The final visit is most useful when you arrive with something specific to compare. A room-by-room walk-through, a copy of the agreed inclusions and a short issue log help turn “something looks different” into information your legal adviser can assess. This guide focuses on an existing NSW home; new builds, off-the-plan purchases and unusual possession arrangements may need additional contract-specific checks.
What is the final inspection for?
NSW Government’s contracts and deposits guidance recommends a final inspection on the morning of settlement to check that the property is in the same condition as when contracts were exchanged. Arrange access in advance and ask your solicitor or licensed conveyancer how the inspection fits your actual settlement arrangements.
The practical task is to compare what you can observe with the relevant earlier evidence and agreed sale terms. Your legal adviser interprets the contract and the significance of a difference. Keep this focused visit separate from the wider dates, finance and handover tasks in the exchange-to-settlement timeline.
A final walk-through does not replace the professional inspections considered before purchase. NSW guidance explains that building reports have a defined scope and exclusions; they are not guarantees against future problems or certificates of legal compliance. A short personal visit offers still less certainty about hidden defects or technical systems.
Before the visit: prepare the comparison and contacts
- Confirm the inspection time, access contact and who will attend. Give your legal adviser the expected timing and establish how to reach them if a concern arises.
- Bring the exchanged contract and the relevant inclusions, exclusions and written changes identified by your legal adviser. Keep earlier photographs, inspection notes and reports available for comparison.
- Ask your adviser which agreed repairs, possession conditions or other special terms should be checked. Use the actual wording, not a remembered conversation or marketing photograph.
- Ask whether water, electricity and any relevant access arrangements will allow ordinary checks. If something cannot be operated or reached, plan to record the limitation.
- Use a charged phone or notebook for dated observations. Obtain any needed permission for photographs and avoid recording occupants, personal papers or unrelated belongings.
The contract-of-sale checklist helps you identify document questions. An advertising photo can provide context, but do not treat every object shown in a furnished home as an agreed inclusion.
A room-by-room pre-settlement checklist
NSW Government’s personal-inspection guidance identifies useful observations such as doors and windows, damp, taps, lights, fixtures and external condition. The checklist below adapts those observation categories to a final comparison. It is an original buyer aid, not an official form or a technical inspection standard.
| Area or item | What to compare and record |
|---|---|
| Walls, ceilings and floors | Compare visible condition with your earlier records. Describe the location of new-looking marks, damage, damp or missing finishes without guessing the cause or when they arose. |
| Doors and windows | Where safe and permitted, try ordinary opening and closing. Record a sticking, damaged or inaccessible item rather than forcing it. |
| Taps, toilets and wet areas | With services available, use normal controls and note visible leaks or unexpected operation. Record any area you could not check; do not diagnose plumbing faults. |
| Lights and agreed appliances | Identify the included item and observe its normal operation where safe and permitted. A brief check does not establish electrical safety or the full performance of an appliance. |
| Fixtures, fittings and agreed inclusions | Compare each listed item with the contract information. Record missing or apparently substituted items, and note any uncertainty about what was agreed. |
| Outdoor areas, garage and storage | Compare visible condition and access to the spaces relevant to the purchase. Keep unclear boundaries or parking/storage rights as document questions for your adviser. |
| Agreed work and possession arrangements | Record what you can observe about any agreed work and the state of occupation or belongings. Ask your adviser to assess it against the actual terms and timing. |
Stay within safe, ordinary use and the access you have been given. Do not open electrical equipment, enter roof spaces, move heavy furniture or dismantle an appliance to make a checklist look complete. Mark the item “not checked” and ask what further inspection is appropriate.
For an apartment, confirm which lot, car space and storage area you are visiting. A look through a shared hallway does not establish the condition of the whole building. Use the strata-report guide for the separate records review, and ask which common-property questions need specialist follow-up.
Record what you could not check
A blank box is ambiguous. It could mean an item was satisfactory, forgotten, inaccessible or impossible to operate because a service was off. Use explicit observation states so the person reading your notes knows the difference.
- Observed: record what you saw or operated and the comparison you used.
- Difference noted: describe the apparent change and link it to the earlier record or agreed item.
- Not checked: state the reason, such as no access, unavailable service or a safety concern.
- Advice pending: record the question sent, the recipient and the response still needed.
These are record-keeping labels, not legal conclusions. “Observed” does not mean a technical system is certified safe, and “difference noted” does not establish a breach of contract.
If something looks wrong, send a precise issue note
Contact your solicitor or licensed conveyancer promptly, before completion, with the observations and supporting material. NSW’s conveyancing guidance describes the legal representative’s work as including contract examination and final checks before settlement. The selling agent can help with access and factual clarification; your legal adviser should assess the contractual position and next steps.
- Identify the property, inspection date and time, room or area, and the exact item.
- Describe the observation neutrally: what is present, absent or not operating, and what could not be tested.
- Attach only relevant, permitted photographs or notes and identify the earlier record or contract item used for comparison.
- State the question you need answered, the scheduled settlement timing and how you can be contacted.
- Retain the response, any agreed action and the evidence of completion. A request sent is not the same as an issue resolved.
Ask your legal adviser whether the issue affects completion and how any response should be documented. Do not assume that finding a problem automatically allows you to delay settlement, deduct money, require a repair or end the contract. Equally, do not mark a concern resolved simply because someone says it will be dealt with later.
Worked example: one apparent change and one untested item
Illustration only: a buyer revisits an unnamed apartment before settlement. A light fitting appears different from the one in an earlier permitted photograph. A dishwasher identified in the buyer’s contract notes cannot be operated during the visit because power is unavailable. No actual property, contractual entitlement or outcome is represented.
| Observation | Useful record and next question |
|---|---|
| The light fitting appears different | Record the room, current photograph and earlier photograph. Ask the legal adviser to check the inclusion or exclusion wording before treating the apparent substitution as a contractual problem. |
| The dishwasher could not be operated | Record “not checked — power unavailable”, rather than “working” or “broken”. Ask how access or appropriate verification can be arranged and whether the limitation needs action before completion. |
| An agent says the matter will be sorted | Record the statement and who made it. Send it to the legal adviser and ask what confirmation or documentation is needed; retain the unresolved status until the appropriate response is received. |
The example produces a clearer evidence trail, not an automatic repair, deduction or settlement decision. No repair price, compensation amount or legal outcome is assumed.
Copy this final-inspection issue log
Use one entry per item in your own records. Keep private contracts and photographs with the people who need them; you do not need to upload them to Baxau to use this checklist.
- Property and visit: address, date, time, attendees and access contact.
- Item and baseline: room/location, relevant contract provision or inclusion, earlier record and its date.
- Observation: exact condition or difference, photo reference where permitted, and any test or access limitation.
- Status: observed / difference noted / not checked / advice pending. Add the reason rather than a bare tick.
- Question and owner: what needs an answer, who has been contacted and when they need the information.
- Response and follow-up: advice received, any agreed action, who will verify it and the record that supports closure.
Confirm completion and handover separately
NSW Government’s settlement guidance says your solicitor or licensed conveyancer will advise when settlement has successfully occurred. An inspection appointment, an encouraging conversation or completion of this checklist is not that confirmation. Ask how the agreed keys, remotes and possession arrangements will be coordinated once completion is confirmed.
The Baxau property research guide can help organise public-record questions earlier in a purchase. It does not inspect a home, test appliances or determine whether settlement should proceed. Keep the inspection log alongside your adviser’s transaction checklist rather than treating a research report as a condition check.
If you already engage a buyers agent, check whether attendance, photographs and follow-up are included in your written scope. An agent may help coordinate the visit while your legal adviser handles contract questions. For help with a Sydney property search, you can request an agent introduction, with no charge to enquire and no obligation to engage. Baxau may receive a referral fee negotiated case by case; read how matching works.