How to Tell if a Home Is Truly Move-In Ready

Austin feels new, even when it’s not. Houses pop up overnight. Blocks that were empty last year now overflow with Teslas, food trucks, and dogs in strollers. For buyers, it can be disorienting. Everything looks move-in ready. White walls, vinyl plank floors, shiny faucets. But a good listing hides a lot. And a bad one hides even more. That’s where people get burned. Move-in ready isn’t just fresh paint. It’s structure, systems, safety. Comfort that doesn’t fade after two weeks.

A lot of buyers don’t know how to check. They look at furniture, staging, smell the candles. They don’t ask what’s under the floor. They forget about insulation. Or windows. Or they assume the seller would have fixed anything serious. Sometimes they did. Sometimes they didn’t. A clean walk-through doesn’t mean a house is ready. It just means no one’s living there yet.

The HVAC Test

If the air system doesn’t work, the house isn’t ready. Simple as that. No matter how clean or well-lit. Filters might’ve been swapped right before the showing, but that doesn’t mean the system’s clean inside. Or functioning right. Or even sized correctly.

Ask how old it is. Look at the unit outside. Rust, dents, bad seals—those matter. In colder seasons, test the heat. In hotter months, check the AC. Don’t rely on “it worked last week.” That excuse shows up a lot when things stop working right after closing.

Neighborhood Signals

Sometimes, it’s not about the house. It’s about where it sits. Trash piling up next door. Constant street parking. Noise late into the night. These things aren’t obvious during a mid-day showing. Drive by at night. On weekends. Talk to neighbors if you can.

Now in Austin HOA communities, many of these problems are reduced or even eliminated. Those setups come with stricter property standards, controlled maintenance, and community guidelines that force issues to stay visible and dealt with. It doesn’t mean everything’s perfect. There are still rules, fees, and some bureaucracy. But in terms of stability and peace of mind, especially for move-in readiness, the edge is real. These communities are often inspected more frequently. Landscaping stays tight. Noise complaints don’t linger. And repairs often follow a faster timeline, since violations mean fines. Buyers looking for predictability—not perfection, just fewer surprises—usually find it there.

Electrical: The Silent Saboteur

You won’t always smell it. Or see it. But if the wiring’s bad, you’re going to pay for it one way or another. Move-in ready homes don’t have flickering lights or breakers that pop when you run the microwave and dishwasher at the same time. Open the panel. Make sure it’s labeled. Look for scorch marks. See if there’s aluminum wiring. That stuff was common decades ago. Still shows up. And it’s risky.

Ask if the system’s grounded. Ask if there are GFCIs in kitchens and baths. You don’t need to be an electrician. Just ask the inspector to focus there. Say you’re concerned. That’ll push them to dig deeper.

Roof First, Then Ceilings

People look up. That’s good. But too many think water damage always shows clearly. It doesn’t. Sometimes there’s a stain. Sometimes not. Freshly painted ceilings hide a lot. If you smell mildew, even a hint, it probably wasn’t fixed right. Or it’s still leaking.

Ask about the age of the roof. Ask when it was last inspected. In Texas, hail damage can go unnoticed for years. Then a leak starts right after you move in. Insurance fights follow. If it hasn’t been replaced or at least checked within the last five years, ask for that to happen before closing.

Floors Lie

New carpet hides bad subflooring. Vinyl hides slope. Cracks get filled, covered, ignored. A floor that looks flat might bounce. Might creak. Might feel off. Especially in flips, this gets missed. And no, it doesn’t mean the house is falling. But it does mean costs. Time. Hassle. Sometimes termites. Sometimes settling. Sometimes both.

Walk every room. Slowly. Feel for dips or soft spots. If it feels uneven, it probably is. Ask if the seller pulled permits for any recent flooring work. If they didn’t, there’s no guarantee it was done right. And good luck getting them to fix it after the keys are in your pocket.

Plumbing Problems Hide Well

Leaks don’t announce themselves. Until the water bill jumps. Or a pipe bursts. Or the foundation shifts just enough to crack tile. Sellers sometimes shut off water to hide pressure problems. Or delay turning it on until the inspection. So run the taps. All of them. Check the pressure. Flush the toilets. Listen for groaning pipes. That’s a red flag. So is slow drainage.

Look under every sink. Feel around pipes for moisture. Open cabinets. Don’t assume new fixtures mean new plumbing. They usually don’t. And if the water heater is over ten years old, expect to replace it. Maybe not today. But soon. Very soon.

Inspectors Help, But Only If You Listen

A lot of people hire inspectors and then ignore half of what they say. Or they get scared off by normal wear. Or they skip the inspection because the house is “brand new.” Bad move. New homes have issues, too. Construction’s rushed, contractors miss things. Codes get skirted when no one’s watching.

Read the whole report. Then ask questions. What’s urgent? What’s cosmetic? What needs to be fixed before you move in? What can wait? Push your agent to negotiate repairs—or credit—for anything major.

Gut Check Matters

Sometimes, the house checks out on paper. But something feels wrong. Off. Maybe it’s the way the light hits a hallway. Or how noise bounces off tile. Or just a weird smell you can’t place. That’s valid. You’re not buying a checklist. You’re buying a place to live. If it doesn’t sit right, trust that. It doesn’t mean walk away. But it means look harder.

Move-in ready shouldn’t mean “looks nice.” It should mean no urgent repairs. No safety issues. No high-dollar surprises the first month. It should mean comfort. And yes, homes have quirks. Nothing’s ever perfect. But there’s a difference between a loose doorknob and a sagging subfloor. The better you get at spotting that difference, the better you’ll buy.

Most mistakes buyers make aren’t because they didn’t care. It’s because they didn’t know what mattered. Or what to ask. Or they assumed someone else—an agent, an inspector, the seller—was handling it. Really common. But also very preventable. If a home’s truly move-in ready, it doesn’t just look like it. It feels like it. Because the big stuff? It’s already been handled. And you’re not left holding the bag three weeks after move-in.