So you just closed on your mortgage and moved into your new house.
Now what?
Here are some of the first things you need to do after buying a house.
Tell Everyone About Your New Address
Of course people let to tell everyone when they just bought a home especially first time home buyers. But make sure you also give your new address to friends and family. You can do this easily using Facebook or a group text.
You’ll also need to contact all of your creditors and all other companies you receive mail from to update your address. You can do this by calling them or updating it online. It’s hard to remember every company you need to contact
. You should also submit a change of address form to the post office. This way anytime someone sends you mail to your old address it will get forwarded to your new address.
Get a Professional Deep Clean
While many homes may look pretty clean you can’t really be sure just by looking. It’s a good idea to idea a professional cleaning service to do a deep cleaning before you start moving your stuff in.
It’s much easier and cheaper for cleaning to be done. An average deep clean for an empty home is between $150-$200.
Change the locks
Unless you’re buying a brand new home from a builder you need to have the locks changed. You don’t know who all has a key to your home and that can be scary. New locks cost around $50 each on average,with most homes having no more than 2 or 3 exterior doors this will cost no more than $150 on average.
Get your garage doors reprogrammed so they only work with the remotes you have. It’s possible someone out there got there hands on an extra garage remote at some point.
Set up Your Home Security System
Most homes these days come with a security system installed. However, it will not be active when you move in. You’ll need to contact a home security company to come out and get you set up. The average monthly cost for these security systems range from $50-$100 per month.
Set up Utilities, Cable and Internet
If you haven’t already set up your cable and internet to transfer to your new home. You should contact your provider right away to set an appointment to have your services moved. You will also need to contact the local water, electric and gas companies to have services turned on or transferred to your name.
Fill Out Your Local Government Homestead Form
Each county has certain homestead exceptions that will give you a reduction in the assed value of your home. This can save you quite a bit of money on property taxes. You just have to let them know you live there. Homestead exceptions are given to Veterans and Senior citizens to name a few.
Meet Your Neighbors
It’s always good to get out and meet your neighbors. See who has kids your age, get inside info on other neighbors, and make some friends. Your neighbors can also recommend good restaurants in the area, dry cleaners, pest control and landscape companies, and so forth. Your neighbors have lots of information on your new community, take advantage.
Window Treatments
More than likely your home did not come equipped with window treatments. If you need brings, you can actually get a pretty good deal at Home Depot or Lowe’s. Curtains are not always as easy, you can hire an interior designer or a window treatment company to help you create some elegant window treatment designs.
Hang On to Your Mortgage Documents
You’ll want to save all of your mortgage documents in case you ever need them in the future. You can store them on your computer or in the cloud, however it’s also good to make copies and put them somewhere safe.
source: http://www.thelendersnetwork.com/first-things-you-need-to-do-after-buying-a-house/
