Resource Center · Part of our New Construction Guide series for Michigan buyers.
Buyer Education · New ConstructionThe final walkthrough is your last chance to protect yourself before you sign closing documents. This guide covers what to inspect, what to document, what to do when items aren't finished, and how an experienced REALTOR changes the outcome of this appointment.
Most buyers spend months preparing to build a new home and two hours at the final walkthrough. That imbalance can be expensive. The walkthrough is not a formality. It is a documented inspection appointment with real consequences for what you accept at closing.
The final walkthrough is a scheduled appointment, typically one to five days before your closing date, where you tour the completed home with a representative from the builder. The purpose is twofold: the builder shows you how the home operates, and you identify anything that needs attention before or shortly after closing.
It is important to understand what the final walkthrough is and what it is not. This appointment is an orientation and a documentation session. It is not an independent inspection. The builder's representative is there to demonstrate systems, answer questions, and walk you through the official punch list process. They are knowledgeable and often genuinely helpful. They also work for the builder.
That distinction matters. Your REALTOR and, ideally, your own independent inspector should be present alongside the builder's team. The walkthrough is most effective when you arrive prepared, slow, and specific.
The builder's final walkthrough is not a substitute for an independent inspection. We recommend scheduling your own licensed inspector before the builder's walkthrough so you arrive with your own documented findings already in hand. For details on what independent inspections cover and when to schedule them, see our New Construction Inspection Guide.
The walkthrough is where two tracks of information come together: what your inspector found, and what the builder acknowledges needs to be corrected. Both lists matter. The punch list you leave with, signed by the builder's representative, becomes the document that governs your post-closing follow-up.
Builders typically schedule the final walkthrough one to five business days before your closing date. On production homes in Southeast Michigan, the builder's superintendent or a designated customer care representative coordinates the appointment once the home has passed its local municipal inspections and the Certificate of Occupancy is issued or imminent.
The scheduling window is not always generous. Some builders notify buyers three to five days in advance. This is why it is worth confirming with your builder and your REALTOR as you approach your anticipated closing month so you are not arranging last-minute coverage. If you also want an independent inspector at the walkthrough, that inspector needs advance notice too.
At minimum, you and your REALTOR should both be present. If you have a spouse or partner who will be on the title, both buyers should attend. If an independent inspector is attending, they typically arrive slightly before the builder walkthrough or simultaneously, depending on the arrangement your REALTOR coordinates with the builder.
One practical note: if at all possible, do not bring young children to the final walkthrough. A new construction home is not fully finished and may have sharp debris, open areas, and equipment nearby. More importantly, a two-year-old exploring the garage requires your attention, and the walkthrough requires your full focus. Arrange childcare for this appointment.
Plan for two to three hours on a production home in the 2,000 to 3,500 square foot range. Builders typically schedule 90 minutes to two hours. If your independent inspector is present or if you have a longer punch list, the appointment will run longer. Do not schedule anything immediately afterward. Rushing the walkthrough is one of the most common and costly mistakes buyers make.
Arriving prepared is the single biggest thing you can do to improve the quality of your walkthrough. The builder's representative knows this home better than you do at this stage. Your preparation narrows that gap.
Review your design center selection sheet the night before. Many buyers discover during the walkthrough that a cabinet color, countertop edge, or appliance model is wrong. Catching this during the walkthrough, with documentation in hand, is much easier than catching it after you have moved in and the builder's team is no longer on the property.
Walk the home methodically rather than following the builder's representative from point to point on their schedule. A systematic room-by-room approach means nothing gets skipped because the conversation moved to another topic. Start at the front door and work clockwise through each level.
Run water in every sink and shower and then check under every cabinet and behind every toilet for leaks. This takes three minutes per bathroom and has caught legitimate plumbing issues on final walkthroughs in Southeast Michigan that would have cost thousands to address post-move-in. Run the dishwasher on a quick cycle and check the connection under the sink when you come back around.
A punch list is the official written record of items the builder agrees to complete or correct. Both you and the builder's representative sign it during or at the conclusion of the walkthrough. The punch list is a legally meaningful document. It establishes what was outstanding at the time of closing and what the builder is committed to addressing.
The term comes from construction management, where superintendents would punch a hole next to each item on a paper list as it was completed. The list of items that had not yet been punched off became the punch list. The name stuck, and the document still serves the same function: it is the active record of what the builder owes you.
Location: Primary bathroom, north wall
Description: Grout missing from two tile joints left of shower valve, approximately 2 inches each
Category: Cosmetic
Committed completion date: Within 14 days of closing
Vague entries like "touch up bathroom tile" are harder to enforce. Specific entries with location and description protect you if the builder's follow-up team arrives and claims they cannot find the item.
Do not leave the walkthrough without a signed copy of the punch list. Ask the builder's representative to sign it before you leave the property. If they use a digital system, request that a copy be emailed to you before the appointment ends or, at the very latest, before your closing date. If you cannot get a signed document at the walkthrough, follow up in writing the same day summarizing what was documented.
Your REALTOR should review the punch list before you sign anything at closing to confirm that everything discussed during the walkthrough is captured accurately.
Building a New Home in Southeast Michigan?
We attend every walkthrough alongside our buyers. A second set of experienced eyes catches things that get glossed over, and our presence changes how the builder's team approaches the appointment.
Not every punch list item carries the same weight. Understanding the difference between cosmetic and functional issues helps you prioritize what needs to be resolved before you close versus what can reasonably carry over to post-closing completion.
Some items look cosmetic but have functional implications. Grading that appears to be a lawn issue is actually a drainage and foundation protection issue. A gap in exterior caulking around a window looks like a finishing detail but is an energy and water intrusion issue. Cracked caulking at a bathtub base looks like aesthetics but is a moisture infiltration path. Your independent inspector is trained to distinguish between the two. This is another reason their presence matters.
When the builder's representative describes something as "within tolerance" or "normal for new construction," that may be accurate or it may not. Your inspector can tell you which is which. When in doubt, document it on the punch list regardless of how the builder categorizes it. Documentation costs you nothing, and it creates a record that the issue was identified before closing.
Yes, and it happens frequently. Production builders in Southeast Michigan regularly close homes with minor outstanding cosmetic or finish items. The question is not whether you can close with open items. The question is whether those items are documented, whether the builder is committed to a timeline, and whether you have a mechanism to ensure follow-through.
Before you sign closing documents with any punch list items outstanding, you need three things:
A closing credit is a dollar amount applied to your closing costs or credited to you at closing in exchange for accepting the home with an unfinished item. A repair escrow holdback is a sum held in escrow by the title company, released to the builder only after the outstanding work is confirmed complete. Holdbacks provide more protection because the builder has a financial incentive to complete the work.
Not all builders will agree to holdbacks, and some lender guidelines restrict them. Your REALTOR can help you understand what your contract permits and what is appropriate to request given the nature of the outstanding items.
Do not close on a new construction home without a documented record of outstanding items. Verbal assurances that punch list items will be handled are not enforceable. Once you close without documentation, you are relying entirely on the builder's goodwill. The punch list, signed before closing, is your protection.
Your builder's purchase agreement likely defines a concept called "substantial completion," which is the builder's threshold for when the home is considered finished enough to close. Read this language carefully and ask your REALTOR to review it with you. As we cover in our Builder Contracts Explained guide, "substantial completion" can trigger your rate lock timeline and closing deadline obligations even if the home is not finished to your satisfaction. Understanding this language before your walkthrough puts you in a much better negotiating position.
A Certificate of Occupancy (CO) is issued by the local municipality after the home passes the required code inspections at completion. In Michigan, a CO is required before a new construction home can be legally occupied. Your lender will typically require the CO as a condition of funding your loan. If the CO has not been issued by your closing date, your closing may be delayed.
The CO confirms that the home meets the Michigan Building Code for occupancy. It is not a substitute for an independent buyer inspection. Municipal inspectors verify that the home meets minimum standards required by law. Your inspector looks at workmanship quality, installation details, grading, and items that may not rise to a code violation but still affect your comfort, maintenance costs, and future warranty claims. Both matter. Neither replaces the other.
For a full explanation of how the CO fits into the closing process, see our Certificate of Occupancy overview for Michigan buyers.
Michigan municipalities vary in how and when they issue the Certificate of Occupancy. Some issue it upon passing final inspection; others issue it only after all inspections are recorded and paperwork is filed. Confirm the CO status with your builder at least one week before your scheduled closing to avoid a last-minute delay.
Builder orientation is the instructional portion of the final walkthrough, where the builder's representative demonstrates how the home's systems and features operate. This is genuinely useful information. Pay attention and take notes, or record video on your phone if the builder permits it.
Topics typically covered during orientation include:
Write down the locations of everything the builder points out during orientation. Where is the main water shutoff? Where is the gas shutoff? Where is the circuit panel? These are things you will need quickly in an emergency and will not remember in six months. A quick phone video of each location is faster than a paragraph of notes.
You will not remember where the main water shutoff is at 11pm when a pipe is leaking. That two-minute video you took during orientation is worth its weight in damage estimates.
We have attended dozens of final walkthroughs on new construction homes across Southeast Michigan. A few things we have learned that do not always show up in the standard walkthrough checklist:
Builder representatives are efficient. They have a schedule, other appointments, and a closing deadline to meet. That efficiency is not adversarial, but it can move past items that deserve a longer look. Your REALTOR is there to slow things down when needed. If you want to spend ten minutes in the primary bathroom running fixtures and checking tile, you are entitled to that time. Do not let the pace of the appointment rush you past something important.
We have seen wrong cabinet colors, wrong countertop edges, wrong appliance finishes, and wrong flooring products installed in finished homes. The builder did not intend to get it wrong, but production homes have long timelines and many moving parts. Catching a wrong selection at the walkthrough costs the builder a swap. Catching it six months after closing when it is cosmetic costs you a much harder negotiation. Bring your selections document and physically compare each item.
Every outlet. Every switch. Every door. Every window. Every faucet. Every appliance. Builders miss things. Municipal inspectors miss things. Your independent inspector may not have tested every single outlet because that is not the scope of a standard inspection. You are at the walkthrough in person. Test everything.
Some cosmetic issues genuinely do resolve over time as new construction dries and settles. Nail pops in drywall are one example. But not every item that gets the "it will settle" explanation actually will. Document the item on the punch list regardless, with the builder's explanation noted. That way, if it does not resolve in the first year, you have a record that it was identified before closing and carries forward into your warranty period.
The superintendent who oversaw your home's construction knows it better than anyone. Get their direct phone number and email before you leave the walkthrough. Post-closing warranty calls go through the builder's customer care system, which may or may not reach the right person quickly. Having a direct contact for the person who built the home is useful for the first 30 to 60 days.
You do not need to know the technical reason something is wrong to document it. If a door does not feel right when it swings, write it down. If the floor sounds hollow underfoot in an area where it should not, write it down. If a window seal looks cloudy, write it down. Your inspector can tell you whether it is significant. The walkthrough is not the time to be uncertain about whether something is worth mentioning.
The following mistakes come up repeatedly on new construction walkthroughs in Southeast Michigan. Most of them are easy to avoid with preparation.
The closing date creates pressure. That pressure can cause buyers to move through the walkthrough faster than they should, especially when the builder's representative is efficient and the energy in the room is forward-moving. Your closing date does not move up if you take three hours instead of 90 minutes. Take the time the home requires.
This is the most common omission. Without your selections document, you cannot verify that what is installed matches what you paid for. The builder representative has hundreds of homes and hundreds of selections to track. Errors happen. You are the one who knows exactly what you chose and what it cost. Bring the document.
The walkthrough is an appointment your REALTOR should attend alongside you. Buyers who attend the builder walkthrough alone sometimes feel the social pressure of the moment and accept explanations they might have questioned with a second set of experienced eyes in the room. This appointment is not adversarial, but it is a negotiation, and having your advocate present matters.
The builder's final walkthrough is not an inspection. A licensed inspector hired by you, attending either before or simultaneously with the builder walkthrough, provides a documented, independent assessment. Our New Construction Inspection Guide covers what to schedule, when to schedule it, and what inspectors typically find on Southeast Michigan new builds.
Some buyers leave the walkthrough with verbal assurances and a promise that the punch list document will be emailed later. Do not let this happen if you can avoid it. Get the signed punch list in hand before you leave the property. If the builder uses a digital system, watch them submit it and confirm receipt before you get in your car.
Some things genuinely are normal for new construction: minor drywall nail pops in the first year, hairline settling cracks at corners and door frames, minor seasonal wood movement. But this explanation gets applied too broadly. Document it anyway. If it is truly normal and resolves on its own within the first year warranty window, nothing is lost. If it is not normal and you have no documentation, your warranty claim is harder to support.
This is not a walkthrough mistake exactly, but it belongs here because the walkthrough is when you first see the appliance brand and model numbers. Most appliances have a 90-day or one-year manufacturer warranty registration requirement. Register every appliance and mechanical system before you move in. The builder's orientation should cover this, but if it does not, ask for model numbers and register them yourself within the first week of ownership.
Everything you have done over the course of a new construction build, from selecting your community to choosing a floor plan, negotiating the contract, surviving the design center, scheduling inspections, and arranging financing, comes down to this final appointment. The walkthrough is where you confirm that the home you are about to close on matches what you paid for and what you were promised.
The builders we work with in Southeast Michigan build good homes. The walkthroughs that go smoothly are the ones where buyers are prepared, present, and specific. The walkthroughs that produce regret are the ones where buyers were rushed, unprepared, or did not have the right people in the room.
Take your time. Bring your documents. Test everything. Document what you see. Get the punch list signed before you leave. And make sure you have a REALTOR who knows what to look for walking through that door beside you.
This guide is educational and reflects general practices for new construction in Southeast Michigan. Contract terms, builder policies, and municipal requirements vary. Always review your specific purchase agreement and consult with your REALTOR and legal advisor before making decisions around your closing.
The final walkthrough is a scheduled appointment, typically one to five days before closing, where you tour the completed home with a builder representative. The builder shows you how mechanical systems operate, points out any remaining work, and records items on the official punch list. It is an orientation and documentation session, not an independent inspection. We recommend scheduling your own independent inspector before the builder walkthrough so you arrive with your own findings already documented.
A punch list is the official written record of items the builder agrees to complete or correct before or after closing. Both buyer and builder representative sign it during the final walkthrough. The punch list is a legally meaningful document: it establishes what was outstanding at the time of closing and what the builder is committed to fixing. Never leave a walkthrough without a signed copy of the punch list in hand.
Yes, and it happens frequently. Production builders often close homes with minor outstanding items. The key is documentation. Before closing with open items, you need them listed on a signed punch list with a committed completion timeline, and ideally a closing credit or repair escrow holdback to ensure follow-through. Your REALTOR helps you decide what is reasonable to accept versus what needs to be resolved before you hand over your down payment. Closing without any documentation of outstanding items is the mistake to avoid.
Cosmetic items are surface-level issues that do not affect how the home functions: paint touch-ups, minor drywall nicks, grout gaps, a scratched cabinet door, a trim piece not flush. Functional items affect how a system or component performs: a door that does not latch, an outlet with no power, a window that will not open, a garage door that reverses mid-close, or a shower drain that backs up. Functional items should generally be resolved before you close. Cosmetic items can reasonably carry over to the punch list as long as the builder commits to a timeline.
Yes. Your REALTOR should be present at every walkthrough, including the builder's orientation. The builder's representative is experienced at managing this appointment and will move through it efficiently. Your REALTOR slows things down when needed, documents items the builder may pass over quickly, ensures nothing is glossed over, and knows which issues are negotiating points versus normal new-construction settling. Having your own advocate in the room costs you nothing and changes the dynamic of the conversation.
A Certificate of Occupancy (CO) is issued by the local municipality after the home passes required code inspections at completion. Michigan requires a CO before a new construction home can be legally occupied. Your lender will typically require the CO as a condition of funding the loan. The CO confirms code compliance but does not replace an independent buyer inspection. For a full explanation, see our Certificate of Occupancy overview for Michigan.
Plan for two to three hours for a production home in the 2,000 to 3,500 square foot range. Smaller homes may take 90 minutes; larger custom builds can run four hours or more. The builder typically schedules one to two hours. Add time if you have an independent inspector present. Rushing a walkthrough is one of the most common mistakes buyers make. If you feel the builder's representative is moving too quickly, it is appropriate to slow down and take your time.
Bring your signed purchase agreement and design center selections so you can verify every option you paid for is installed correctly. Bring a flashlight, phone charger or outlet tester, painter's tape to mark items, a notepad, and a camera. Review your independent inspection report before you arrive. Wear comfortable shoes and arrange childcare so you can focus fully on the appointment.
Builder orientation is the part of the walkthrough where the builder's representative walks you through how the home operates: how to program the thermostat, where the circuit panel is, how to operate the fireplace, where the main water shutoff is, how to reset a GFCI outlet, how to maintain exterior grading and drainage, and what the warranty claim process looks like. Take notes or record short phone videos. This information is practical and immediate, and most homeowners wish they had written it down more carefully.
Yes, and you should if the first walkthrough reveals significant incomplete work or if you want to verify that previously identified items were resolved correctly. Most builders will schedule a second walkthrough, sometimes called a verification walkthrough or re-walk, to confirm punch list items were addressed. Request it in writing and confirm the appointment at least a week before your closing date to avoid a last-minute situation.
Every home purchase is unique, and every builder, community, purchase agreement, lender, municipality, and title company may have different policies, timelines, requirements, and procedures.
The information in this guide is provided for educational purposes to help you better understand the new construction process and ask informed questions along the way. It is not intended to replace the guidance of your REALTOR®, builder, lender, inspector, attorney, title company, or other professionals involved in your transaction.
Builder policies regarding third-party inspections, construction access, walkthroughs, warranties, completion standards, timelines, and closing procedures can vary. Always review your builder’s specific requirements and consult with the appropriate professionals regarding your individual situation.
If you’re buying a new construction home in Southeast Michigan, we’re always happy to answer your questions and help you understand what applies to your specific home, builder, and community.
We attend every final walkthrough alongside our new construction buyers, from the first independent inspection to the keys in your hand. We know what to slow down for, what to document, and how to make sure you close on a home that matches everything you paid for and were promised.
Building a new home in Southeast Michigan should be exciting, not stressful. That is exactly what we are here for.
Derica Wade
Associate Broker · Hearts to Homes Team · Real Estate One