Pre settlement inspection checklist for remote Australian buyers

A pre-settlement inspection confirms your property matches its condition at contract signing, minus fair wear and tear, and that every promised inclusion and repair is actually there. Book it a few days before settlement to allow time for any issues to be addressed. If something’s wrong, photograph it and call your conveyancer immediately, before you attempt to sort it out yourself with the vendor or agent.

TL;DR:

Conduct the final inspection several days before settlement to allow sufficient time for addressing any issues without delaying the process.

Attend in person, or authorize a trusted representative, and bring essential documents, photos, a camera, torch, and repair agreements for thorough verification.

Systematically check all indoor and outdoor features, including appliances, safety items, inclusions, and physical condition, with special attention to agreed repairs and missing items.

Photograph any problems, compare them against your contract or repair agreements, and notify your conveyancer immediately to pursue timely fixes or negotiations.

Avoid treating the final walkthrough as a new inspection; focus on confirming the property’s condition matches the agreement to prevent unnecessary stress and complications.

Table of Contents

When should you do the final inspection before settlement?
Who should attend and what should they bring?
What should a room-by-room inspection checklist cover?
How do you check inclusions and agreed repairs?
What should you do if you find a problem?
What do experienced buyers often get wrong at this stage?
How Invision Property handles this for remote and interstate buyers
Considering a buyer’s agent for your final walkthrough?
Sources
FAQ

When should you do the final inspection before settlement?

The ideal time is several days before settlement. Any earlier, and the vendor still has time to move furniture, remove items, or cause fresh damage before handover. Any later, and there’s no runway left to fix a problem or delay settlement if you need to.

Consumer Affairs Victoria confirms buyers are entitled to inspect at a reasonable time during the week before settlement, though the exact wording and notice period depends on your contract and state.

Before locking in a date, run through these checks:

Confirm the exact inspection right stated in your special conditions or contract of sale.
Check your state’s Fair Trading or Consumer Affairs guidance, since NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA all frame the right slightly differently.
Lock in a date days before settlement so there’s time to escalate if needed.
Avoid inspecting the same day as settlement. It leaves zero room to negotiate a fix.

Who should attend and what should they bring?

Ideally, you attend in person. If that’s not possible, an authorised representative, family member, or buyer’s agent can stand in, provided you’ve given them written authority to act on your behalf. A tradesperson is worth bringing along if the building and pest report flagged something specific to re-check.

Pack these before you leave the house:

Your signed contract of sale, including the full inclusions list and any special conditions.
Photos from the original inspection or contract signing, for direct comparison.
A phone with a working camera, plus its charger to physically test that power points work.
A torch, useful for switchboards, roof cavities and dim laundries.
Any written repair agreements from the vendor, with the exact wording of what was promised.

Practical checklist guidance recommends keeping your conveyancer reachable by phone during the walkthrough. Don’t attempt to negotiate a legal remedy on the spot. That’s your conveyancer’s job, not yours.

What should a room-by-room inspection checklist cover?

Work through the property systematically rather than wandering room to room. A structured pass catches the small stuff that gets missed when you’re mentally already moved in.

Inside the house, test every light switch and power point, run the ceiling fans, and turn the heating or cooling on for a few minutes each. Open and close every door and window, check the locks turn smoothly, and look closely at floors and walls for damage that wasn’t there at your last inspection.

Kitchen and laundry deserve a proper run-through, not a glance. Turn on the oven, cooktop, rangehood and dishwasher if they’re included. Run every tap, check the drains clear properly, and open every cupboard and drawer to confirm nothing’s missing from the inclusions list.

Bathrooms need the taps and showers run for hot water pressure, toilets flushed, and exhaust fans switched on. Weak hot water at this stage often points to a system that’s been struggling for a while.

Utilities and safety items are the ones buyers skip and later regret skipping. Westpac’s final house inspection checklist flags smoke alarms as commonly missed but legally significant. Check the switchboard for obvious damage, confirm the hot water system is operational, and make sure you’ve been handed all keys, garage remotes and security fobs.

Outside, walk the perimeter. Check gutters, fences, garden beds, sheds and the garage door and remote. If there’s a pool or spa, check the pump, filter and any included equipment are present and running.

Lights, power points, fans, heating and cooling
Doors, windows, locks and floor or wall damage
Kitchen and laundry appliances, taps and drains
Bathroom hot water, showers, toilets and exhaust fans
Switchboard, hot water system and smoke alarms
Keys, remotes and security fobs
Gutters, fences, garden, shed and pool equipment

Pro Tip: Test only what’s safe to test. Never open a switchboard panel yourself or climb into a roof cavity or confined space. If something needs a closer look, get a licensed tradesperson to check it before settlement rather than poking around yourself.

How do you check inclusions and agreed repairs?

Your inclusions clause is the single most useful document in your hand during this walkthrough. Read it line by line and physically locate every item it lists, not just the big-ticket ones.

Curtains, remotes, dishwashers and pool equipment are the items that go missing most often, usually because a vendor genuinely forgets they were included rather than through any dishonesty. Check for:

Every item named in the inclusions clause, physically present and operational
Curtains, blinds, light fittings and remotes specifically, since these are the most commonly disputed
Before-and-after photos matching the property’s current condition
Receipts, invoices or contractor licence numbers for any repair the vendor promised in writing

If repairs were agreed in writing, compare the finished work against the exact wording of that agreement, not your memory of the verbal conversation that led to it.

What should you do if you find a problem?

Finding an issue doesn’t mean settlement falls apart. It means you follow a process, and the process matters more than the panic.

Photograph and film the issue immediately, noting the room, the exact defect and the time you found it.
Compare what you’re seeing against the specific contract clause or written repair agreement it relates to.
Call your conveyancer or solicitor straight away. Consumer Protection WA is explicit that legally sensitive matters shouldn’t be negotiated verbally on-site. Your conveyancer formally notifies the vendor’s side.
Wait for your conveyancer to outline the realistic options.

A well-documented, timestamped photo record genuinely improves your odds of a practical fix before settlement, according to Consumer Affairs Victoria. Most issues get resolved one of three ways: the vendor fixes it before settlement, both sides agree on a compensation adjustment at the settlement table, or, in rarer cases, settlement is briefly delayed until the issue is sorted. A delay is the exception, not the norm. Most disputes are minor enough that a fix or a price adjustment settles things within days.

What do experienced buyers often get wrong at this stage?

The biggest mistake is treating the final walkthrough like a second building and pest inspection. It isn’t. This is a comparison check, confirming the property hasn’t changed since exchange, not a fresh diagnostic hunt for hidden defects.

Bring your original building and pest report along, but use it only to verify that agreed repairs were actually completed, not to start re-inspecting things the report already covered. Westpac’s guidance backs this distinction, and it’s one that saves buyers a lot of unnecessary stress on inspection day.

Prioritise properly: safety items, contracted repairs and missing inclusions matter far more than a dusty windowsill or an unmown lawn. If you spot something that needs a trade’s eye, such as a hot water system that’s behaving oddly, a good buyer’s agent will arrange a quick follow-up visit before settlement rather than let it slide.

Pro Tip: Keep a running list of “mess versus damage” as you walk through. A messy garage isn’t a breach of contract. A cracked window that wasn’t cracked before is.

— Nathan Prasad

How Invision Property handles this for remote and interstate buyers

For clients who can’t be there in person, our team attends the final walkthrough on the buyer’s behalf, working from the contract’s inclusions list and any written repair agreements negotiated during the purchase. We document everything with timestamped photos and liaise directly with your conveyancer if anything doesn’t match.

Because some buyer’s agents work on a fixed fee rather than a commission tied to the sale price, documentation can stay objective. There’s no incentive to smooth over a problem just to get the deal across the line. This matters most for interstate and overseas buyers who otherwise have no eyes on the ground at the exact moment it counts.

Considering a buyer’s agent for your final walkthrough?

If you’re buying from interstate, overseas, or simply can’t get time off work for a weekday inspection slot, sending someone else in your place solves a genuine logistical problem, not just a convenience one. Invision Property’s buyer’s agents attend the pre-settlement inspection for you, photograph every inclusion and repair line item against your contract, and go straight to your conveyancer if anything’s off, rather than leaving you to find out after the keys change hands.

This isn’t a replacement for legal advice. It’s someone qualified standing in the property, at the right time, checking the things that actually matter before you sign off on settlement. If you’re buying in Brisbane and want a buyer’s agent to manage this final stage, book a free strategy session with Invision Property and we’ll talk through how it works for your specific settlement date.

Sources

FAQ

What should I prepare for a pre-settlement inspection?

Bring your signed contract with the inclusions list, photos from your earlier inspection, a phone with a charger to test power points, and any written repair agreements from the vendor.

Does a house have to be empty for a pre-settlement inspection?

Not necessarily. Most contracts allow the vendor to remain in possession until settlement, so the inspection checks condition and inclusions rather than requiring an empty property, though some sales do settle with vacant possession beforehand.

What should a house inspection checklist in Australia include?

A solid checklist covers lights, power points, appliances, taps and drains, hot water, smoke alarms, doors, windows, locks, and outdoor items like gutters, fences and pool equipment, all checked against your contract’s inclusions list.

Can anything go wrong before settlement?

Yes. New damage, missing inclusions, or incomplete agreed repairs can all surface at the final walkthrough. Photograph the issue and contact your conveyancer immediately rather than negotiating with the vendor or agent yourself.