I am buying a new home and the walk though is scheduled for 3/28/07, closing is 3/30/07?

Question

This is a new home and I will be the first person to live in it. Does anyone have a check list of things that I should look for during the walk through?

Answer 1

Hopefully you've been keeping up w/ your builder all the way through the process, because doing something about the house at a walkthrough two days before closing is like stopping a snowball rolling downhill.

Having been through the new home process twice in two years gave me an acute sense of how to approach the inspection process. The keyword is "process", where you keep up w/ the progress of the work every step of the way, and get under the skin of the builder to a point where they're royally ticked off at you for asking about "too much" stuff. If they don't care to take care of you, what makes you think they thought that much more about the house they were building?

Buying a home through one of the big builders has the "advantage" of those 30-90-180-365 days reviews, where the builder comes by and checks things out to see if everything is OK, that they will fix things on their dime, supposedly, if something's not to your satisfaction. So, even if you miss something on final walkthrough, you can hector the builder to fix it later. Hopefully.

That said, the things to look for are less mechanical (those should've been addressed prior to drywall), and more aesthetic, like how the carpeting is installed, if the paint is relatively even (even if it is cheap and applied like a sprinkler), if there are cracks where the Corian and the wall meet (nothing a little all-purpose caulking can't fix).

Keep an eye out for drywall screw pops. Wasn't a problem in the first house, big problem in the current one. Contractors can be careless and use the ductwork as a trashcan. Still occasionally fish empty cigarette packs in the ducts. Ugh!

Check plumbing. Vists from Mr Leaky are a baaaad thing. Sluggish sink and toilet drains are a no-no.

Look again for foundation anomalies, and get them to fix it ASAP. Doesn't matter if you plan to finish the basement or not: nothing worse than having to either explain to a future prospective buyer why the basement is leaky or getting the builder to admit it's their problem, esp after closing.

Check your landscaping and get commitments to complete it, if it's not done yet.

Oh, yeah, enjoy your new home!

Answer 2

My husband and I just bought our first home in July and it was also a newbuild. Congratulations! It is very exciting. Some of the "little" things we missed when going thru our walk through- several rooms had small patches of paint that were missed (little bits of slightly tannish yellow where it should be white walls) this was found usually by the windows and walls behind doors where there is not alot of light, look close by the ceilings (there may be little air pockets that did not seal with the paint- they look like .......... ), also and this was the biggest one for us that we never thought of- make sure you bring something small with you that you can plug into all of the electricity outlets to make sure they work (we have 4 sockets in our kitchen that do not work, which include the island and a few others in spots we definitely needed them in)

By the way, we did not have a realtor help us with the house, but we did talk with some of the people in the neighborhood that we were moving into to see if they could give us some hints of things they noticed when going thru their walk throughs. It was very helpful. We are lucky enough now that we have a electrician that has recently moved in diagnally to us and a carpenter that has moved in diagnolly to us on the side street.

Answer 3

If you know what your looking for (below the surface) Were the wood studs left out in the rain or snow, is it treated lumber? the wiring, the plumbing, the roof, does it leak, are there enough attic vents, insulation, foundation, windows and doors are tight... Hire a professional home inspector that has been around for awhile and guarantees there written report.
also a new home should have a warranty and maybe up to a year to have defects repaired by the builder. In all cases check their licenses, complaints, check with the BETTER BUSINESS BU ROUGH and the builders track record with the city where they are licensed. Good luck and remember take your time and do it right the first time (speed kills)

Answer 4

No, but your home inspector that you hire even though it is a new house will have a great list of things he/she will look at when there. Ask your real estate agent that is helping you with this deal to recommend one. You know, the one who went with you to view the house the first time, the one that helped you find out if the price was right for the house, and the one who helped negotiate your contract. I'm guessing you didn't have an agent on your side. You just used theirs. You can look for an inspector online I'd assume, or maybe in the yellow pages.

Answer 5

First Congrats on the Home!!!

Second, You should get an Inspector if you haven't done so Already... Have him check everything, $150 is a going rate in LA, CA... Also make sure to ask about Window AC, Blinds, ect... To make sure they stay or go with the family... Also if you find something that needs to be fixed make sure they note it in the final paper work and put a date, to protect you further....

You should watch the old movie Movin' with Richard Pryor...

Good Luck

Try this: http://www.escrowhelp.com/articles/19991217.html

Answer 6

There are people who do home inspections. Contact your lender, they ought to have a list. A lot of problems can not be seen on just a walk-through.

Answer 7

You should have the walk through with your realtor...he/she will know exactly what to look for and then they can negotiate anything you need to... good luck in your new home!

Answer 8

NO no longer till God informed me to accomplish that yet no longer on your tintype. amused smiles. (((Sharon))) might you? i'm confident that's comparable to asking somebody what they might do for a Klodike Bar? lol