You just bought a house…congratulations! You made it through the rollercoaster of excitement and challenges that come with closing on a new home in today’s real estate market. What a journey!
From getting pre-approved for a mortgage, to house hunting, making an offer, getting through negotiations and contingencies, to signing the papers and finally getting the keys at closing. Buying a house is a process! Hopefully, you had a good real estate agent to carefully guide you.
But after buying a house, what do you do next?
Here’s your guide to what to do after moving into a new house.
15 Things to Do After Buying a House
1. Connect the Utilities
To ensure you have electricity, water, and gas, be sure to contact the local utility companies and set up all the utilities for your new home. You can call and do this once you know the closing date and they can help ensure you have connected or transferred utilities when you move in. Trash/recycling is another service you may need to consider contacting to ensure it’s set up.
- Have you checked out our local community guides? They include contact information for the local utility companies for your convenience!
2. Change the Locks & Security Codes
Another thing to consider after you move in is changing the locks and security codes for your doors and garage door openers. You can ask at closing for codes and instruction manuals for things like home alarms, door keypads, and garage openers. If it’s past closing when you read this, ask your real estate agent to get in touch with the sellers. Changing the codes and locks will give you peace of mind that you’ll be able to get into your home–but previous owners or anyone else with a copy of the key won’t.
3. Deep Clean
Your new home should be fairly clean when you move it, but doing a deep clean before you bring your furniture and things in is a good idea. You can do this yourself, ask friends or family for help, or hire a house cleaner to do it for you so your new home is ready for a fresh start.
- Have you seen the list of local contractors we’ve used? It includes house cleaners, carpet cleaners, window cleaners, landscapers, dog walkers, and more!
4. Change Your Address
If you haven’t changed your address yet, do it ASAP! You can change your address on the U.S. Postal Service website and also have your mail forwarded to your new address during this transition period.
Be sure to also let your employers, the DMV, voter registration, insurance companies, the IRS, subscription companies, stores you order from (like Amazon), meal delivery, prescriptions, banks, credit cards, and any other bill companies know about your new address, so your mail, bills, paychecks, and other important deliveries get to the right address.
5. Create a Home File or Binder
Create a file or 3-ring binder for your new home so you can keep all your important closing documents like your mortgage, home warranty, home inspection report, and title together. If you need to access these documents in the future, you’ll be glad to know you have them all in one easy-to-find spot! Having a spot for the manuals for your home appliances is a good idea too in case you need to reference them.
6. Find Emergency Shut-Offs and Circuit Box
It’s important to understand how emergency shut-off valves and circuit boxes work in your new home. Get familiar with where the emergency shut-off valves and circuit-breaker box are. If the circuit box isn’t labeled yet, add labels to the individual circuits so it’s easy to see which circuits go to certain rooms or appliances.
7. Set up TV, Internet, and Phone
You may also need to set up your TV, internet, and phone services. Some opt to hire a technician to handle the installation process while others opt for a DIY route. If you’re moving to a new area, your neighbors or a local community Facebook group are good places to find recommended companies (and those to avoid).
8. Meet Your Neighbors
Speaking of neighbors, meeting your neighbors after you’ve moved into a new home helps create a pleasant living environment. Introducing yourself can go a long way in building connections with the people who live around you.
9. Begin Home Repairs
Unless you bought a brand new home, chances are some things need repair or replacement. Your home inspection report is a good place to look for items that need immediate attention. Go through the suggested things that need to be done and create a plan based on how urgent they are, prioritizing major safety concerns over minor repairs.
10. Replace HVAC Filters
Check the filters for your HVAC system. Depending on the previous owners, the filters may have been in there for too long. It’s not a bad idea to replace your air filter after you move in for optimal air quality and to help keep the HVAC system performing well.
11. Change Toilet Seats
Another preference you may have is to get new toilet seats. We don’t think this one requires much of an explanation. Check the shape and color of your toilets, and add new seats to your shopping list.
12. Create a Budget or Calendar System for Bills
The method looks different based on the individual, but new homeowners likely need to adjust their monthly budgeting system to make sure all bills are paid on time. Whether you want to pay bills manually or have them withdrawn automatically, it’s good to have a system in place to make sure your bills are paid–and you keep the lights on! 💡
Bills homeowner’s may be responsible for include:
- mortgage
- property taxes
- homeowner’s insurance
- electric
- water
- sewer
- trash/recycling
- internet
- TV/streaming/satellite
- phone
- HOA fees
- lawn care maintenance & treatment
- home maintenance and repairs
13. Create a Home Maintenance Schedule
Owning a home comes with regular maintenance. Creating a list of home maintenance tasks that need to be done organized by date and importance will help you keep your home in tip-top shape. Keep this list handy so you can refer to it year-round.
Homeowners who keep up with maintaining their homes see the fruit of their labor when it comes time to sell. We see well-maintained homes sell faster and for higher prices than homes that haven’t been maintained and need a lot of work.
14. Start a Home Savings Account
It’s wise to create and regularly contribute to a savings account for home maintenance and improvements.
You may also consider creating a savings account for things like taxes and insurance, depending on how you choose to pay those bills, so the money is there when those bills are due.
15. Treat Your Home as a Financial Investment
Your new home is hopefully a place you love to live, but it is also an instantly–growing investment. Real estate is consistently considered one of the best long-term investments, like this one by Bankrate.
Keeping track of the costs of home improvements and monitoring mortgage interest rates can have a significant financial payoff in the future. Tracked home improvement costs may result in noteworthy tax savings when you sell your home.
Also, if mortgage interest rates drop by at least 1%, it is worth considering refinancing! Contact one of our recommended mortgage lenders for questions bout mortgage rates and refinancing.
Your home is a current blessing and a future investment. A home that’s well-maintained will sell faster and for a higher price than if your home hasn’t been maintained well.
-SHINE REALTY ☀️
We hope you enjoy the process of being a new homeowner! Please reach out with any real estate questions.
Save This List of What to Do After You Buy a House For Later
This is a great list for new homeowners to refer back to later! Save it to Pinterest or print it to make your home ownership a success!
