How exciting that you have a new home! These days, closing on a house is a big deal that should be celebrated. After looking for a house, making an offer, getting a mortgage, and finally closing the deal, you may be thinking what comes next besides moving in. Should you think about or do anything else now that you own your own home?
After signing the papers and getting the keys to your new home, whether it’s here in the Greater Atlanta area, or somewhere else, there are a few things you should do to feel at ease and give yourself peace of mind.
1. Fill out all the appropriate paperwork
When you’re in the middle of a big move, you might not want to do administrative chores first. But taking care of important paperwork is very important after moving because some papers have strict due dates and fines can be given for missing them.
2. Change your home address
As soon as you move, you should quickly change your address on the USPS website and at your local DMV. Important groups must also be notified, such as the IRS, state tax agencies, banks, credit card companies, workplaces, and insurance companies. In some places, you need a new driver’s license to change your insurance information.
3. Mail Forwarding
After telling the right people your new address, use your old post office to set up mail forwarding. This keeps papers from getting sent to the wrong address while you’re moving.
4. Change your registration to vote
Those who want to vote in local or federal elections should update their voter registration at the DMV or online at the same time as they renew their driver’s license. Keep in mind that each state has its own dates, which are usually 15 to 30 days before an election.
5. Keep your house safe
The first important thing you should do to make your new home safe is to change the locks, garage codes, and all entry points as soon as you get the keys. This easy but important step gives you control over who comes onto your property, making it safer and giving you peace of mind. Because you can’t be sure who has the keys to the front door lock.
How much it costs to change locks varies on things like how secure you want your home to be, how complicated the locks are, and whether you hire a locksmith or do it yourself. If your house has an alarm system, you may have to pay to reconnect it, or you may want to switch providers.
Make sure to ask for manuals and codes for electrical systems, like home alarms and garage doors, during the closing process. Then make sure you change these numbers that you know only. If manuals are not available, reprogramming instructions may be available online for added ease.
6. Make sure your children and pets are safe
If you have little ones or pets, make sure to baby-proof and pet-proof your space to make sure that your new home is safe for both them and your kids. Put safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs, cover outlets, attach heavy furniture to the walls, and keep it away from windows. Store long window and power cords safely, and use cabinet locks to keep kids and pets from getting to them.
Also, keep dangerous things out of reach by putting away trash cans, cleaners, detergents, heavy cooking equipment, sharp objects, and packing tools that could be dangerous. These steps make the area safe for everyone, including children and pets. They also reduce the risks that could happen.
7. You should make copies of your closing papers.
Keep copies of the closing papers and figure out where to keep the originals safely. A lockable filing cabinet or safe is a good suggestion.
Making a list of home jobs to do after the inspection
Do the things on your home inspection list that need to be fixed right away, starting with the most important ones for safety reasons and working your way down to the less important ones.
