What Is A Verification Of Property Condition?

Posted on: 22 November 2019

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One part of the home-buying process you might not be aware of is the final walk through you should complete before your mortgage closing. When you complete this walk through, you will likely be asked to sign a document called a verification of property condition, and it is important to understand what this form is before you sign it.

The purpose of a final walk through

Before you can really understand what a verification of property condition form is, you will need to learn what a final walk through is. A final walk through is a visit to the house you are buying as a way of inspecting the house one last time before closing on the property and taking ownership of it. The main purpose of it is to ensure that the seller of the house is leaving the property in the exact condition you and him or her agreed upon.

The purpose of a verification of property condition

You cannot sign the verification of property condition form until you have completed the final walk through, and you should only sign it if you approve of the condition of the house at the time of the final walk through. If the house is not in the condition you expected it to be in, or if something is missing from the house or work is not completed, you should not sign it. Instead, you should let your real estate agent notify the seller of the house about the problems you found. The seller will then have a chance to remedy those problems before the closing appointment. Therefore, before you sign this document, you should run through a checklist to ensure that everything is right with the house you are about to purchase.

The impact of not signing it

If you do not sign the document, you and the seller cannot complete the closing process, which means you will not take ownership of the house at this point. Failing to sign the document due to issues you found will result in the seller having a decision to make. The seller can either fix the problems or not. If the seller does, then you can close on the house. If the seller does not, it could void the entire deal.

If you have questions about the final walk through or the verification of property condition form, talk to your real estate agent, as he or she can give you more information about both of these things. Keep these tips in mind as you browse the single family homes for sale in your area.