When Do You Do A Final Walk Through On A Home Purchase?

When is the right time to do a final walk through on a home purchase? Today a Listing agent called me to ask when I was doing the final walk through on the home we are closing. I informed her that we would be doing it somewhere around an hour to two before the closing. She said that late? I said yes I always do them right before we close because once we sign we accept the house in the condition it is in. So, why would I do it earlier? Much to my amazement she said I was the first Realtor that waited to a few hours before closing to do a final walk through on a house... Wow I thought. I represent the buyer in the transaction. By no waiting to a few hours before the closing i am opening my client up to a can of potential issues. In my four years of selling Real Estate I have never done it earlier than the day we were closing unless I had an early closing then I did it the night before and still got up early and di one final walk through before heading to the attorney for the closing. Too many things can happen to a house. One, what if the seller damages something moving their stuff out? I would have no recourse once we closed on the house and find out there is damage. So, never do a walk through until right before closing and after all the seller items have been removed from the house. Second, what if there is vandalism to other damage done to the house prior to closing. I had an instance where the home was vacant and we found out the night before we were supposed to close. When we went to do the final walk through the A/C unit was missing. If we had not done it then we would have been out over $4000.00 for the A/C unit that the seller paid to have replaced. These are just two instances where something can go wrong and was avoided by waiting to a few hours prior to closing to do a final walk through...When I explain to the buyers why I do it this way they are appreciative for the fact I am looking out for their best interest. I do not know if buyers realize that once they sing the papers they accept the house in the condition it is in...And they cannot go back to the seller and ask for repairs after the fact or reimbursement for something missing. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell:704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com