Final Walkthrough Checklist for Washington Buyers
What to check at the final walkthrough before closing in Washington — systems, repairs, what conveys, and what to do if something's wrong.
The final walkthrough is your last look at the home before closing — typically scheduled within a few days of (and ideally as close as possible to) the closing date. It is not a second inspection and not a chance to renegotiate the deal. It answers exactly three questions:
- Is the home in substantially the same condition as when you agreed to buy it?
- Were the negotiated repairs actually done?
- Is everything that’s supposed to convey still there — and everything that’s supposed to be gone, gone?
In Washington, closing happens through escrow and you generally take possession when the deed records — so problems found at the walkthrough need to be raised before you sign and fund, while you still have leverage. Here’s the field checklist.
Before you go
- Bring your contract documents: the purchase agreement, the inspection response/repair addendum, and the listing (which describes what’s included).
- Bring your phone charger. It’s the classic outlet tester.
- Schedule it after the seller has fully moved out if at all possible. Furniture hides damage; a moved-out house hides nothing — including the wall gouges the movers just made.
- Confirm utilities are still on. You can’t test a furnace in a powered-down house. If they’ve been shut off, reschedule.
Systems check (15–20 minutes)
- Run every faucet and look under every sink. You’re looking for new leaks and checking hot water arrives.
- Flush every toilet.
- Run the dishwasher and the disposal, even briefly.
- Test the furnace and (if present) AC — actually feel air move. Why it matters: a heating failure discovered in escrow is the seller’s problem; discovered after recording, it’s yours.
- Test the water heater indirectly via hot water at taps.
- Open and close the garage door with the opener and test the safety reverse.
- Try a sampling of light switches and outlets in every room.
- Open and close windows and exterior doors; confirm locks work and keys exist.
- Run laundry machines for a minute if they convey.
Condition check
- Walk every room, closet, and the garage — moved-out homes reveal stains, holes, and damage that staging concealed.
- Look at floors along mover paths for fresh gouges or scratches.
- Check walls and door frames for move-out damage. Reasonable nail holes are normal; a dolly through drywall is not.
- Check the basement/crawl space entrance for water if it’s rained since your inspection — this is Western Washington, so it probably has.
- Confirm no new roof leaks: scan ceilings, especially top-floor corners and around skylights.
- Yard and exterior: nothing newly damaged, no fresh dumping, gates and fences intact.
Repairs and conveyances
- Verify each negotiated repair against the addendum, line by line. Ask for receipts, invoices, and permits where the work needed them. “My handyman took care of it” is not documentation.
- Confirm everything included in the sale is present: appliances, window coverings, light fixtures, mounted TVs or brackets if negotiated, hot tub, shed contents if specified. Fixture swaps (the dining chandelier replaced with a builder-grade dome) are a real thing — that’s why you brought the listing.
- Confirm the seller’s stuff is gone — including the garage, attic, crawl space, and yard debris. Hauling away an abandoned workshop costs real money.
- Collect the take-home items or confirm where they’ll be: all keys, mailbox keys, garage remotes, appliance manuals, alarm/gate codes.
If something is wrong
Don’t panic, and don’t sign as if you didn’t see it. Your options, roughly in order:
- Minor items: ask for a closing-cost credit or an escrow holdback sized to the fix, documented in writing before signing.
- Incomplete negotiated repairs: same tools — credit, holdback, or a short closing delay until it’s done. The repair addendum is a contract term; you’re entitled to insist.
- Major new damage or missing conveyances: your agent and the escrow officer coordinate a resolution before recording. In a genuine standoff, what you can and can’t do depends on your contract — here’s the bigger picture on backing out of a purchase in Washington, and when in doubt, get advice from your agent and, for true disputes, an attorney.
The walkthrough has no contingency attached to it by default — your leverage is that you haven’t signed and funded yet. Use it politely but use it.
Related reading
The walkthrough is the last checkpoint in a chain that starts much earlier: what inspectors check, the pre-offer checklist, and when you actually get keys in Washington.
A thorough agent treats the walkthrough as a real event, not a formality — one more reason who you hire matters as much as what they charge. When the Manaky Homes marketplace opens, you’ll be able to compare Greater Seattle agents’ published fees side by side, free. Reserve your spot on the waitlist.
