LeadingLane Podcast

Steven L Burch (00:00)
I keep up with them. So hopefully everything's okay and I'm sure it'll be fine.

Ashley (00:00)
on.

And how many people are there?

Steven L Burch (00:09)
30?

So we'll see how that, I don't know, like they were all talking about it the other day. And I was like, the great thing is it's not our wedding. So we don't have to worry about it. Like Ryan was asking all these questions and like, don't it look weird that both of us are walking here down the aisle? And I was like, I think it'd be fine.

Ashley (00:31)
Okay, we need to work with this, caring what other people think.

Steven L Burch (00:34)
Yeah. And so he's like, well, like how's she gonna, you know, her flowers and blah, blah, blah. And I said, all right, yeah, like just, or you'll hold them like, or somebody else will hold them. It doesn't matter. Like it's not that big of a deal. Yes. but I was like, you're more worried or you're putting more thought into their wedding than you ever put into ours. And he was like, I don't think so.

Ashley (00:40)
Really?

She can hold them in one hand, she'll be just fine and positive.

Steven L Burch (00:59)
And then last night he was on this rampage. It drives me ever living up the wall of he waits to the last minute to figure out what he's gonna wear for anything. And then he just got it.

So then, then he was like, well, I don't have a full suit. Like, so you can't wear a full suit. And I was like, I will wear what I want. Like you wear what you want. And he was like, well, what, which one are you going to wear? Because the only shirt that I have is blue. So you can't do blue. And I said, no, no, no, no, no, no, this isn't how this is going to go. So if you're going to wear jeans and you wear jeans, that's great. You do that. I'm wearing a suit.

Ashley (01:12)
They're literally the same person.

Steven L Burch (01:39)
Like I said that from the beginning of what I was going to wear and he was like, well, I just don't, I don't know. Nothing's going to fit. You know, no, like it's not like he hasn't been to fitting.

Ashley (01:48)
This came up yesterday. I did it. Yeah. So here, Caitlin's like, this is exactly how you walked on with two people because she did it. Yeah. I told you her hand, she's holding her flowers in the middle. Yeah. Possible. Possible.

Steven L Burch (01:58)
Perfect.

And I said, I think the real reason why she kind of wants both of us is because it's going to be in grass and she's in heels. So yeah.

Ashley (02:10)
She doesn't want to fall. You're holding her up,

Steven L Burch (02:14)
Mm-hmm. Some. We'll see.

Ashley (02:16)
So the actual wedding is outside? Do they have like a tent back up or?

Steven L Burch (02:23)
You know, I did not ask many questions because there were not many details given. I did ask about chairs because I was going to print out a photo of our mom, because I don't know if anybody's thought about that. But I didn't, so there's not gonna be chairs during that. So I didn't print everyone standing. So I did not print one off. And then Robin goes, I'll have to tell you about that too.

Ashley (02:29)
you.

understanding.

Steven L Burch (02:51)
Robin goes, well, why don't you just take it to the reception with you? And they said, well, the reception's in Kansas City, technically, like, if you want to look at it that way. And I said, I am not carrying her dead mom around on a party bus and then all the way to Kansas City, just sit her up on a table up there. And she was like, my God, Steven, like, so when you sent her the flowers, like I already knew, like I was sitting there and so I didn't say anything.

We're all chitchatting about Kim's wedding and whatnot. The guy goes, it's for Robin Martino. And everybody's like, ooh. It like in high school. And Robin goes, fuck, what did Paul do? It was so funny. And so she was like, he did something. And she wasn't even, it was like she wasn't even gonna open up the freaking card because she just knew Paul did something already.

Ashley (03:34)
God, that's hilarious.

Steven L Burch (03:41)
And so I was like, no, you should open it and like see who it's from. and then she read it all out. Like, so then, Niva was like, well, let's take a picture with you. Like you need to take a picture and that's super freaking nice. And she was like, I look like shit. Blah, blah. And, Niva goes, what would Ashley say to you? And it was so like everything about that conversation just lined up freaking perfectly. And then I saw that she posted a selfie on, on Facebook. So.

Ashley (03:55)
Jesus Christ.

Steven L Burch (04:09)
Yeah. Thank you for doing that. That was funny.

Ashley (04:12)
That's too funny.

Steven L Burch (04:13)
Ken, walkthrough? Final walkthrough?

Yeah, good.

Ashley (04:18)
Welcome back everyone to the Leading Lane podcast. Today we're going to talk about a common question that I think agents maybe overlook a little bit, to do a final walkthrough or to not do a final walkthrough and what it means for your client and what risks you take both ways. Even I've heard that agents will do their final walkthrough for their client, which sounds like a great liability to take on.

So Stephen, tell me your thoughts about, actually let's talk about what a final walkthrough is.

Steven L Burch (04:50)
Yeah. So to me, a walkthrough is your, the final walkthrough, right? Of the legality right before you, you close on the property. And I think maybe where some of this goes is the final walkthrough is not my final inspection of the property. Final walkthrough is basically me taking the client through to make sure.

the last minute things, the movers didn't hit a wall, know, punch a hole in the wall or break a window by chance or whatever else. So I don't look at a final walkthrough as like verifying all the inspections and repairs and all of the things are finished. I've already done that. I made sure before we getting to that point that those are done. but I, so I, that's my definition of final walkthrough. What is your...

Ashley (05:37)
Sure. Well, and so per our contract, it says that it's to be done within three days of the closing.

Steven L Burch (05:44)
And I believe our contracts is 24 hours.

Ashley (05:46)
Okay, so ours is three days. So yours might be interesting as far as your timing as to what that entails. So I would say that here it's a little bit different and I actually do like your method and I think that maybe we need to talk about that here a little bit more in the office. So here, historically, that is the time when everyone checks everything. So sure, we have invoices for the work that's been done, et cetera, but at the final walkthrough, then they're checking all of the repairs that were done and you know.

nine times out of 10, something comes up that something was missed. But yes, also to make sure that when they were moving out, there wasn't any damage done to the property and just that everything is in the condition that it's supposed to be in. And, you know, I have had situations where the basement was flooded the day before. And lo and behold, that buyer didn't want to do a final walkthrough. You know, thankfully, we did. Could you imagine what would have happened if we didn't?

Steven L Burch (06:36)
Okay.

Ashley (06:37)
so I think that, it's something to really check over the condition of the property moving out and probably just in some areas it's whether or not you're checking that that quote unquote final inspection has been done. One thing that I really dislike in general about real estate is bill of sales because I don't feel like, we're in the business of selling property as far as like personal property. feel like we're in the business of selling property.

And that's like a super frustrating one to me when they'll bring their bill of sale, which is fine. But then like, Hey, where did the end table go? I mean, I don't know. And at this point in time, if you did the final walkthrough 30 minutes before closing, I'm probably not going to be able to get you that end table back before closing. So that's what the final walkthrough is for me. So interesting that it's 24 hours for you guys and three days for us.

And I personally don't like to do them 30 minutes before closing. And that is just because we've now left our time ourselves with no time to come to an agreement to look for something that was missing to have a, you know, if a plumbing or, mean, like normally when I'm there too, like we'll run the water, we'll flush the toilets, we'll turn on the burners. And sure enough, you know, like last summer, like there was a burner that wasn't working well again, or 30 minutes before closing. So it's not like I can have time to get a.

clients person over there. So I prefer to do the day before, just for the simple fact of it allows us time. If something does need to be addressed. I think I've maybe told the story on here, not in quite detail. But the other situation is if they're not actually moved out. So would be great to know that not 30 minutes before closing, but maybe the day before closing. And I have had that too many times or

They left a whole bunch of stuff in the garbage, know, or left a whole bunch of stuff in the garage or in the basement. Same thing, like I can call the seller and come back to get them if I have time, but otherwise we're kind of SOL or we end up delaying closing, which really doesn't go well for anyone.

Steven L Burch (08:39)
Do you guys have like a to prove that the other party, the buying party went through the property and actually completed their final walkthrough? Like any form or anything?

Ashley (08:50)
Yeah, so that's really gray in our area. So it used to be that people would sign a final walkthrough notice and then one broker advised against that and that that was taking on liability. So everyone kind of stopped doing it. We've kind of been on the proactive approach of now trying to go back to doing the forms. So I would say maybe, I don't know, less than 20 % of them, have any proof. I mean, we have the proof of the confirmation and showing time.

But as far as like an actual sign off, mean, like this morning, I have a closing this morning and I got a final walkthrough notice from the agent.

Steven L Burch (09:23)
So like we, same with our market, like there's not an actual official form that is across the board. We have one for our office that makes sure that, know, verifying that they went through it, but also we put in there, did they waive the home warranty, you know, or they actually have it. Are the utilities in progress of being switched over or yes, they already, we already have confirmations. So with that, like,

There's so many times that I've closed on a property and the seller forgot to turn it off. And then the buyers forgot to turn it on in their name. And then it became this big old fiasco of who pays for what type of thing. And same thing with a home warranty. I remember distinctly there was a deal that there was a flip. I represented the seller and the buying side said that in the contract,

that the buyers wanted a home warranty and the buyer's agent was responsible for ordering said home warranty. Well, they never ordered it. It was never on the settlement statement. So it never happened. Well, a few months went by, something happened. And then lo and behold, the other agent was like, well, the seller said that they're going to pay for it. Well, yeah, but he clearly says that you're going to be the one to purchase it and you didn't. So therefore didn't happen.

And so it was just this back and forth of who's responsible for what and who's responsible for the actual repair. And so I just put it on our final walkthrough of, know, is there a home warranty? Yes, no. And with that being said, too, there's another sign off of the buyers not wanting a home warranty. And then when there is something that happens afterwards and we didn't negotiate it, they said, well, you never offered that, which there's tons of things that, you know, we have conversations about.

But I never had proof of the buyer saying, no, I don't want a home warranty. So it's kind of like that last little checkpoint of, for all my basis, of the things that typically fall through at the end that aren't big deals, but we can save so much headache if we actually make sure it's done before.

Ashley (11:21)
Mm.

Is your homoergy in your offer at all?

Steven L Burch (11:34)
It's written in there as just basically like a checkbox if you're gonna negotiate it But it's not like waving or saying no, I don't want a home warranty so

Ashley (11:43)
I think R specifically states like, yes, I want it or waived. I think it's helpful for sure.

Steven L Burch (11:50)
Yeah. And then the other thing that we do on the final walkthrough is the date and time that they actually completed the final walkthrough. We had a situation to where the other agent went through the final, did the final walkthrough. I think it was like two or three days before. Well, then something happened. Well, our contract reads that they have to do it within 24 hours. So now it was, you know, who's

technically in breach of contract because they didn't do it within 24 hours. And they're trying to say that we didn't allow them to do a final walkthrough, but because we had that timestamp, we were able to show, no, they actually chose to perform it beforehand and that's, we still allowed it. So this has saved us on so many things after the transaction that, you know, it's just another little safety net.

Ashley (12:38)
Do leave it as an option for your agents to have final walkthroughs.

Steven L Burch (12:42)
No, it's in our, it's on our transaction room as a required. And then if the other agent is not going to do it, and then we just ask them to send us an email, letting us know that they're waiving the right to go through the property.

Ashley (12:55)
Yeah, you know, that's I tried to tell like my agents is it's kind of a different discussion to have with your buyers as far as it's not like, do you want to do a final walkthrough? It's when do you want to do the final walkthrough? And I always tell them like, all you have to do is give them one story. Like, you know, so and so had one where their basement was flooded and then they're like, probably don't want that. Why do you think that so many agents don't do a final walkthrough?

Steven L Burch (13:20)
Lazy. They're lazy. I think that they, you know, why go to the property one last time? They've already been there, you know, and it's even crazy to me that people don't even go to the property after these repairs are done. So if they're not going to go and look at the property and the repairs, goodness, repairs once they're completed and then they're not going to do this final walkthrough, like what in the world did you do for your client?

from this time that you signed the contract to the time of closing to earn your commission. I don't think that there's really anything.

Ashley (13:54)
I think that what we see in our market is that that's a really big issue with non-local agents. So, you they're coming from hours away, which still blows my mind and I think it's ridiculous. they came to show the property, never came back. So they didn't come for the home inspection. They didn't come for any repairs. They're definitely not going to come for a final walkthrough. They're not going to drive two hours for a 30 minute final walkthrough and then drive two hours back.

And then come to the closing next day. mean, most of these don't even come to the closing. mean, they literally come here one time. And then I always say to like, you're a buyer's agent. You're supposed to be working on the buyer's best interest. I don't understand how you're not fulfilling those duties. but you know, I think it also goes back to like, does their buyer even know that they should have done a final walkthrough or sure. mean, like we talked about it in the contract, but I can guarantee you, they don't remember what we talked about 45 days ago.

Steven L Burch (14:46)
Right. I don't think that they probably really even go over it in depth like that. I think it's, you know, and maybe that's where they think that because they're hiring professionals to, you know, correct these issues, then, you know, just because there's an invoice, it's a matter of fact, 100 % done. Like people still make mistakes and...

you're writing from a home inspector now negotiations between a buyer and a seller, and then you're gonna have to pass that same document off to your third party vendor, right? That's a lot of telephone and that's a lot of ways for people to misinterpret what the actual request is. So I just think it's too risky to not do.

Ashley (15:30)
Mm-hmm.

Well, and I think, you know, like, it goes back to doing real estate because we care about humans and not about a paycheck. And for me, like, right, you would hope that you've done such a good job for your client that they're so happy and they're going to refer you to their friends and family. So what happens when you don't do the final walkthrough? They get to their house and there's shit everywhere or something is broke. Like, you know, they put a hole in the wall when they were moving out their dresser or something.

Like what kind of reflection does that actually give back to the agent?

Steven L Burch (16:06)
absolutely. I think it's going to be there. That's the biggest black eye that you're going to get really quickly because then as they start talking to other people and they, you know, get asked, well, did you do your final walkthrough? And they say, no, my agent didn't do that. Like, and just think of the legality aspect of it now too. Like it's listed in a contract you chose not to do it. And so everybody wants to be able to point fingers really quickly and it's a Sue happy world. So of course they're going to be able to say the first person I'm gonna go after is my agent that didn't

do the final walkthrough, I want to sue them. And then at that point, like how do you prove that you gave that buyer the option and they really were the ones that said, no, I don't want to do it. That's I go back to the final walkthrough document or an email or some sort of communication saying either direction to verify so we have it for our file.

Ashley (16:55)
Yeah. And I would just, I mean, I would caution people against the, like the 30 minutes before, because I just...

Steven L Burch (16:59)
No. Now I think if you went there, you know, beforehand, like if you went there a week before or however long before verifying everything did way more thorough and then you did a little pop in final walkthrough for the last of the things. Yeah.

Ashley (17:11)
makes sense. But if you're doing like an inspection review a half hour before closing.

Steven L Burch (17:17)
Does your home inspectors do like a re-inspect for you? You might check to see if that's an option, if they would be willing to do that. It may be something that they have not even really thought about offering. I want to say it's like 50 bucks or a hundred bucks. it's, yeah, it's pretty minute because they're the one.

Ashley (17:28)
you're inspired for.

on what it is.

We've had some that we requested them to come back and they have, but I mean, I think it would be great if they looked at some type of option, if they just had the amendment and was like, here, these items taken care of? To the best of your knowledge.

Steven L Burch (17:47)
Yeah. Well, and then think about it like if you if you have a home inspector that you know that will go do this, re-inspect afterwards after these repairs and everything else. And you can negotiate that upfront with your buyer. Like, hey, home inspection typically is 300, but for 375 or whatever the number is, they're actually going to come back out, verify everything's done. And now we're that in my opinion, like I love doing this because the liability aspect of it, not that like

removes any sort of, know, but this is now you're bringing in that same third party vendor. It's not you. Let's be real. I'm not a an electrician or a plumber. Like I can see, you know, basic things, but I don't want it to be on my shoulders that I said, yep, everything is great. So now if we have that same person that started the home or did the home inspection and then we were able to show them here are the invoices from these requests from the home inspection, verify that these are done.

and just give it a, you know, a green stamp on the, the home inspection again, like you can move forward. It's just way, I think it's way cleaner to be able to bring in one more person for a hundred bucks more. Like I would much rather do that.

Ashley (18:55)
I like that idea. I'm afraid talk to them and see if they'd be open to that. I mean, as long as they're getting paid for their time, I think that they would. And I think that they could give a range, like, right, is a couple repairs or, I mean, you know, like some inspections are like, my God, we're gonna, it could take them like another hour and a half to go through everything.

Steven L Burch (19:02)
Absolutely.

Right. But I think also too, like, you know, not everything on that home inspection is always asked for, for, for repairs. so if it's just, you know, the bullet point items from the, the, inspection notice or whatever, you know, the negotiations for inspections, versus everything, I think that that might help a little bit there too. But the more, the more that we can bring in those third parties and a lot of times these plumbers, and especially since we're in rural America, like

Ashley (19:30)
I like that idea.

Steven L Burch (19:40)
we have a handful of select plumbers in our area. And so they're the ones that are going to be doing the repair already. Like you can help them build that relationship with that client. And then now they make the connection of, this is the company that you want to use next time you have a plumbing issue. Like these are your go-to guys. Like these are your go-to electricians, et cetera, et cetera. And so I think when we position that with our vendors that we're trying to make sure that we're creating you a client for life,

A lot of times they're like, well, of course I'll go out there and I'll meet them. know, so I kind of have it. It's not, I don't want to call it a little party, but it's kind of a party of everybody coming together to verify everything is. Yep. Absolutely. So, but again, that takes some coordination. That's take some making sure that your, your vendors are on, on the same page. and it's making sure that you're consistent with it. because I think if I want to be the agent, do I want to be the agent that doesn't provide the value?

Ashley (20:19)
9.

Steven L Burch (20:37)
Or do I want to be the agent that is the connector? I don't know what's going on with my voice this morning. The connector of...

Goodness, OK, do I want to be the agent that is going to be like not showing up for the home inspections and not showing up for the final walkthrough? Or do I want to be the agent that like I can show truly the tangible value to my clients because a lot of times they can't see the things behind the scenes. So I want to be able to show all of the coordination of all these people. And really, it's not that difficult to ask vendors to show up to a specific time and, you know, be there.

Ashley (20:47)
Good.

No. But I think, you you make a good point, even just with people that are new to town, right? Like, we all know that there are some vendors that I would never refer someone to because I've seen the work that they've done. you know, had bad experiences. So really like you're supposed to be the resource for them. So, Ashley, I just moved to town. Yep, this might have came up on the inspection, but I'm going to redo the bathroom anyway. Do you have a good plumber? Right. And then you're going to obviously like refer to the ones that have taken care of you on your inspections.

I mean, or do you know a good painter? know that people a lot of times will be like, that's what I loved about you is you had all these connections and everything got taken care of and no issues, right? Like, again, that's what we're supposed to be like, not just a realtor for the transaction. It's their realtor throughout like five years on the road. Like, I don't know. think somebody asked me like, like, yeah, who's a good carpet cleaner, right? Same thing. Like you're supposed to be their go to resource for those things. And that's how you keep clients for.

10 years from now when they decide to sell, like you're the one that they were in touch with throughout all of that time.

Steven L Burch (22:11)
Yeah. And it's something small, but honestly it's something so big and impactful, not just for the transaction, but for the client experience and your value as well. Because next time a buyer doesn't want to pay your compensation, you now have true examples of how you go above and beyond. And if they're out there interviewing other people, more likely the other person is not going to be.

saying that they're going to be coordinating, you know, after inspections and all these vendors and everything else. Like, so it's just an easy way to show and differentiate yourself from your, your competitors and keep your ass out of freaking court. Right? Like, I don't, I don't want to go to court. I don't want to do all of that for something so freaking stupid and simple. So in short, do your freaking final walkthrough, get documentation.

For me, bring in other people to verify everything is done and do your damn job as the realtor and make sure that you're raising the bar, raising the standard in this industry. Do better, be better. That's all I got. I have no other little lines with it.

Ashley (23:14)
Do better, right?

Great. Thank you everyone for tuning in today. Be sure to like and subscribe and we'll see you next time.