Davie Florida Final Walkthrough Before Closing: What to Check

What Is the Final Walkthrough, and What Does It Actually Confirm?

You are a day or two from closing on a home in Davie, and someone hands you a set of keys and says go do your final walkthrough. It is the last time you will see the home before it is legally yours, and most buyers are not sure what they are supposed to be looking for. The anxiety is real, and it is common. The good news is that the job is narrow and specific.

Under the Florida AS IS Residential Contract, the walkthrough exists to confirm three things. The personal property that conveys with the home is still present. The seller kept the home in the same condition it was in when you made your offer. And any repairs the seller agreed to in writing are complete. That is the whole assignment, and the state association lays it out the same way in the Florida Realtors final walk-through guidance. This guide walks through exactly what to check, the Davie and South Florida items that trip buyers up, and what to do if something is wrong. It is written for single-family buyers across Davie’s buyer footprint, ZIP codes 33314, 33324, 33325, 33328, 33330, and 33331.

Is the Walkthrough a Second Home Inspection?

No, and this is the single most important thing to understand before you walk in. The walkthrough is not a second inspection, and it is not a chance to renegotiate condition you already accepted. The contract language in the Florida Realtors AS IS Residential Contract is specific. The walkthrough is there to verify that personal property is present and that the seller met the maintenance and repair obligations already in your contract.

That matters because your standing at the walkthrough does not come from being unhappy with the home. It comes from the seller failing to meet an obligation the contract already spells out. If you inspected during your inspection period and accepted the home, the walkthrough is not where you reopen that decision. If you want the full picture of what the inspection window is for and what it lets you cancel on, our Florida inspection period guide for Davie buyers covers that separate step in detail.

The Core Walkthrough Checklist

Bring your phone for photos, your contract, and the inspection report so you can confirm agreed repairs. Then work the home systematically.

Test every appliance that conveys. Run the range, the dishwasher, the disposal, the washer, and the dryer. Confirm the refrigerator is cold. Open, close, and lock every exterior door, and open and close the windows. Confirm screens are present and intact. Flip every light switch, dimmer, and ceiling fan. Press the test and reset buttons on the GFCI outlets in the kitchen, baths, garage, and exterior. Flush the toilets and look under sinks for leaks. Walk the walls, floors, and ceilings for new damage, water stains, or anything that was not there before.

Confirm the personal property in your contract is still in the home. Blinds, light fixtures, ceiling fans, and any negotiated items should all be present. If the contract said it stays, it stays. Finally, confirm every repair the seller agreed to is done, and ask for the paid receipts or lien waivers so you have proof the work was completed and paid for.

The Florida and Davie Items Buyers Miss

South Florida adds a few checks that a generic checklist will skip, and these are the ones that cause problems at closing.

Run the air conditioning and confirm it actually blows cold. In our humidity the condensate drain line grows algae and clogs, which trips a float switch that shuts the system down. A home that sat vacant with the AC off can grow mold and a musty smell within weeks in Davie heat, so confirm the home is dry and cool, not closed up and stuffy. Test the hurricane protection. Operate the shutters or confirm the impact windows and doors are intact, and count that every shutter panel and piece of hardware that conveys is actually there.

If the home has a pool, the AS IS maintenance requirement names it directly, so the pool should be clean, clear, and running, not green or drained. Check the screen enclosure, pool cage, and lanai screens for tears and missing panels, which are standard features on Davie single-family homes. And in the western parts of Davie that are more exposed to flooding, confirm there is no standing water and that the yard still drains away from the house after summer rains. Drainage is a bigger deal here than in most markets, which is why our Davie flood zones guide is worth a read before you close on a western parcel.

What to Do If Something Is Wrong at the Walkthrough

First, do not panic and do not assume you can simply walk away. The walkthrough by itself does not give you an automatic right to cancel. Your options come from the seller failing to meet a contractual obligation, and you have real ones.

You can delay closing until the repair is completed or the issue is fixed. You can negotiate a seller credit equal to the estimated cost of the repair or replacement, which lets you close on time and handle the fix yourself. Or you can negotiate an escrow holdback, where funds are held back from the seller’s proceeds at closing until the fix is verified and signed off. If personal property was removed or an agreed repair was not done, that is a contract obligation issue, and your agent and the title or closing agent work it out based on what the contract required. If the dispute turns on what actually conveyed with the parcel, the Broward County Property Appraiser record is the public reference for the property itself. The move is to document everything with photos the moment you see it and get your agent on the phone before you sit down at the closing table. Knowing how the walkthrough connects to the rest of closing day is part of a smooth finish, and our guide to buying a home in Davie lays out how these final steps line up.

When Does the Walkthrough Happen, and Who Comes?

The walkthrough customarily happens 24 to 48 hours before your closing date, or the morning of closing if that is the only window. You want it as close to closing as possible so that what you see is what you get, while still leaving enough time to raise an issue before you sign. You and your agent do the walkthrough together. The seller is usually not present, and the home should be empty or nearly empty by this point.

Do not let anyone rush you. This is a real step with real contractual weight, not a formality to check off on the way to the closing table. Take the full time you need, run every system, and treat the paid repair receipts as part of the deliverable. If a one-time cost surprise does come up, our breakdown of Davie closing costs and who pays them shows where credits and holdbacks fit into the final numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I back out at the final walkthrough if something is wrong?

Not automatically. The walkthrough itself does not give you a right to cancel. Your standing comes from the seller failing to meet a contract obligation, such as an unfinished agreed repair or removed personal property. From there you can delay closing, negotiate a credit, or request an escrow holdback.

What am I actually allowed to check at the final walkthrough?

Under the Florida AS IS contract you are confirming three things: that personal property which conveys is still present, that the seller kept the home in the same condition as when you made your offer, and that agreed repairs are complete. It is not a second inspection of items you already accepted.

The AC is not cooling the day before closing. What do I do?

Document it with photos and video and call your agent immediately. A clogged condensate drain that trips the float switch is a common Davie cause. Because cooling is a real function of the home, an AC that does not cool is a condition issue you can address through a delay, a credit, or an escrow holdback before closing.

What happens if the seller took appliances that were supposed to stay?

If the contract said an appliance or fixture conveys and it is gone at the walkthrough, that is a contract obligation the seller did not meet. Do not close without resolving it. Your agent and the closing agent handle it through a credit, a holdback, or return of the item before funds are released.

Do I have to close if the pool is green or the lawn is dead?

The AS IS maintenance requirement names the pool, lawn, and shrubbery specifically, so the seller is obligated to keep them in the condition they were in on the effective date. A green pool or a dead lawn is a maintenance failure you can raise. You are not forced to close on it without a remedy.

Walk Into Closing With Confidence

The final walkthrough is the last step where a small problem is still easy to fix, and the buyers who handle it well are the ones who know exactly what to look for before they walk in. If you are buying a single-family home in Davie, Florida and want an agent who runs a real walkthrough and protects you all the way to the closing table, call Anthony Spitaleri at (954) 235-5783 or book a Davie strategy call at https://bit.ly/daviestrategycall.

Anthony Spitaleri, Broker Associate, Coldwell Banker

Serving Davie, Weston, Southwest Ranches, and Cooper City, Florida

Phone: (954) 235-5783

Web: livingindavieflorida.com

Anthony Spitaleri is a Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker, one of the most established residential real estate brands, with approximately 2,700 offices globally, founded in 1906. A Davie native who returned home in 2025 after 13 years in Miami Beach, Anthony specializes in luxury homes and estates above $1 million, acreage and equestrian properties with no HOA, and relocation buyers moving to Davie from out of state. He created livingindavieflorida.com, the most in-depth independent Davie real estate resource available, with in-depth coverage of Davie’s gated communities, acreage and equestrian properties, and luxury estates, plus original weekly market data, interactive tools, Town Council recaps, and a 24/7 AI concierge. Anthony has been licensed in real estate since 2013 (BK3281907), is a Certified Strategic Coach through Coaching Services International (CSI), an active member of the Davie Cooper City Chamber of Commerce, and a weekly volunteer at Bit by Bit Therapeutic Riding Center in Davie. More about Anthony.