How to Avoid Unresolved Home Inspection Issues at Your Final Walkthrough

One of the purposes of a final walkthrough is to give home buyers the opportunity to confirm that any home inspection issues the seller agreed to fix are fixed before the closing. Unfortunately, some buyers of mine found several unresolved issues during their final walkthrough in Highland Park last week.

Here are a couple of lessons learned to help home buyers avoid unresolved issues at a final walkthrough. They won’t eliminate unresolved issues, but they will help minimize them.

1. If an inspection issue could be misinterpreted, make sure to clarify the issue before having your real estate attorney forward it to the seller’s attorney. One of the issues in the inspection report for my Highland Park home buyers was, “Downspout on right front side of house should be strapped against house.” The seller had the downspout on the opposite side of the house strapped against the house instead. She made an assumption about what “right front side of house” meant that was different from what the home inspector meant. The downspout in question already was strapped at the top and bottom so it would have also been good to clarify that an addition strapping was needed in the middle of the downspout (as shown left). The seller argued that the downspout was already attached to the house at the top and bottom.

2. Make sure you understand each home inspection issue well enough so that you can verify it was corrected at your final walkthrough. If you don’t fully understand an issue, have your home inspector explain it in more detail. One of my buyers’ issues was, “Fascia on front porch is missing drip edge along gable end.” The buyers didn’t know what a drip edge was, so they couldn’t confirm that it has been added to the fascia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fran Bailey shows, previews and tracks downtown Chicago homes for sale giving her the insights needed to help her clients negotiate the best price and terms. Fran has been quoted in numerous Chicago and national publications. To schedule showings of listings regardless of broker or to contact Fran email her at fran.bailey@bairdwarner.com or call 773.793.4516. Learn More