What Happens After Closing? A Guide for New Homeowners

It’s finally arrived—closing day! You’ve signed on every single dotted line that came your way, took on the new mortgage, and have the key to your new house in hand. So, what’s next?

This is a place where most first-time homeowners feel a little weird. The key is yours and the house is yours even though it doesn’t really feel like it all the way. With that in mind, here is what to do next:

Keep track of your paperwork

Your house came with a large stack of paperwork that you are going to want to keep track of. This includes things like your home inspection report, disclosures, and property deed. You don’t want to lose these documents. Make copies of them, scan and store them on the cloud, and put in a fireproof safe.

Update your address

It’s time to forward your mail from your previous address to your new address. Make sure that you update your financial institutions because they won’t forward your mail without your permission. And don’t forget to let your friends and family know.

Change your locks

Even though the previous owner said they gave you all the keys, you don’t really know if that’s true. You also don’t know how many other people had copies of the keys while they owned the house. That’s why you want to change the locks and any codes on digital locks and make sure that you are keeping your family safe.

Deep clean

You’re probably in a hurry to get everything moved into your new house, but wait to start moving boxes in until you’ve had a chance to deep clean the house. You can either do this yourself or hire a cleaning company to do it for you. You’ll feel a lot better moving your belongings into a house that is clean from top to bottom.

Introduce yourself to the neighbors

Times have changed and most people no longer call to borrow a cup of sugar from their neighbors. But you should still know who they are. Take the time to walk over and introduce yourself.

Check the systems

You most likely had a home inspection done, so take the time to look it over and see what you should do right off the bat. Make sure to at least handle the regular maintenance items like changing the HVAC filters and checking the temperature setting on your hot water heater.

Test out the smoke detectors

Before you sleep a night in your new house check the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure that they are working.

Familiarize yourself with the circuit breaker

You don’t want the first time you’re looking at the electrical panel to be when there is a problem and you’re trying to figure out what circuit needs to be checked. Spend a few minutes checking out the setup. While you’re at it, make sure you know where the water shut offs are as well.

And, lastly, don’t forget to start enjoying your new house. Look for ways to start making it feel like home!