How do I make a punch list before closing on a house?

Make the list in one slow, systematic walk through the house: outside first, then every room in the same order, with the inspection report and the purchase contract in hand. Write each problem as one line with the room, the exact spot, what is wrong and a photo. Then sort the list, send it in writing, and check every line again on the final walk-through before you sign.

Why the list matters in Virginia

On a resale home, the seller's disclosure works against you if you skip this. Under Virginia's Residential Property Disclosure Act, the statement the seller gives you says "the owner makes no representations or warranties as to the condition of the real property" and advises buyers to do their own due diligence, "including obtaining a home inspection," as the contract allows, "but in any event prior to settlement."^[1] The federal consumer bureau gives the same advice in plain words: "Get your inspection before you are finally committed to buy the home."^[6]

So the punch list has two jobs. Before the contract's inspection deadline, it is how you ask for repairs. Before settlement, it is how you confirm those repairs happened.

Start from the inspection report

It is unlawful for anyone without a Virginia home inspector licence to perform a home inspection,^[3] and state rules set what the written report covers. Among other things, it must describe the readily accessible interior walls, ceilings and floors; countertops and installed cabinets, including hardware; doors and windows; plumbing fixtures and faucets; and installed lighting fixtures, switches and receptacles.^[4] That makes the report a ready-made skeleton for your list: copy each defect it names onto your list, then add what you find yourself.

For a new home, Virginia issues a new residential structure endorsement to home inspectors who complete a training module based on the International Residential Code part of the Uniform Statewide Building Code.^[5] When an inspector with that designation inspects a new house, the report shows the inspector's licence number followed by "NRS".^[4]

What to look at

Outside. Northern Virginia's soil and water conservation district puts the rule simply: "Land around your house should slope away from foundation walls."^[8] It adds: "Ideally, a 5% grade should be maintained for a distance of ten feet around your home."^[8] Look for low spots against the foundation, downspouts that dump next to the wall, loose or missing siding and trim, open caulk joints, cracked walks and peeling paint.

Each room. Ceilings for stains and cracks, walls for dings, nail pops and paint misses, floors for scratches, gaps and soft spots. Doors should swing without rubbing and latch on their own. Windows should open, close and lock. Cabinet doors should line up and drawers should run smoothly.

Kitchen and baths. Run every faucet hot and cold, drain every sink and tub, flush every toilet and look underneath for drips. Check the caulk where tubs, showers and counters meet the wall.

Things with power. Try every switch and light, each appliance, and the heat and air conditioning. The state's inspection rules carry this recommendation: "It is recommended that a home have smoke alarms on each level of the dwelling and in every bedroom or sleeping area."^[4] Testing is as far as a buyer goes; nobody on a walk-through should open a panel or a fixture.

How to write each line

A good line can be handed to a stranger and fixed without a phone call: "Primary bath, left sink: drain drips at the slip nut, cabinet floor wet (photo 14)." Avoid "fix the bathroom." Give each item a number, and keep the photo numbers beside them.

Sort the finished list into three groups: safety and water first, then the repairs your contract or repair addendum covers, then cosmetic touch-ups. A long list of paint dings should not bury a leaking supply line.

New construction: the builder's walk-through

On a new home the builder usually schedules a walk-through before closing, and the list you make there is the one the builder works from. The Board for Contractors' advice applies to any construction job: "Never sign a completion certificate until all the work called for in the contract has been properly completed."^[7]

Items that show up after you move in are not lost. Virginia's implied warranty on a new home runs one year from the date title transferred or you took possession, whichever came first, and five years for structural defects in the foundation.^[2] See what to check before the builder's warranty runs out and why new houses have so many punch-list items.

The final walk-through

Bring the list, not your memory. Tick each item in person, and ask for an invoice or receipt for every repair, with the name of the business that did it. Repairs to wiring, pipes or heating and cooling are trade work: in Virginia, no individual may do electrical, plumbing or HVAC work for the public for pay without a tradesman licence unless working under a licensed tradesman in that specialty.^[9][10] For a resale, read who should fix the items on a home inspection report.

Stop and call a pro if

• You find water where it should not be: a ceiling stain, a wet cabinet floor, damp basement walls or water pooling against the foundation.
• You smell gas, or an outlet, switch or panel cover is warm, buzzing or scorched.
• Doors across a whole floor stick at once, floors slope, or a foundation crack looks new.
• The house was built before 1978 and a repair will sand, scrape or cut painted surfaces; the EPA's rule requires anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in homes built before 1978 to be certified in lead-safe work practices.^[11]

Getting the list done

If the list is yours to fix after closing, put the whole thing in one request so one visit covers as much as possible; see how to write a handyman to-do list so it is quoted right. You can browse punch-list services, find handyman businesses around Blacksburg, or read the other handyman answers. When you are ready, describe your punch list once and local businesses quote it.