If you've just bought your first home, congratulations! Take a moment to relax after the hectic process, get an offer on the house, secure your mortgage, and get inspections done before finalizing the deal. You may think the hard work is done and dusted, but things are just beginning.
To ensure that you feel comfortable and safe in your new home for years to come, there are 8 things to do after purchasing your home.
Secure your home
The first step after you have your new house keys in hand is securing your home. Since you probably don't want the previous owners to drop by anytime, the first thing you should do is change locks. Also, ask for security codes for a garage or alarm system and change them to something you are familiar with.
Make sure you have a guarantee and insurance for your home
The last thing you want is for the fridge, dishwasher, and washing machine to break immediately after they move in. When you have a household guarantee, all equipment inside is covered. So if something goes wrong you can rest assured that everything is covered. Home and content insurance from reputable providers such as NRMA is also important. This protects your home and belongings from theft, natural disasters, fire, water leaks, and a host of other things.
Connect your utilities
Another step that you need to do before you move in is plugging in your utilities. Water, gas, and electricity are obviously the most important things to get up and running under your name – things like an internet connection may not be that urgent. It is important to reach out to different providers to make sure you are getting the best deal on your new home.
Check all security features
Take the time to explore your new home and make sure you all Safety devices are working on. That means smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and even emergency lighting. If you find they are missing, consider installing new equipment ASAP. It's always a good idea to have smoke alarms in the kitchen and laundry, the two most common sources of fire. Also invest in a decent home first aid kit, as well as a fire protection kit (fire blanket, fire extinguisher, etc.).
Prioritize things to fix, update, or maintain
You should have your new home inspected before you move in, which means you likely have a list of things that need to be fixed. After you close the deal, come back to this list and prioritize what needs to be looked into right away, sometime soon, or long term. Deal with the things that can get out of control quickly and cost you an arm and a leg (things like dirty gutters, broken doors, leaking window seals, etc.).
Give the interior a fresh coat of paint
A popular way to make your mark on a new home is to paint, or at least add a little bit of value, to the interior. If you do this before your furniture is moved, you won't have to move everything twice and paint drops will no longer splash on your couch or dining table. Choosing colors for your new home is an exciting prospect, and you can even request color advice from a painting company.
Find out how things work
New homeowners should immediately familiarize themselves with how their home works. The top priority is to find out where the emergency stop and breaker box are. It's also a great time to figure out which switch does what inside and label everything so you don't forget. Don't forget to read the manuals that came with your devices and home systems and organize everything into a filing system.
Organize a long-term maintenance plan for your home
After all, maintaining your home over the years requires an organized schedule. Don't get carried away trying to perform all maintenance immediately. Instead, set up a long-term schedule. Jobs like cleaning the gutters, washing the outside pressure, and replacing the batteries in your smoke alarms are some examples of jobs that need to be done on a regular basis. Once you have it organized you can preserve the value, look, and condition of your home.
