Buying a house is no small feat; it requires a lot of money, effort, and patience. New homeowners are often so focused on getting the property and moving into it that they may not realize all the other things that are also important for home ownership.
This list explores all of those tips and tricks that folks who just purchased a home should be aware of. Some are minor details that may escape attention, whereas others are important things to focus on so that settling into the new space is easy and comfortable.
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#1
Change the locks, same day you get possession. You have no idea who all has a copy of the key seller gave you.
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#2
Any project you start is going to be 10x longer than you think.
Dont buy cheap paint or paint brushes.
Make a list of things you need and write them down as soon as you think of them. You will still go to the hardware store a billion times.
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#3
Go ahead and plant the plants you want to plant. Fruit trees, bushes, whatever you want, don't wait until you have the not-fun stuff done before you do the fun stuff. .
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#4
You are also buying your community and your commute.
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#5
Find a way to make one extra payment a year and have it applied to the principle. (As long as there is no penalty).
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#6
Do NOT rush to move in - clean and paint before you move in PLEASEEEEE. It is SO much easier than doing it after.
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#7
Save more money than you think you will need for repairs. Like twice as much as you think you will need.
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#8
Paint walls and refinish the floors before you move in. Especially the floors. I have all hard wood floors and am kicking myself for not taking care of it then.
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#9
Learn where the main water valve in. It should be in your basement. Because when there is a leak, you’re gonna want to find that fast!
Have your boiler/water heater checked in the summer. Because when it’s cold in the winter and it get damaged or something is wrong, that is NOT the time time to have no heat in your home. Maybe now or maybe in September but definitely not in winter.
Check your roof to see if it’s good and for how much longer. There could be leaks into the attic when it rains and you don’t want to be something you don’t know. Once again, do this now and not during the rainy months.
Lastly I’d say, when it rains, check the basement for leaks/windows.
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#10
Each season google “things homeowners should do in fall, summer, winter, etc.” go over the list and see if anything are an issue.
Otherwise remember homes are for living in, so take time to enjoy it. Congrats on your first home.
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#11
Realtor here. Take out a life insurance policy if you don't have one already. I have had clients die right after closing on their home and their surviving spouse (also on the loan) could not afford the payments and because in one case - it happened as they were in the middle of a major remodeling project- couldn't sell it for what was owed without finishing it. Which she also couldn't afford to do. So make sure you're good on life insurance.
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#12
Optimize energy usage. Caulk windows, insulate attic, wrap the hot pipes, adjust the water heater thermostat, clean the air filters and ducts.
Most importantly though, locate your water main and buy a shutoff key if you don't have one.
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#13
With the age of the house, hopefully a sewer scope was part of the inspection.
You’ll have a few sleepless nights as you figure out what the normal noises vs abnormal noises are.
You’ll also have nightmares about things going wrong with the house (or losing your job and not being able to afford the mortgage).
The little things add up quick when it comes to furnishing, cleaning, and basic maintenance supplies.
Finding decent tradespeople who aren’t salespeople can be challenging.
Home Depot and Amazon will be your best friends and worst enemies for a while.
Eventually you’ll learn to prioritize projects and figure out what’s truly important because homeownership is a marathon not a sprint. Sometimes it’s okay to just live in the house for a while instead of being in a rush to do everything right away.
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#14
Stay calm. I had so much anxiety in my first year of home ownership, thinking that we bought a lemon and there was going to be some major repair that was going to bankrupt us. I spent so much time worrying about things that never materialized. Other commenters here are correct that you do need a good savings amount to cover for things and there will likely be some expensive repairs. But I so wish someone had grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me in the eyes and said, "it's going to be okay.".
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#15
I wish I knew how expensive furniture and decor is! Interior design is pretty hard to get right. I set too high expectations for myself and got burned out trying to make our home look nice.
Curtains for windows, even with DIY can cost hundreds of dollars per room. If you want to get a new dining table set, couch, or bed frame, get ready to spend thousands to buy something that will last long. I haven’t gotten around to buying rugs yet but those are a few hundred dollars each too…
Either get ready to set aside a big chunk of money for decorating, or accept that you can live with a more humble home with the basics.
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#16
If possible, see if you can get *documentation* of when the roof was replaced (for insurance and warranty purposes).
I’m having an issue right now with my insurance company, because my disclosure said the roof was replaced in 2001 and my insurance company is going to want me to replace it.
However, several roofers have said some of the parts on my roof were manufactured in 2014 and Google Maps confirms that my house has a different roof in 2014 than it did in 2011. But that’s not good enough for my insurance company and the previous owner is completely useless and won’t give me the name of the previous roofing company.
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#17
Put yourself in the places you don't want to go. The attic. The crawlspace. Check it out or pay someone to go into those spaces and make absolutely sure that everything is the way it should be. Find out someone who does meticulous inspections and pay whatever you need to pay to find out everything before that house becomes your responsibility.
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#18
Trust your gut more than you trust anybody trying to sell you a home service. Personal recommendations from friends/coworkers is better than thumbtack or random googling due to fake reviews. With few exceptions, don’t hire someone who had to show up at your door to get hired (eg pest control folks are a big one).
A lot of home maintenance/repairs feel scary, but you can handle more than you think on your own!
Congrats, OP.
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#19
If that house doesn’t have a new sewage line installed, meaning it’s the original clay pipe, DO NOT CLOSE unless you’re getting a sellers credit for a brand new sewage line. 20k minimum. It will happen immediately after you close and move in. I don’t make the rules.
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#20
Replace toilet seats or toilets if needed.
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#21
Have 25k in cash for when you inevitably find all the coverups the last owner did that need to be fixed.
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#22
Constantly increasing property taxes and homeowners insurance rates.
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#23
I wish someone would have told me it's okay to celebrate to make a big deal out of it. It was such a chaotic close and then five days back and forth of moving. Some fights and lack of sleep. His parents came the last day of moving in which we had more cleaning than we thought at the old place. We left at 1am drove 10 hrs straight to pick up his parents to begin painting. His parents bicker a lot and by the last day I just wanted them out. I was grateful but I'm struggle with change. I felt like we had no time to celebrate. We jumped straight into work and unpacking. I had weird beliefs around being show offy that I needed to work through. My aunt's knew one congratulated is but the other said she would call and never did. We didn't really share the news with most people just that we were moving to OK which everyone said why are you moving there. It kind of sucked. Celebrate with you two. Have a house gathering party. Celebrate how big this is and focus on the joy. You have time to fix things. You have time to unpack. Enjoy it. Congratulations. Will be praying for close goes smoothly and it all works out. .
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