Top 3 Items You Should Take Care of When You Buy a New Home

Summer is moving time for many folks. If you plan to move into a new home this summer here is a checklist of the first things you should do.

Install a New Lock on Every Exterior Door

It doesn't matter if the old owners tell you they gave you all the keys and no one else has one. You just never know! Its possible a dishonest contractor was given a key to get in to do work and made a copy. Make sure you change all outside door locks and try to make it that a single key fits all of them. To switch out a door lock, you could buy new locks at a hardware store, take existing locks and have them re-keyed, or call a locksmith; but this can cost quite a bit. If they are older, it might be a good time to replace them entirely for better security.

Get the Heating/Air Conditioning Unit Checked

Regardless of whether or not you had your home inspected before you purchased, inspectors have a quite a lengthy checklist to cover in a few hours. The inspector may turn on your furnace and air conditioner to see if it was working. Beyond that, their inspection may not have been very complete. They are not hvac professionals and this is not included in part of the inspection process. Rather than having the air conditioning fail when its working hard during the hottest weather of summer, have a professional heating and a/c contractor go thorough a full inspection. If any repairs need to be made, take care of them now so your unit works well when you need it. If it has documented problems, it might be worth it to complain to the home inspection company. Carbon monoxide is very dangerous and something they should find with a thorough inspection. Consider asking for a partial refund of you paid for the inspection..

Have a Home Fire Escape Plan

This is especially important if you have young children or elderly adults in your home. Make sure everyone has a means of escaping and that you know where to meet outside the home. During this process, check your smoke detectors and test your fire extinguishers to make sure they work and everyone in the home knows how to use them.

There are usually many things you want to do with your new house. Try to take care of these few items to make sure you feel safe, secure and comfortable in your new house.