What is a walk through? Why do you need one?

A walk through

A walk through is the visit that you take to the house or condo after the current tenants or sellers move out. You do this to confirm that they have moved all their stuff out, left everything that is attached to the property, and not damaged anything in the process.

Broom clean: The standard language in a Purchase and Sales Agreement calls for the property to be “broom clean and vacant” or some variation on that. What people mean by this varies from spotlessly cleaned and entirely ready to be moved into all the down to basically filthy with some stray bits of things lying around. It is hard to get attorneys to take it seriously if the things are gone, even if the place is not clean.

Things left behind: The occupants of the property are required to take all their personal possessions. Sometimes the trashcans are still full on closing day. Sometimes there are things that need to go to the curb on the next trash day. But, beyond that, their things should be gone.

When sellers leave dead appliances, tires, furniture, and other large objects behind, you have recourse in the form of a holdback.

Over the years, we have seen all kinds of trash left behind. The most common are things that require some effort to move, like heavy furniture, broken appliances, scrap wood or metal.

Things taken: The things that are part of the house are called “realty.” That’s everything that is attached to the house, wired in, or built specifically for it. Chandeliers are realty, dishwashers are realty. So are the counters, cabinets, sinks, fireplace mantles, walls, floors, wall-to-wall carpets, and such. Not-so-obviously, the garage door opener/remote is realty. Plants in the yard are realty. A seller can take the plants, but they need to ask you to agree to it when they will come for them; sometimes plants can only be moved at certain times of the year or there are crops that the seller wants to come harvest.

There are some grey areas. Something screwed in (the curtain rod holders) is realty, but the curtain rod is not attached. Is it OK for the seller to take it? Generally, curtain rods stay if they match the holders.

Another grey area is paint. If the seller leaves paint that matches the house in the basement, they are correct; it is realty. However, the buyer may see it as garbage.

When sellers take things that belong to the house, you have a recourse in the form of a holdback.

Things that get taken, when they shouldn’t, are often built-in shelves and chandeliers. 

Things damaged:

In the course of moving out, sometimes things get damaged. Sometimes minor plumbing issues are found.

The most common problem is that a wall gets dinged by the movers. Sometimes a window gets hit.

Another common thing is that washer spigots often have tiny leaks that are not seen until the washing machine is removed. The seller wouldn’t know the leak is there. The buyer comes for a walk through and finds the drip. This is a minor issue, but it no one likes to find puddles.

What’s next?

After the walk through, the buyer is headed to closing. If the property was not in broom clean condition, or has realty missing, or sustained damage in the move-out, the problem will be resolved at closing.