Alright, after a long wait, you finally closed on your dream home, packed boxes and moved to your new home. Again unpack boxes, arranged things, bought few new stuffs and had good house warming party. You now think, you don’t have to worry about old home problems or monthly rent (movers from apartments) and other things, may be but there are still things you need to worry about.

Starting from the moment you move in, new owners should look ahead to routine maintenance and take care of small home repairs right away to head off potentially costly mistakes. CBS MoneyWatch recently released a checklist of routine maintenance and small home repairs that home buyers should expect to do their first year to help avoid more costly problems from surfacing later on.

During move-in week: Turn on all major appliances and run them for a complete cycle. Even if you already completed a home inspection, they you should test again, experts say. After all, “if you have a minor leak under the dishwasher, that water leaks into the subfloor and you can’t see it,” says Daniel Cipriani with Kade Homes & Renovations in the Atlanta area. “But you’ll start to notice the hardwood floor buckling.”

45 days after move-in: Change the HVAC system filter and vacuum out the air intake vents. “Capturing dirt and dust with the right filter can go a long way toward preserving the new home appeal for a few years,” CBC MoneyWatch notes.

Six months after move-in: Inspect the exterior of your home in both the summer and fall to ensure rainwater is draining away from the home properly. Also, clean out clogged gutters and downspouts. “Landscaping should be negatively graded away from the house,” Cipriani says. “People don’t think it’s a big problem, but otherwise water pools against the foundation and doesn’t have anywhere to go.”

Every year: Inspect the home’s roof for any missing shingles and gaps around the chimneys. Also, check the ceilings inside the home for any water spots and indications of potential leaks.

Every Two Years:Have a professional HVAC contractor inspect your furnace, air conditioner and hot water heater. Often hot water heaters are located close to other major appliances — and a ruptured reservoir could spill 40 gallons of water in a few hours. Escallier recommends installing an inexpensive water alarm with sensors in the collection pan beneath the hot water heater. A $25 water alarm can head off a potentially disastrous basement spill.

Above all, don’t put off little repairs — that just compounds the problem. The most common thing customers say to Escallier after a big repair job is, “We wish we would have done this sooner.”

I have my own list of things which I share to my clients,

• Arrange to get all your utilities turned on like water, gas & Electricity before move in or as soon as you move in. Builder/Seller might cancel them anytime after few days of grace period.
• Get your Tile Grouts sealed by using good profession sealant to protect them from stains especially in Kitchen and Family room
• Keep checking on your backyard for water stagnation and make sure water drains 24 hours after heavy rain. If not, check with your builder to take look or make arrangements to fix the problem to drain properly.
• Put a small journal or app to track all maintenance activities like when you changed your A/c filter, water filter, water softener salt refill etc.,
• Mow your lawn regularly and fertilize them accordingly to season to keep them live.
• Either yourself or hire professional to apply pesticides to control pest around the house perimeter to keep it safe for kids.
• Start using Drain-O to your pipes and lavatories to avoid any future drainage clogging.
• Finally, Set up a home inspection either end of first year or second year depending on your home warranty expiration period and talk to your builder to fix those issues found by the inspector.

Buying a home might be a big task but maintaining them to get most out of them to keep it functioning for long is the Himalayan task. If you don’t take care of things at the right time, it can create cascade effect costing your wallet big time. So you better watch out for things and fix them early. Like Body, Home is a functioning entity and suppose to show issues and keep doing regular checkups and it will do good.

About Vijaianand Thirnageswaram

I am a Proud Realtor of Texas, trying to guide and help clients to find their dream home and educate them to buy them for right price. I am also a Candidate for CFP who has more financial knowledge which allows me share and educate clients in any financial decision making process.

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