If you remember something from your first tour, a curtain rod, a mounted television, a shelf, and you are unsure whether it stays, ask your agent before closing.

Then collect the questions about access. Which keys open which doors? How many garage remotes come with the home? Is there a mailbox key? If the home has a security system, a smart lock, a gate code or an association fob, who hands it over, and when will the old codes be changed? When the keys themselves arrive depends on the possession terms in your contract, as our closing timeline guide explains.

What if something is off at the walkthrough?

Start with the facts and the calendar. Take a photo, write down what you see, and tell your agent while you are still in the house. The CFPB's instruction is to "contact the seller immediately to discuss." When you have an agent, that conversation runs through your agent and the seller's.

The answer depends on what you found.

If an agreed repair is unfinished, the amendment already says what was promised, so the question becomes how to finish it. The seller's side may be able to complete the work before closing. The CFPB also notes, "The seller might give you money to put towards your closing costs (known as seller credits) instead of trying to make the repair before closing." Ask your lender whether a credit fits your loan before you agree to one. Any change you settle on belongs in writing, signed by both sides.

If the repair was one your loan called for, call your loan officer the same day. For a lender following Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, an appraisal report must identify and describe physical deficiencies that could affect a property's safety, soundness or structural integrity, and "If the appraiser has identified any of these deficiencies, the property must be appraised 'subject to' completion of the specific repairs or alterations." Ask your loan officer whether a credit can stand in for that work.

If an item that was supposed to stay is gone, your agent can raise it with the seller's side and point to the line in your contract.

If something is new since your inspection, such as a leak or fresh damage, your contract decides what happens next, including what a seller must do about it, if anything. Ask the closing attorney's office what it can say about your contract, and keep in mind what our guide to closing attorneys in Georgia explains: in a standard closing with a loan, that attorney represents the lender and cannot advise you against the other party in a dispute. Your own Georgia attorney can.

If the fix needs more time, moving the closing takes a written amendment signed by both sides. The CFPB says, "If something important changes about your loan, you receive a new Closing Disclosure," and "In limited circumstances, the law requires that you receive a full three business days to review the new Closing Disclosure before closing." Ask your lender early how a change would affect your date.

Who do I call when something is wrong?

The CFPB sorts the calls by the kind of question. "If you have a problem or are confused about the terms and conditions of the sale, ask your real estate agent or settlement agent (title company, escrow officer, or attorney)." And: "If you have a problem or are confused about your loan, you'll need to talk to your lender."

In a Georgia closing, that settlement agent is the closing attorney's office. Your agent comes first, for anything in the house. Your loan officer takes anything touching the loan or a credit. The closing attorney's office handles questions about the closing and the paperwork. An attorney who represents you takes a dispute, and the CFPB also says, "You may also wish to get your own attorney to take a look at your issue."

Save all of those numbers before you walk.

Can I refuse to close after a bad walkthrough?

The CFPB says, "You are not committed until you have signed the closing documents," and also, "You can always walk away at closing if you are not comfortable with the transaction. You might lose any deposit that you gave the seller, and there could be other consequences from breaking your purchase contract." It advises, "Know what your contract says and what your choices are before you walk into the closing."

Its checklist gives you the question to ask ahead of time, of the person conducting your closing: "If I decide to walk away at closing, will I still owe the seller money?" Your contract, your earnest money and the facts of your purchase all shape that answer, so bring it to a Georgia attorney who represents you before you decide anything.

How do I run a final walkthrough, step by step?

1. Pick the day with your agent. Our team offers the day before closing or the day of.
2. Ask for repair invoices and receipts ahead of the visit.
3. Ask your agent to confirm the utilities will be on.
4. Gather the amendment, the invoices, your inspection report and photos, and the contract lines on what stays.
5. Save the numbers for your agent, your loan officer and the closing attorney's office.
6. Check each repair first, against its line in the amendment.
7. Walk every room in one direction, running what you can run.
8. Confirm each item that stays, and ask about keys, remotes and codes.
9. Photograph anything off and tell your agent before you leave.
10. Settle any change in writing, and confirm with your lender how it affects your loan.

An example

This is an example, not a real client.

A buyer signs an amendment with two repairs: a leak under a bathroom sink and a loose stair rail. The contract also says the refrigerator stays. They choose a walkthrough the afternoon before closing, and our team has the invoices that morning.

The cabinet under the sink is dry, and the invoice describes the same repair. The refrigerator is there and running. The stair rail still moves under a hand, and the invoice for it shows a different stair.

The buyer takes a photo and tells our team from the landing. Our team calls the seller's agent, and the seller's side offers either a contractor the next morning or a credit. The buyer asks the loan officer whether a credit fits the loan, then chooses the contractor, written into an amendment both sides sign. The buyer sees the finished rail and a new invoice before the closing appointment, with the paper and the home in agreement.

What mistakes do buyers make at the final walkthrough?

Arriving without the amendment. Without it, you are working from memory.

Accepting "it's done" in place of an invoice. The amendment you signed may name the proof you are owed, so ask for that proof.

Treating the visit as a fresh inspection. A new wish list takes your time away from the items your contract already covers.

Leaving a problem for the closing table. The CFPB's advice at that table reads, "If the answers you get don't add up, don't be afraid to stop the closing." Raising the same issue a day earlier leaves room for an answer.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a final walkthrough take in Georgia? Our team's closing-week update plans for about 15 minutes, as our own planning figure. A long repair list can take more, so allow the time.

Should I go to the final walkthrough if the home is empty and looks fine? Yes. The CFPB tells buyers to do one before signing any papers, and an empty home lets you see the walls and floors that furniture covered at your inspection.

What if the seller has not moved out yet? Walk what you can see, tell your agent what you could not, and ask when you can look again.

The home and the paper, side by side

The last visit before closing asks for a calm eye and a short stack of paper. Walk with what was promised in your hand, and ask your questions in the rooms, while there is still time to ask them.

NRG Nguyen Realty Group is a real estate team with Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road helping buyers in Atlanta, Georgia check a home against their contract before closing. Our team can go through your amendment with you before the visit and take the calls that follow it.

Send us a message: nrgmovesyou.com/contact

Or book a 15-minute discovery call with our team: schedule a call

Andrew and Jassey Nguyen

NRG Nguyen Realty Group

Real Estate Agents in Atlanta, GA

678-743-1586

nrgmovesyou.com

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Your contract controls, so talk with your closing attorney, your lender or a Georgia attorney who represents you about your own purchase.