So you bought a house . . . Now What’s NEXT?
There are some things that you can do when you move into a new house to improve the life of your appliances and fixtures and improve security, among other things. Some of these things are common sense ideas, and some of them probably wouldn’t be brought to mind unless specifically identified. For those who haven’t moved in many years, as well as those who are first-time homebuyers, remembering to take all these important measures when you move into a new place can be overwhelming, so we compiled this list of things that new homeowners should be doing when they move into a new house.
Change The Locks
The first and most important thing you should do when you move into a new place is change the locks on all the exterior doors. You may know and trust the previous owners of the home, but you can never know how many other people may have a spare key. It’s always best to have a locksmith scheduled for day one in the new house.
Transfer Utilities
After your closing, you will want to transfer all the utilities into your name. If you are wanting to have cable or internet in your home, you will want to schedule the installation as soon as possible, so that you will have those services when you move in. This would also include any Security system.
Home Insurance
Right after closing, will want to be sure to have your home insured as soon as possible, because no one plans that their home should catch fire or be hit by a bad storm. Talk to your insurance agent about what coverage plans work best for you and your needs, and it’d be a good idea to talk to a few other agents to see what they would recommend and what their rates would be, comparatively.
File Important Documents
When you get your closing statement, make two copies of it, and file the original in a fireproof safe or at your safety deposit box. The copies can be kept in a home binder to help you keep track of all the documents with your new home. In this binder, you can keep copies of any important paperwork, as well as things like paint swatches and receipts.
Contact Your Accountant
There are many costs that come along with buying a home, and some of those are deductible on your next year’s taxes. Take one of the copies of your closing statement to your accountant, and he or she should be able to tell you what expenses you can use to your advantage when filing taxes next year.
Photograph / Video Your Home Before & After Move-in
Before you begin moving things into your new home, photograph each room, fixture, and appliance. You probably also want to photograph your possessions; at the very least, you should photograph your most expensive possessions. No one likes to think about the worst-case scenario, especially on an exciting day like the first day in your new home, but the fact of the matter is that accidents do happen, and you should be aware of what was in your home, so keep those photos in a safety deposit box or store the files in the cloud. To be sure that you are photographing the right things, call your insurance agent to ask his or her advice on what to focus on.
Get Familiar with Your New Home
Take a good walk around your home and familiarize yourself to all the important places and things. For instance, it’s important that you locate your home’s main water shut-off valve so that you will be able to minimize damage in the event that a pipe bursts. Label all the breakers on your breaker box. Check that there are no leaks in your plumbing and under your sinks. Check your attic to see if you need to add more insulation to save on heating and cooling costs. Make sure that all home maintenance projects that need addressing sooner, rather than later, are close to being addressed. As you are doing this, make a list of everything in your new home that needs updated or repaired, and then rearrange the items on that list in order of importance. To go one step further, add dates for when you would like those tasks completed to the list to keep yourself on track and make sure that you haven’t forgotten anything.
Pest Control
Before you move into your new home, you should consult a pest control specialist to have him or her come to your house to inspect for any possible infestations or pest issues. They can also do a preemptive spray for common bugs. Especially if the previous owners of the home you are moving into had pets, you should ask a pest control specialist about having your home sprayed for fleas.
Deep Cleaning
You want to walk into your new home and feel excited; you certainly don’t want to walk inside and wonder how many germs are hanging around from the previous owner. This is why it is important to deep clean your home before you move in. If you wish to do the deep cleaning yourself, that’s fine, but if you wish to focus on other things during the move, there’s nothing wrong with hiring a professional to come clean for you. Here is a list of what you should be focusing on while cleaning:
Carpets
Steam clean any and all carpeting in your new home… After running over the floors with a vacuum a few times, of course.
Floors
Even if you don’t have carpets, be sure to do a deep clean on all your flooring surfaces, even behind the refrigerator. A newly scrubbed floor will make your new home truly feel like yours.
Kitchen
Everyone knows how quickly a kitchen can get dirty… and not just cluttered or messy, but downright gross. That’s a great reason why you should do an extreme deep clean of your kitchen when you move in. You don’t want to be thinking of someone else’s germs as you’re cooking your first meal in your new home.
Bathrooms
Similarly to kitchens, bathrooms tend to be havens for germs and all things unsanitary. Give your bathroom a complete scrub-down, including wiping the walls down with a damp cloth. You will feel so much better knowing that the bathroom of your new home is fresh.
Air Conditioning & Furnace
When you move into your new place, one of the first things you should do is change your air filters. This can save a lot of money on heating and cooling, as well as giving you a definite time of when it was most recently replaced so you can get set up on a regular maintenance schedule.
To ensure that your furnace and air conditioner have a long life, it is important to have them routinely serviced. As a new homeowner, you never know for sure how often and how recently the heating or air conditioning systems have been serviced. It’s also a worthwhile endeavor, because it can mean saving on your energy bills, as well!
Change YOUR Address
Before you move in, you will want to submit a forward request to your post office, so that the mail addressed to you at your old address will be re-routed to your new address. It’s also important that you let other service providers, friends, and family know of your new address, as forward requests are only good for so long. Once they expire, mail addressed to you at your old address will be sent back to the sender. Most importantly, you should let your bank, credit card company, employer, service providers, and friends and family know of your change of address.
Smoke Detectors & CO Monitors
Before you move in, you will want to submit a forward request to your post office, so that the mail addressed to you at your old address will be re-routed to your new address. It’s also important that you let other service providers, friends, and family know of your new address, as forward requests are only good for so long. Once they expire, mail addressed to you at your old address will be sent back to the sender. Most importantly, you should let your bank, credit card company, employer, service providers, and friends and family know of your change of address.
Get Moving!
No one, I repeat, no one, enjoys moving. It may be exciting to get a new home, but the task of packing and unpacking all of one’s possessions is not exactly a walk in the park. We have put forth some resources to help those looking to move in the near future.
IT’S TIME … SIT BACK, RELAX & ENJOY Your New Home!
The most important thing you can do when you move into your new home is enjoy the excitement that comes along with it. Really try not to get overwhelmed with the whole home buying process or the moving process. This list is just to help home buyers be more proactive and feel that more organized and somewhat in control of the mania :) that can come along with a home purchase. At one point during closing day and the days that follow, allow yourself to just enjoy the excitement!! You just bought a home!!
Hopefully, this has helped you think of a few things to consider when closing day comes:) *While this list is helpful, it is not meant to be comprehensive, as it is with all of our posts.
