US residential purchase guide

Home buyer due diligence checklist

A practical sequence for checking a property before an offer, during your contract contingencies, and before closing—without treating an online report as a substitute for the professionals and documents your transaction requires.

Published July 10, 2026 General educational content Official sources linked below

What should a buyer verify?

Start by confirming the exact property and comparing the asking price with relevant closed sales. Then screen ownership costs, hazards, disclosures, and insurance availability. If you proceed, use the deadlines in your signed contract to complete professional inspection, title and HOA review, appraisal and financing, and a bindable insurance quote. Before closing, compare the final documents with the deal you agreed to, complete a walkthrough, and independently verify any wire instructions.

Before you make an offer

Use public and seller-provided information to decide whether the property deserves deeper, paid diligence. At this stage, unknown does not mean clear.

Confirm the exact property

Match the street address, unit, property type, parcel/APN when available, and the listing you intend to buy. Flag conflicting bedroom, area, lot, year-built, or legal-use facts for resolution.

Compare the asking price with closed sales

Look for recent sales competing for the same buyers, not merely the nearest homes. Note material differences, concessions, condition, and why each comparable belongs. Use the home-comps field guide and Twellie's methodology.

Estimate the complete ownership cost

Model cash to close and principal, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA dues, utilities, maintenance, and reserves. Keep your affordability limit separate from the property's market evidence.

Screen hazards and insurance availability

Check current official hazard maps and begin insurance conversations early. A map is a screen—not a property-specific coverage decision or premium quote. Follow the flood-evidence field guide.

Collect available disclosures and records

Ask what seller, HOA, permit, tax, prior-sale, repair, and insurance information is available. Requirements vary by state, property, and transaction.

Choose your support and protections

Decide what agent, attorney, lender, inspector, title, appraisal, and insurance help you need. Contract forms, representation rules, and review requirements vary by jurisdiction and deal.

Do not convert missing data into a pass. Public-record silence does not establish clear title, permitted work, acceptable condition, insurability, or a safe offer price.

During the contract and contingency period

Your signed contract and local law control the deadlines and remedies. Calendar them immediately and send material questions to the qualified person responsible for that subject.

Complete independent inspections

A general home inspection is separate from an appraisal. Property-specific facts may justify structural, roof, sewer, septic, well, pest, radon, environmental, or other specialist review.

Review title, survey, permits, and use

Have the appropriate title company or attorney address ownership, liens, easements, restrictions, legal description, boundary questions, open permits, and intended use.

Read HOA or condo documents

Review governing documents, budgets, reserves, meeting minutes, insurance, deductibles, special assessments, litigation, critical repairs, and use or rental restrictions.

Complete appraisal and financing steps

Track lender conditions, appraisal delivery, rate and fee changes, cash-to-close changes, and any appraisal-gap exposure. An online estimate is not the lender's appraisal or an approval.

Obtain a bindable insurance quote

Confirm coverage, exclusions, deductibles, required flood/wind/earthquake policies, replacement-cost assumptions, and the premium for this buyer and this property.

Record decisions and unresolved items

For every issue, record the source, date, owner, deadline, outcome, and effect on price, contingencies, or the decision to proceed. Keep contradictory evidence visible until resolved.

Before you close

Reconcile the final transaction with the assumptions that supported your decision. A material late change deserves review, not momentum.

Review the Closing Disclosure

For covered mortgages, the lender generally must provide the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. Compare loan terms, payments, fees, credits, and cash to close with prior disclosures.

Complete the final walkthrough

Confirm the property's agreed condition, included items, completed repairs, utilities, vacancy, and any new damage. The walkthrough is not a replacement for inspection.

Verify wire instructions independently

Do not rely on an unexpected email or changed instructions. Use a trusted, independently obtained phone number to confirm recipient and account details with the closing professional.

Confirm final title and insurance status

Ask the responsible professionals whether required title items, insurance evidence, lender conditions, and closing documents are complete for the transaction.

Recheck cash and monthly obligations

Confirm final cash to close, reserves, monthly payment, taxes, insurance, HOA, assessments, and immediate repairs. Decide whether the final package still fits your limits.

Retain the complete file

Keep the signed contract and amendments, disclosures, inspections, invoices, title and survey documents, appraisal, insurance, loan documents, closing statements, and key communications.

What a Twellie report organizes

Available property identity facts, comparable-sale evidence, an evidence range, cost assumptions, source status, and unresolved due-diligence tasks—kept separate so one strong signal cannot hide a critical gap.

Coverage varies by address and source availability. Price guidance is withheld when the evidence and calibration gates do not pass.

What it cannot establish

A Twellie report is not a licensed appraisal, inspection, title examination, survey, legal opinion, permit or zoning clearance, insurance quote, loan approval, or guarantee of condition, value, or closing.

Read the full trust and accuracy policy before relying on the product.

Official sources used for this checklist

These sources explain general federal processes and screening tools. State law, local practice, the property, your financing, and your signed contract may require additional or different steps.

CFPB: Buying a houseLoan, inspection, title, insurance, and closing guidance CFPB: Schedule a home inspectionWhy inspection and appraisal answer different questions CFPB: Review closing documentsClosing Disclosure timing and document review CFPB: Title and closing servicesShopping for title and settlement support FEMA/NFIP: Flood zones and mapsOfficial flood-map screening and limitations EPA: Lead disclosure in real estateFederal disclosure rules for many pre-1978 homes Fannie Mae: Comparable salesSubject-relevant comparable selection guidance CFPB: Mortgage closing scamsIndependent verification of payment instructions

See how the evidence is organized.

Open the canonical sample before paying, then review the methodology and limits behind every readiness status.

View sample report Open free worksheet See pricing

This checklist is general educational information for US residential buyers. It is not legal, tax, financial, appraisal, inspection, title, lending, or insurance advice. Last substantive review: July 10, 2026.