Bought A Home - Check! Now What?

It took you months, maybe even years, to save up for the down payment on a new house. You spend weeks searching your local area for suitable houses that were for sale and viewed a countless number of properties. Eventually, though, you spotted the right property for you and placed an offer in with the estate agent. After a tense few hours, the estate agents called you back with the news... the seller has accepted your offer! Congratulations, you are well on the way to purchasing your very first property!

The whole process of buying a new home can be very stressful indeed. However, once you have exchanged and signed the contracts and got the keys to your new home, there is still some important work that needs to be done. After all, you will now need to spend plenty of time turning your new house into your perfect home. But it’s not all about decorating the property and getting its interiors just how you want them. You will also need to do a few practical things, such as sorting your utilities and learning where all the meters are.

So, ready to roll up your sleeves and do the final pieces of prep before you sit down, put your feet up, and relax in your new home? Here are all the things you need to do.

Set Up All Your New Utility Bills

Once the sale of the property has gone through, you will need to find out from the old homeowners who they had their utility bills with. This should include their electricity, gas, internet, and phone. If they were with the same companies as you, then all you need to do is to call the company and inform them that you will be taking over the account. The companies will simply replace the previous homeowner’s details with your own and then all bills will be sent out in your name. If the previous homeowner was with a different company to the one you were within your old house, you have to decide whether to switch or stick with your current utility supplier. Sticking with the one that is currently supplying your new home will save you a lot of time as you just need to call the company to set up a new account. If you want to stick with yours, though, you might need to give them some advance notice as they might need to adapt your new home so that they can start to supply it.

Invest In Critical Illness Insurance

You will have no doubt bought your new home using financial help from a mortgage provider. You need to make sure that you are always able to make your monthly mortgage repayments. If for whatever reason, you are unable to keep up with your repayments, then you run the risk of having your property taken from you. So, you need to ensure that this is one payment you are always able to make. Unfortunately, there could be some situations that put you in very difficult financial positions and could make it difficult for you to keep up with the payments. For instance, a serious illness or health condition could put you out of work for a few months, which will significantly reduce your household’s income. Thankfully, there is a solution to this - you just need to invest in some critical illness insurance. If you are then ever affected by one of the health conditions that the insurance covers, your provider will replace any lost income so that you are able to keep up with your mortgage repayments.

Make Improvements And Decorate

I’m sure that you will be very eager to move into your new property. However, you shouldn’t get too caught up in all that excitement as there is some very important work to carry out on the home before you do move in. One of the biggest jobs is to make any improvements required and to decorate. This is now a good time to carry out any maintenance that you will need to do. Once you have been given the keys to the house, you can remove any of the furniture that the previous owners have left behind. You might want to hire a skip from hssskips.com so that you can correctly dispose of these bulky items. Then, once the property is completely empty, you will be able to decorate and improve it without needing to move any large furniture around. It’s also a good idea to repaint the rooms before you get new carpets fitted too so that you don’t need to worry about any drops of paint or spillages ruining your new floors.

 

Reassess Your New Financial Situation

Now that you are a property owner, you will be in a completely different financial position to before. So, it’s important that you take this into consideration and see if there is anything you can do to strengthen this position further. It’s a good idea to speak to a company such as BSWLLC.com as they will be able to explain what kinds of new taxes you will need to pay with regards to your property. Usually, though, you only need to pay extensive tax on the sale of a house. If this is a first-time buy for you, you won’t have to pay too much. Once you do own a property, it’s also wise to consider your estate and who will inherit it after you are gone. Again, this is something worth discussing with a financial expert.

 

Change The Locks

Even though the previous owners might have given you all their sets of keys, it is still necessary to change the locks on all your doors and windows. No matter how much you trust the owners, there is still no way of knowing how many sets of keys are still out there. For instance, if they have ever lent a spare key to a decorator or electrician and forgotten to take it back, that set of keys could still be out there somewhere. Plus, there might even be some keys out there that the previous owners are not aware of. So, it’s always better to be safe than sorry and change the locks as soon as the property is yours.

Look For The Shut-Off Valves

It is also important to find out where all the shut-off valves are located in the house too. Then you will be able to quickly turn off the gas or water in the event of a home emergency. So, for example, if the toilet starts to overflow or you find that one of the pipes is leaking, you can quickly run over to the shut-off valve and turn off the property’s water supply. The gas shut-off valve is probably even more important as it can help you stop the supply of gas to your home if you suspect a leak. When it comes to electrical issues, the circuit breaker is your best friend as it will allow you to turn off all of your home’s electricity or just sections of the circuit.

Find The Electricity And Gas Meters

As well as the off valves, you should also locate the electricity and gas meters. Generally speaking, the previous homeowner should tell you where they are. You will need these when you need to send reader meetings back to your suppliers. These days, though, it is possible to get a smart meter fitted that can take your readings for you and will also submit them to the supplying company so an accurate bill can be drawn up.

Research Local Services In Case Of Emergencies

You can never tell whenever something will go wrong at home, so it’s always good to be prepared for the unexpected. That means you should research any local firms that could help you out in an emergency. For instance, it’s a good idea to find out who is the best plumber in your local area. Ideally, find a firm who will be able to come out for an emergency call. Getting some phone numbers of a pest controller is also a good idea, as you don’t want to spend too long waiting to get rid of an infestation if you ever find one in your house!

Redirect Your Mail

Make sure your mail doesn’t get sent to your old address. This is especially important if no one new has moved into your old place as there won’t be anyone around to send your mail on to you. Thankfully, most mail companies offer a redirection service. You just need to tell them your old address along with your new one. Then, whenever any letters in your name are mailed to your old address, they will automatically be redirected to your new one.

Plan Your Housewarming Party

Now you just need to organize a housewarming party for all of your nearest and dearest! Have fun!

As you can see, there is plenty that needs to be done once you buy a new home. It’s best to get to work right away!