So you’ve bought a home? Congratulations! The hard yards of house hunting, mortgage comparison, auction stress and settlement are behind you. However, there’s still a bit to be done before you can relax.
Here are the things you should do immediately when you buy a new home.Think about security
The first thing you should do when you buy a house is change the locks, reprogram any access codes, and check for any loose windows or sneaky access points. This is particularly important if your home was a rental for a while before you bought it – how many other people have keys to your front door?
If your home comes with an alarm system, you’ll probably need to reconnect the service or change provider. Make sure you have the instruction manuals and codes for all electronic systems – alarms, garages, gates – and change the codes asap.Get insurance
Do this before the settlement date. Because once you’ve signed those papers, anything that goes wrong will be on you. You probably don’t have a lot of money left in the kitty so if the roof collapses the day before you move in, you want to know that you’re covered by insurance.
Make sure you’re getting the appropriate level of coverage. Do you just want to cover the building or would you feel more comfortable if your contents were covered too? Hunt around and use comparison sites to be sure you’re getting a good deal.Check your warranty
If your home is a newer build, you may still be covered by builder’s warranty on the home’s major systems or appliances. Get all the documentation and review the specific details so you know exactly what’s covered and how to file a claim.
Do this quickly, so you know when it expires and check whether anything needs to be claimed. For example, if you can see the bathroom is showing signs of water damage because it was badly plumbed and tiled, try to get any repairs done immediately while it’s under warranty.Connect the utilities
Be sure to connect all of your must-have utilities — like water, gas, internet and electricity — before you move in. This will help pave the way for a smooth move and ensure you have the essential necessities as you’re getting settled. No one wants to unpack boxes in the dark.
Plan ahead! You may need to jump through hoops to get utilities connected. You can usually schedule a turn on in advance of move-in day to get that task off your plate early.Find out what kind of internet connection is available at your new house, and determine whether you need to trigger an FTTP upgrade to be able to connect to a high-speed internet plan. It’s usually free but will take some time.
Again, use comparison sites to be sure you’re getting the right plans.Check smoke alarms
Part of the move-in process should involve checking and servicing your smoke alarms. This may include installing fresh batteries or replacing entire units. If your house doesn’t already have them, get them installed – they could save your life.
Fires are most likely to start in the kitchen or the laundry, so make sure you have smoke alarms in there, as well as in the hallway leading to bedrooms. If you have multiple storeys, make sure there’s at least one on each floor.According to GitNut:
53% of home fires reported to U.S. fire departments had smoke alarms that sounded, indicating that smoke alarms are effective in giving people time to escape a fire.
94% of fires with hardwired smoke alarms and 82% of fires with battery-powered alarms were triggered, but 41% of smoke alarms failed to operate due to power source issues.
Find the fuse box and appliance manuals
You need to know how things in your house work so you know what to do in an emergency. Find out where the fuse box is and label each individual switch so you can act quickly.
Gather up appliance manuals and emergency procedure instructions with a clear filing system in one place so you can access them when needed. If some of your new home’s appliances don’t have manuals passed along from the previous owners, look online – most companies publish manuals on their websites for easy access.Fix the floors and paint the walls
If you’ve got big dreams of ripping up old carpet and finding beautiful floorboards underneath, or like the idea of laying big, plush carpet in the bedrooms, now is the time. It’s much easier to do this before you’ve moved anything in – and it becomes more difficult and expensive once you’ve got furniture in to work around.
The same goes for painting. If you’re doing it yourself, you don’t need to move furniture or worry about drips. If you’re hiring a professional, you may get a discount for having empty rooms as it makes the job easier for them.Refer back to your building and pest report
After you’ve bought and before you move in, review any issues that were flagged on the building and pest report. Use the B&P as a guide of things to repair, update or watch for the future, ranking them from most to least urgent.
Focus on the items that can potentially cause problems later, such as blocked gutters, leaky pipes or doors and windows that need to be resealed.Redirect your mail
This is particularly important if you’ve lived in several rentals in the years before you bought. Now you can finally consolidate your mail and have it all go to the same place.
Prioritise anything with sensitive information – banks, super funds, medical information – and go online or call to update your address. Set a mail redirectfor a few months and update your information for anything that gets caught in the redirect.Pop the champagne
All the points above are boring but essential. Don’t skip them to save time or money now, as they could cause problems further down the line. Now comes the fun part – enjoy your new home!