FIRST AND FOREMOST: EVERYONE NEEDS A HOME INSPECTION, EVEN WHEN PURCHASING A NEW HOME Assuming you will have had a Home Inspection, you must also have a final walk-thru with your Realtor preferably within 24 hours before the close. Here is a list I recently sent my son of things to look for during the final walk-thru.
1. Run all water (including showers) for about 10 minutes.... (Is water hot? Check for leaks under sink, floors, around hot water heater, is floor around showers dry, is the garage and basement dry, and don't forget around washer, etc..... Also if you have a shower upstairs, is the ceiling dry underneath after running for 10 minutes?)
2. Flush toilets five or six times and feel around base on floor to make sure there is no moisture. (you must get on your knees and feel under the tank, etc....)
3. Close all outside doors while in house (this should be done while it is still very bright outside with daylight). While inside of the house, stand back about 3 feet from door and look around top, bottom and sides of each door to make sure you don't see daylight. You need to make sure the doors are square, weather stripping works, and they fit tight! Are they sealed? Do they lock properly?
4. Check each window to note if it feels snug. Does it go up and down properly and with ease?
5. If you have wood floors: Note if there are any scratches or is there is any bowing. Take a picture with your camera if there is anything that appears to not be correct.
6. Turn on Air Conditioning for a few minutes, is the house cooling?
7. Wait a few minutes and then turn heat up to whatever temperature it takes to turn it on. Does heat and air work? (Note, sometimes when you hit the switch there will be a delay of a few minutes before the air or heat comes on)
8. Ask the builder/homeowner to show you every air filter location in the house. Make sure filters are installed.
9. Run dishwasher thru a cycle. Go ahead, bring some dirty dishes and soap..... Let the homeowner know you are planning to do this.
10. If you have a garage door opener, does it work? If you do not have one, make sure door lifts properly and closes properly.
11. Check drawers, doors in kitchen cabinets. Do they seem secure? Do they fit properly?
12. Take a lamp with you to plug into all sockets to make sure electricity works properly.
13. Has the house been completed (if new) as called for in contract? Are all fixtures in place, etc.....? Is everything in place that you thought would convey with the house? Example: Light Fixtures, Lawn Bench, etc....
14. Go to the electrical box. Are all circuits marked so that you know which switch works whatever.....?
I know of a couple that waved the final walkthrough in the middle of winter. They immediately, after the close drove down south a couple hundred miles to get married. When they returned four (4) days later there was no propane, heat was out and the faucets had icicles on them. They were fortunate that pipes hadn't burst. The cost to repair broken pipes would have been trivial to damaged dry wall, carpet, etc....
DO NOT FORGET THE FINAL WALKTHRU EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE HAD THE HOUSE PROFESSIONALY INSPECTED... I always insist on this as a clients agent and if they say an emphatic "no", I have them sign a waver.