Checking a house before you buy in Miami: the full walk-through, area by area

Between the seller’s “yes” and your signature there is one visit worth money: the final walk-through. It is your last chance to check, with your own eyes, that the house is in the condition agreed. This guide walks it area by area.

There are two different checks and neither replaces the other. The inspection is done by a Florida-licensed home inspector you hire, during the inspection period your contract sets: they check what is visible and safely reachable — the attic and the roof when access is safe —, test the systems and deliver a written report that says what they could not inspect. The final walk-through is done by you, shortly before closing: it is not a second inspection, it is the verification that the house is still in the agreed condition, that what the seller promised to repair has been repaired, and that nothing new has shown up.

The exact timing — how many inspection days you get, when the walk-through falls — is set by your contract, not by this guide. Read it there before you count on it: a missed deadline does not come back.

1. 1Ceilings and water signsLook at every ceiling for new or growing stains, and at the walls under windows. In Miami the question is not whether a house has ever gotten wet: it is whether it is getting wet now. A dry, old stain should already be in the inspection report; a damp or new one gets written down and asked about before you sign.
2. 2Water and plumbingTurn on every faucet and check pressure and water color. Flush and let every toilet run. Look under every sink: moisture or dripping in there is among the easiest things to miss. Find the water heater and check that it heats.
3. 3ElectricalFind the electrical panel and note its condition (the inspection report should have said whether it is one of the models insurers look at closely). Test switches, kitchen and bathroom outlets, and the lights that stay under the contract.
4. 4Air conditioningTurn it on and wait: it has to start, blow cold and make no new noises. Check the filter and the drain line: a clogged drain is a classic cause of water damage in Florida. Note the age on the unit’s plate and compare it with the report.
5. 5Kitchen and what staysTest every burner, the oven, the hood and the dishwasher. Check, one by one, the appliances and items the contract says stay: if the contract lists the washer, the washer that is there has to be the agreed one, and it has to work.
6. 6Doors, windows and locksOpen and close every door and window. Check that promised impact windows or shutters are complete, and that you receive the keys, garage remotes and codes the contract contemplates.
7. 7Pool and exterior, if it appliesIf there is a pool, the pump and filter have to work and the water has to be treated. Outside: check the yard drainage (where the water goes when it rains), trees touching the roof, and the garage and its automatic door.
8. 8What was agreed, paper in handWalk with the contract and the inspection report in hand: every repair promised in writing gets checked on the spot, not from memory. Anything missing is written down on the spot and raised before signing, never after.

Permits and violations. A remodel looking right says nothing about whether it was permitted. Open permits and code violations are searched in county and city records, and they pass to the buyer if they are not resolved before closing: Umbralio has its own guide for that, with the three records you have to check.

Title. The title company reviews the property’s legal history — past owners, debts, liens — and issues title insurance. It is not your walk: it is their search, and its cost follows an official rate schedule that the closing costs guide breaks down item by item.

The association’s paper. If the house sits in a homeowners association or is a condo, the association’s estoppel certificate states how much is owed in dues and whether special assessments are on the way. Its fee is capped by state law: $299 for the base certificate, $119 more if rushed and $179 more if the account is delinquent. Ask for it and read it before signing: an approved, undisclosed special assessment is the most expensive surprise in Miami condos.

The walk-through is not a ceremony: if something agreed is not there, say it on the spot and get it in writing before signing. What usually gets settled at that table — repair before signing, a seller credit at closing, or moving the closing date a few days — depends on what your contract allows, and your agent negotiates it with the other side. What is not written down before closing almost always becomes your problem after.

Checked on November 7, 2026. The distinction between inspection and walk-through and the timing of each come from the Florida Realtors standard residential purchase contract (CRSP form) and the practice that contract organizes; the concrete deadlines are those of each signed contract. The association certificate cap is from Florida Statute §718.116, subsection (8), with its inflation adjustment, the same one read on October 18, 2026 for the closing costs guide. This guide publishes no inspection or service prices: no official source sets them.