The process of buying a home has a reputation for being off-the-charts stressful. 

Indeed there are several moving parts to shopping for and securing a property, including the signing of what feels like a thousand legal documents. But what you’re really buying is a more secure stake in your future. And as daunting as all of it can be, it really doesn’t have to be a tense experience.

Sometimes reducing stress is all about being more prepared and creating a plan. With this in mind, we’ve put together a new homeowner checklist to help make moving in effortless and exciting.

And for ultimate planning, download our free New Homeowner Checklist PDF!

Change the Locks

—

House keys are handed out to children, parents, pet sitters, the pool guy, and everyone in between. To eliminate the risk of theft and intrusion, swap out old door locks with entirely new hardware. New locks are a relatively low investment in exchange for a big return on security and peace of mind, and they’re pretty easy to change yourself unless you have a much older home.

Not sure how to install new locks? Hire a handyman or local home maintenance company to make sure your new hardware fits your existing doors. Thinking of using your home as an Airbnb at some point in the future? Ask them about the benefits of a keyless entry system.

Set Up Utilities

—

Once you have the keys to your new home, it’s time to set up or transfer your utilities.

Even if you’re not living in your new home right away, you’ll still need to contact your local service companies for water, electricity, gas (if applicable), and internet/cable to let them know when you’re moving so you can best time when these things are turned off and on. A house with no running water is not much fun to live in as showering, washing dishes, and using the toilet are all off-limits.

Inspect Your Home Inside and Out

—

Most homeowners opt for a home inspection as part of the home buying process. This extensive evaluation is often completed after the offer is made but before the purchase is finalized.

But in recent years, some buyers began waiving home inspections as a way to compete against multiple offers during an aggressive seller’s market.

All new homeowners should have a thorough inspection of their homes completed so they have an informed understanding of the state and condition of current systems and critical components such as plumbing and electrical. 

To get the most up-to-date understanding of the state of things within your home, hire a home maintenance company that specializes in proactive home maintenance. 

They will evaluate all of your home’s systems and everything on your property - windows, gutters, your roof, and all the places you never thought to check - to identify any short-term fixes and create a preventative maintenance plan to avoid excessive repair costs in the future.

Change Your Address 

—

Setting up mail-forwarding through the USPS and notifying them of your move date is a necessary first step in transitioning your mail to a new residence. 

But you’ll also need to make a list of everyone else - family, friends, credit card companies, life insurance, etc - and share your new information. Create a list of all your contacts and aim to update your new address information within six weeks as mail forwarding only lasts for a few months.

Complete Bigger Home Improvements Before Moving In

—

It can be so much easier to complete repairs and bigger home improvements if there’s no one living in your home. For messy projects like stripping woodwork, sanding, or painting, it’s helpful to not have to work around furniture (and people!)

Start researching local contractors and get preliminary estimates for work as part of the home inspection process or in advance of your home closing so you’ll be prepared to schedule and start work once the home is legally yours.

Or better yet, hire a local home concierge company to take care of scheduling the work for you.

Know Where Your Water Shut-Offs Are

—

There are usually several water shut-offs located throughout your home and two outside the actual structure. In addition to the main line bringing water into the house, there are additional valves that control water in-flow to the toilets, sinks, the refrigerator, and the water heater. There may be additional shut-offs for the shower and bathtub that are often hidden within an access panel nearby.

When first moving into your new home, take inventory of these shut-offs and get a sense of how they work. This will go a long way in minimizing water damage should you find water gushing from a toilet, shower, or inside a wall. Knowing which value controls what water source will be critical in acting quickly and potentially reducing water or mold damage.

Check Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

—

Smoke detectors are cheap, and they remain one of the best forms of protection in reducing fire-related deaths in homes. Carbon monoxide detectors gauge poisonous gas and alert you to unsafe air quality.

These detectors aren’t very complicated and are extremely easy to test, but they need to be checked routinely to make sure the batteries aren’t dead and the unit is functioning reliably.

Check detectors once a month and replace batteries once or twice a year. If your detector has dust or cobwebs hanging from it, it’s probably overdue for a battery check. Replace the entire unit every 10 years.

Create a Fire Safety and Escape Plan

—

When it comes to fire safety, you can never be too prepared. The US Fire Administration recommends creating a fire escape plan and practicing a drill with members of your household based on the unique layout of your home. 

The National Fire Protection Association advises drawing a floor plan for younger children so they better understand how to escape. They also recommend identifying two exit routes from each room such as doors and windows and picking a designated meeting spot outside the home where the family can gather in the event of an emergency.

Put Together a First Aid Kit

—

It’s so much better to have a well-stocked first aid kit on the ready than to not have one when even a minor injury occurs. 

Most major drug stores and grocery stores sell these, but it’s often better to customize your own kit based on the activities you do most. If your family is made up of avid hikers, for example, then you might want to have more than the one small elastic bandage that most basic kits include.

Adhesive tape, gauze pads, bandages of all sizes and shapes, instant cold packs, gloves, tweezers, antiseptic spray, and antibiotic ointment are great supplies to get you started.

Start a File for Home Records

—

Over the course of owning a home, there will be many records and receipts to keep track of. Home warranties, a copy of your deed, and mortgage documents are all essentials that you’ll want to know where they are in the case of an insurance claim, death, or other emergencies. 

It’s also a good idea to keep records of any manuals or individual appliance warranties. And you always want to save detailed receipts for any service or repair work done to your property. 

This could include things like pest control, plumbing repairs, pool pump installation, and other documents that would prove dates of when you had certain work completed should there be an issue with craftsmanship or other questions around who did what on your home.

Deep Clean

—

Unless your home is a new build, it’s probably been well-lived in for at least a few years and maybe even a few generations. And if your home is new construction, chances there will be some dust lingering at the end of all that work.

Give yourself a clean start by doing a deep clean of your appliances, flooring, carpeting, bathrooms, closets, and all of the other little new nooks within your home.

Or better yet, hire a home concierge company to take care of scheduling this and other home maintenance needs and take more time back to do the things you actually love instead.

Replace Incandescent Light Bulbs with LED

—

Swapping out old incandescent light bulbs for LED bulbs can cut back on energy consumption while also reducing your electricity bill.

The average incandescent bulb lasts between 750-1000 hours which might seem like a lot until you do the math. For each incandescent bulb you own, you’ll have to replace it about 8 times per year. With LED bulbs lasting an average of 100,000 hours, that new LED bulb won’t need replacing for approximately 10 years.

Make a Strategy for Seasonal Home Maintenance

—

It’s important to stay ahead of home maintenance and repairs to both protect your investment but also to enjoy where you live. But with the change in seasons comes changes in home maintenance, and it can be tricky knowing what to do and how to keep up.

One of the most efficient ways to manage home maintenance is by subscribing to a home maintenance service plan with a company that will help identify and take care of all of your seasonal and routine maintenance needs. 

Never heard of a home maintenance service plan? Check out all the benefits here.

Interested in saving time and money in owning your new home?

The process of buying a home has a reputation for being off-the-charts stressful. 

Indeed there are several moving parts to shopping for and securing a property, including the signing of what feels like a thousand legal documents. But what you’re really buying is a more secure stake in your future. And as daunting as all of it can be, it really doesn’t have to be a tense experience.

Sometimes reducing stress is all about being more prepared and creating a plan. With this in mind, we’ve put together a new homeowner checklist to help make moving in effortless and exciting.

And for ultimate planning, download our free New Homeowner Checklist PDF!

Change the Locks

—

House keys are handed out to children, parents, pet sitters, the pool guy, and everyone in between. To eliminate the risk of theft and intrusion, swap out old door locks with entirely new hardware. New locks are a relatively low investment in exchange for a big return on security and peace of mind, and they’re pretty easy to change yourself unless you have a much older home.

Not sure how to install new locks? Hire a handyman or local home maintenance company to make sure your new hardware fits your existing doors. Thinking of using your home as an Airbnb at some point in the future? Ask them about the benefits of a keyless entry system.

Set Up Utilities

—

Once you have the keys to your new home, it’s time to set up or transfer your utilities.

Even if you’re not living in your new home right away, you’ll still need to contact your local service companies for water, electricity, gas (if applicable), and internet/cable to let them know when you’re moving so you can best time when these things are turned off and on. A house with no running water is not much fun to live in as showering, washing dishes, and using the toilet are all off-limits.

Inspect Your Home Inside and Out

—

Most homeowners opt for a home inspection as part of the home buying process. This extensive evaluation is often completed after the offer is made but before the purchase is finalized.

But in recent years, some buyers began waiving home inspections as a way to compete against multiple offers during an aggressive seller’s market.

All new homeowners should have a thorough inspection of their homes completed so they have an informed understanding of the state and condition of current systems and critical components such as plumbing and electrical. 

To get the most up-to-date understanding of the state of things within your home, hire a home maintenance company that specializes in proactive home maintenance. 

They will evaluate all of your home’s systems and everything on your property - windows, gutters, your roof, and all the places you never thought to check - to identify any short-term fixes and create a preventative maintenance plan to avoid excessive repair costs in the future.

Change Your Address 

—

Setting up mail-forwarding through the USPS and notifying them of your move date is a necessary first step in transitioning your mail to a new residence. 

But you’ll also need to make a list of everyone else - family, friends, credit card companies, life insurance, etc - and share your new information. Create a list of all your contacts and aim to update your new address information within six weeks as mail forwarding only lasts for a few months.

Complete Bigger Home Improvements Before Moving In

—

It can be so much easier to complete repairs and bigger home improvements if there’s no one living in your home. For messy projects like stripping woodwork, sanding, or painting, it’s helpful to not have to work around furniture (and people!)

Start researching local contractors and get preliminary estimates for work as part of the home inspection process or in advance of your home closing so you’ll be prepared to schedule and start work once the home is legally yours.

Or better yet, hire a local home concierge company to take care of scheduling the work for you.

Know Where Your Water Shut-Offs Are

—

There are usually several water shut-offs located throughout your home and two outside the actual structure. In addition to the main line bringing water into the house, there are additional valves that control water in-flow to the toilets, sinks, the refrigerator, and the water heater. There may be additional shut-offs for the shower and bathtub that are often hidden within an access panel nearby.

When first moving into your new home, take inventory of these shut-offs and get a sense of how they work. This will go a long way in minimizing water damage should you find water gushing from a toilet, shower, or inside a wall. Knowing which value controls what water source will be critical in acting quickly and potentially reducing water or mold damage.

Check Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

—

Smoke detectors are cheap, and they remain one of the best forms of protection in reducing fire-related deaths in homes. Carbon monoxide detectors gauge poisonous gas and alert you to unsafe air quality.

These detectors aren’t very complicated and are extremely easy to test, but they need to be checked routinely to make sure the batteries aren’t dead and the unit is functioning reliably.

Check detectors once a month and replace batteries once or twice a year. If your detector has dust or cobwebs hanging from it, it’s probably overdue for a battery check. Replace the entire unit every 10 years.

Create a Fire Safety and Escape Plan

—

When it comes to fire safety, you can never be too prepared. The US Fire Administration recommends creating a fire escape plan and practicing a drill with members of your household based on the unique layout of your home. 

The National Fire Protection Association advises drawing a floor plan for younger children so they better understand how to escape. They also recommend identifying two exit routes from each room such as doors and windows and picking a designated meeting spot outside the home where the family can gather in the event of an emergency.

Put Together a First Aid Kit

—

It’s so much better to have a well-stocked first aid kit on the ready than to not have one when even a minor injury occurs. 

Most major drug stores and grocery stores sell these, but it’s often better to customize your own kit based on the activities you do most. If your family is made up of avid hikers, for example, then you might want to have more than the one small elastic bandage that most basic kits include.

Adhesive tape, gauze pads, bandages of all sizes and shapes, instant cold packs, gloves, tweezers, antiseptic spray, and antibiotic ointment are great supplies to get you started.

Start a File for Home Records

—

Over the course of owning a home, there will be many records and receipts to keep track of. Home warranties, a copy of your deed, and mortgage documents are all essentials that you’ll want to know where they are in the case of an insurance claim, death, or other emergencies. 

It’s also a good idea to keep records of any manuals or individual appliance warranties. And you always want to save detailed receipts for any service or repair work done to your property. 

This could include things like pest control, plumbing repairs, pool pump installation, and other documents that would prove dates of when you had certain work completed should there be an issue with craftsmanship or other questions around who did what on your home.

Deep Clean

—

Unless your home is a new build, it’s probably been well-lived in for at least a few years and maybe even a few generations. And if your home is new construction, chances there will be some dust lingering at the end of all that work.

Give yourself a clean start by doing a deep clean of your appliances, flooring, carpeting, bathrooms, closets, and all of the other little new nooks within your home.

Or better yet, hire a home concierge company to take care of scheduling this and other home maintenance needs and take more time back to do the things you actually love instead.

Replace Incandescent Light Bulbs with LED

—

Swapping out old incandescent light bulbs for LED bulbs can cut back on energy consumption while also reducing your electricity bill.

The average incandescent bulb lasts between 750-1000 hours which might seem like a lot until you do the math. For each incandescent bulb you own, you’ll have to replace it about 8 times per year. With LED bulbs lasting an average of 100,000 hours, that new LED bulb won’t need replacing for approximately 10 years.

Make a Strategy for Seasonal Home Maintenance

—

It’s important to stay ahead of home maintenance and repairs to both protect your investment but also to enjoy where you live. But with the change in seasons comes changes in home maintenance, and it can be tricky knowing what to do and how to keep up.

One of the most efficient ways to manage home maintenance is by subscribing to a home maintenance service plan with a company that will help identify and take care of all of your seasonal and routine maintenance needs. 

Never heard of a home maintenance service plan? Check out all the benefits here.

Interested in saving time and money in owning your new home?