You Closed on Your House. Now What? A New Homeowner Checklist

Christian: [0:00] Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of the Awesome in Seattle podcast. This is your host, Christian Nossum of the Awesome Nossum Group at Wilson Realty Exchange, Inc and, you know, buying a house, it's a huge milestone. Uh, you spend months, sometimes years planning, touring homes, making offers, doing all the things, saving up for the down payment and then you own the house and something funny happens. You're like, "Wait, I own this. Now what? What do I do?"

Joanna: [0:26] What am I gonna do?

Christian: [0:28] We're gonna turn Southern apparently. Don't go turn So- I don't know why that happened. Well, I

Joanna: [0:32] mean, but it happens, and that's what happened to me.

Christian: [0:34] Well, I got Miss Bessie over here, Joanna Beecher- Howdy … joining me today. I don't know why we're Southern all of a sudden. It's

Joanna: [0:42] fine.

Christian: [0:42] Yeah, it's fine. It's fine. Uh, so one of the first things that you should do after you take ownership is change the freaking locks- Uh,

Joanna: [0:49] yeah … ' Speaker: cause you don't know how many people have that key. Uh- A lot of them are rentals.

Christian: [0:54] Yeah, they are rentals Too. You know, the, if you own a house, sometimes you have a hide-a-key, sometimes you give a key to your cousin, to your uncle, to your neighbors- All the people whatever. All that. And the handyman. Handyman. Whatever. Yeah. And you don't know how many of those keys are floating around. So step one, replace the locks. Now, that-

Joanna: [1:13] Every time.

Christian: [1:14] Yeah.

Joanna: [1:15] That was actually before I even heard this podcast we hadn't made it yet, but that's what I did. I got in there day one- Yep and I was just, well, I don't do well with keys, so I put all the locks on that you can do with code. With the code.

Christian: [1:27] Yeah.

Joanna: [1:27] So that I wouldn't have to think about a key. Yep. And yeah.

Christian: [1:30] Which by the way, those are not hard to install.

Joanna: [1:33] I did it myself- Yeah … and I am not handy.

Christian: [1:35] You do not need to be handy to swap out a lock. You don't need to spend a bunch of money on these things either. Yeah. Some of these- You don't need

Joanna: [1:42] a handyman- You- … unless you're, like, really not, like, confident.

Christian: [1:45] Yeah.

Joanna: [1:46] But I still feel like you could do it.

Christian: [1:47] It's a screwdriver. That's all you need. Yes. Yes. It's the only tool. It's very simple.

Joanna: [1:50] And reading instructions.

Christian: [1:52] And if you don't wanna do that, just watch a YouTube video.

Joanna: [1:54] And I did that, too.

Christian: [1:55] Yeah.

Joanna: [1:56] I did both. Yeah. But

Christian: [1:56] yeah. I generally do as well. So yeah, it's really not hard, but that is definitely step number one.

Joanna: [2:01] Great way to protect your home and yourself. Mm-hmm.

Christian: [2:03] So

Joanna: [2:03] yeah.

Christian: [2:04] Step number two is set up utilities.

Joanna: [2:06] Mm-hmm, and this is a big one that I actually just had come up with some of my buyers. Mm. They forgot to set up their electric.

Christian: [2:17] Mm.

Joanna: [2:17] And I got a text from the listing agent saying, "Hey- Why am I getting a call from my seller asking why he's still paying the electrical bill? Whoops. Oopsie daisies. They just, it was one of the things, when you move into your home, a lot of things come into your life- It's a lot that you're not used to. Mm-hmm. And sometimes certain things slip through the cracks. They were like, "Oh my gosh, we realized we were missing one thing, and we just couldn't think of it." So they went in and took everything over. You can

Christian: [2:46] still

Joanna: [2:46] fix it. And it's- It's

Christian: [2:47] not a big deal.

Joanna: [2:48] Yeah, it was fine. Yeah. But, like, it's just one of those things. And you, those utilities might include things like electricity, natural gas, water, sewer, garbage, internet- Mm-hmm … and security system, if that is something that you're, uh, taking on, too. And you want… Like, a lot of places won't even let you do it until you're fully closed anyway, so just set a, I would say, reminder on your phone even. Yeah. Like, set up utilities today.

Christian: [3:12] Yeah. And you can do it, you can backdate it a couple days, too. It's not like it's gonna be shut off if you don't- Yeah … set it up. No. Clearly, based on your client's experience, they probably waited a month or two before they even got- More. Yeah. Um- Yeah … Joanna: yeah, it was more. Um, but that's also because the seller was- Somebody was already paying

Joanna: [3:29] just kept paying.

Christian: [3:29] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So don't feel like it's the thing you have to do the day of closing. You could wait a few days, especially if it's, like, a Friday evening that you finally get the keys, and it's official. You could wait till Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday the next week. Mm-hmm. It's probably gonna be just fine, so don't worry about it. They don't charge you extra for setting it up, backdating it a few days. No big deal. Uh, next up, forward your mail from your previous thing. So you can go onto the United States Post Office website, USPS. Um- Even if you think you have gone through all your credit card- Mm-hmm … subscription, all the different things, and you changed your address, you might have missed something. Plus, if your grandma sends you a card, 'cause y- she still sends you a $5 birthday gift. Oh, yeah. I wish my grandma was alive- I do … so she could do that. Oh,

Joanna: [4:19] yeah.

Christian: [4:19] Um, then, you know, those things that slip through the cracks, they can be alerted that you changed your address, and it can be forwarded to you. It's free, or maybe they charge you a dollar to verify. They, I don't know. I think it's a dollar. Yeah, I think it is. Or two,

Joanna: [4:32] I don't know.

Christian: [4:32] Yeah. But, yeah.

Joanna: [4:33] Either way, n- not a lot.

Christian: [4:34] Not a big deal. Yeah.

Joanna: [4:35] And to stay timely, it's very important.

Christian: [4:38] Yes. Next one up is, uh, updating your driver's license.

Joanna: [4:43] That's a big one. Yeah, you, in Washington, you should update your address with the Department of Licensing.

Christian: [4:49] Mm-hmm.

Joanna: [4:49] And honestly, once you move into Washington, you literally have, like, less than two weeks to legally do this.

Christian: [4:55] Yeah, I think it's 10 days that

Joanna: [4:56] you have. I think, I think it's about 10 days. Yeah. Um, but it's something that a lot of people forget about, and not on, you know, you just, once again, a lot of things going on. A lot of pieces are moving and getting put into place, so.

Christian: [5:07] Mm-hmm.

Joanna: [5:07] But yeah, if you just go to Department of Licensing, it's quick and easy to do it on, uh, the, even- Yeah … Speaker: the internet.

Christian: [5:13] Yeah. And you don't have to get a new license or a new printed one. They will let you- They'll have it on record. Yeah, they have it on record, so even if the address on your driver's license itself isn't correct, it's okay. I think they say that you're supposed to, like, tape on the- Oh, no … new one. I don't. It doesn't matter.

Joanna: [5:29] Mine's still old.

Christian: [5:30] Yeah. And

Joanna: [5:31] I, but it's- Yeah … updated online.

Christian: [5:32] Yep. All right, next up, let's talk about the mortgage. Yeah. That's something you gotta pay.

Joanna: [5:37] It, ugh.

Christian: [5:37] If you don't pay that one- Oh, yeah … you're gonna be in trouble.

Joanna: [5:40] And okay, so they don't, like, automatically start happening, you know, it's not something that just because you paid, you know, everything- First, like, your first mortgage payment with your down payment- Yeah … like, it- That's

Christian: [5:52] part of your closing costs, yeah.

Joanna: [5:54] It's not something that automatically starts happening, so don't assume that. Once your loan servicing information arrives, you want to create your online account. You may have done that with your lender even, like, as you were going through the process. Mm-hmm. Great. Verify your payment information, confirm your due dates, and also just set up an auto-pay if that is something that just makes sense for you and how your life works. But just double-check that, and then if you're on auto-pay, double-checking it once should be good to go, you know, moving forward. But if you're not on auto-pay, I would say set an alarm on your phone.

Christian: [6:26] Yeah. And I've seen people accidentally miss their first payment simply because they never got around to creating the account. I may have been guilty of that recently myself.

Joanna: [6:35] Oh, my anxiety won't let me do that.

Christian: [6:37] I literally did that, and I forgot about it.

Joanna: [6:39] Oopsie. ' Speaker: Cause we just moved, so. Yeah. Yeah, I need to follow my own advice here. All right. Next one, create a home file. So I really love this one. I don't think I've even done that, so I'm gonna take my own advice when I tell you about all of these things. You wanna keep copies of your closing documents, your title info, insurance documents, appliance manuals, contractor invoices. Those are all great, because also reselling. Yep. Um, warranties, your HOA information if you have an HOA. Mm-hmm. Uh, your paint colors, if you know them. This is a great

Christian: [7:12] one, yeah. Yeah.

Joanna: [7:13] People really like that if they love the paint when-

Christian: [7:15] Mm-hmm … Joanna: you move in, or when they move in, or whatever. Mm-hmm. But whether it's gonna be digital information, which a lot of the stuff I just spoke about is digital. Mm-hmm. Like, the title information, and insurance, and all of that. But if it's physical or digital, you'll thank yourself. Yeah, you will. This one's super helpful. You're gonna think, "I don't really need to worry about that. I'll figure it out later."

Joanna: [7:37] Wrong.

Christian: [7:37] You do it, do it now. Um- What we're talking about are shutoffs.

Joanna: [7:41] Yes. These are-

Christian: [7:42] This is a big one.

Joanna: [7:43] Okay, and I will tell you right now, I forgot where my main water shutoff is, and I've been thinking about it for weeks, and I still haven't looked it up. Ooh. Anyway, yes. Find out where your main water shutoff is. Mm-hmm. 'Cause that's a big deal. Um, your electrical panel. Mm-hmm. Know where that is, and how to shut that down. Mm-hmm. Your gas shutoff. Yeah. The

Christian: [8:01] thing about all these things that I haven't done and I do- If you have natural gas, here's, here's a tip with natural gas. You should actually have a wrench, like, zip-tied, or maybe not even zip-tied, but, like- Next to it, so that you can use it to just shut it off. Like-

Joanna: [8:15] A lot of times my clients move in and they're already there-

Christian: [8:17] They're one there,

Joanna: [8:18] yeah … which is great, and they'll leave one.

Christian: [8:19] Yeah.

Joanna: [8:19] You know, the seller will, but if not, get one that works for that area.

Christian: [8:24] The reason why is that if and when we have an earthquake, that's one of the first things you wanna shut off. Yeah. You don't want natural gas just flowing, 'cause there might be a break.

Joanna: [8:33] Yeah. So. If you have a furnace, know where your furnace filter is, how to replace

Christian: [8:36] those. And how to replace

Joanna: [8:37] it.

Christian: [8:38] With furnace filters, another tip is write down somewhere else, like, the actual furnace filter size. Mm-hmm. And if you use Amazon or any other companies online, you can actually have them auto-ship those things, like, subscribe and save style. Mm-hmm. Where every three months or six months or however often you wanna do it, just has, it shows up, and you're like, "Oh, I need to replace this."

Joanna: [9:01] Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Christian: [9:01] Good to know. It's a good reminder.

Joanna: [9:03] And you wanna know where your water heater is, too. Yeah. Um, just, you know, you don't want the first time to, like, when you're panicking to find these things to be during an emergency. Mm-hmm.

Christian: [9:14] A lot of times, too, if you d- have no clue what your sh- what you should be looking for for all these things, look at your inspection report. You should always have seen an inspection report before buying a house. It will lo- notate all of these things on there.

Joanna: [9:28] Yes, which is what I've been meaning to make myself go do for my water shutoff.

Christian: [9:32] Yes. This one isn't totally required, but we found that when you do this, it is a positive, even if it seems a little scary to some people. Mm-hmm. And that is introducing yourself to the neighbors.

Joanna: [9:45] Yes. I can say it's good to do this. Uh, I like to make sure that I know… I don't have to know them well.

Christian: [9:53] No.

Joanna: [9:53] I just have to know them enough to get numbers in case of emergencies. Mm-hmm. I think it's very important, very, very important, for neighbors to be able to communicate, especially if they're going out of town. Also, I mean, who kn- there's so many reasons to communicate with your neighbors. It could, who knows, maybe you could solve a crime. Maybe your neighbor's a serial killer- … and you figure it out. Either way, you know, if-

Christian: [10:20] Not where I thought you'd be going with this, but all right. I know. We'll go with it.

Joanna: [10:23] Most people wouldn't know that. Mm-hmm. But, like, I think about these things. Mm-hmm. I watch too many true crime. But you could also find out that your neighbor is a lovely person, and that, for example, if you have to go out of town last minute, whatever it might be, they can just keep an eye on your house.

Christian: [10:37] Yeah. Yeah, and then they can text you and tell you if something's up.

Joanna: [10:40] Or con- whatever it is. Yeah. Yeah,

Christian: [10:41] yeah. Yeah. Another thing you might wanna do is ask around for some vendor referrals. Mm-hmm. So either from your neighbors or your real estate agent or any friends or whatever. Yeah, we are happy to do it. So we, we have referrals for a lot of things, um-

Joanna: [10:59] I even ask my clients for referrals. Totally. If they've used a service that I haven't had to use yet or I haven't had anybody ask about- Yeah … I'll reach out, and I'll be like, "Hey, I remember when we were looking at this- Mm-hmm … for your list- for your house you bought. How did that work out?" You know? And I ask them to send me information, so- Yeah it's always good to have some knowledge of who could help you in certain scenarios for your home.

Christian: [11:21] Yeah. And that is really about it. It's, it's a big deal buying a house, and it's very overwhelming at times, and the point of this episode was just to give you some tips after you actually own it on, hey, here are some steps. You did a lot of steps leading up to buying a house. Here's some very quick and easy steps that you should pay attention to. O- one additional thing, if you bought something that's brand-new construction, in the State of Washington, that means it came with a one-year warranty from the builder This is always- Use that yes, use it. The best way to use it, and the best piece of advice I can give you, is either you can take it notes either one of two ways. Create a shared note if you have a partner that lives with you, um, or roommates or whatever, where every time you see something that's a little off, like you see a nail pop in the drywall, that just means, like, the drywall has a little poke coming out because a home settles over time, and that will happen. When grout cracks, any little thing, weird paint things that you're like, "Well, that wasn't supposed to be like that," all of these things are things that the builder will come back before a year is up and repair for you free of charge. Take advantage of it. Most people don't.

Joanna: [12:35] This is why I say use that, because we actually, I have a very good example of where it should have been used. I have clients purchasing a home right now, we are in escrow.

Christian: [12:44] Mm-hmm.

Joanna: [12:44] And when we did our inspection, even though the seller had one and we saw this, there were three electrical outlets that didn't work.

Christian: [12:53] Hmm.

Joanna: [12:54] This house just passed its year mark- Yeah … so it's too late, and they had to have an electrician come out and fix something that they could have just had the builder fix. Do

Christian: [13:04] for free.

Joanna: [13:04] Yes.

Christian: [13:05] So I said there's two ways to keep track. One is the shared note on your phone. Another way, and this is what I would personally do, is tape a little piece of paper in a cabinet door in the kitchen, and the big thing to take away, or the big takeaway here is, write it down the very first time you notice it.

Joanna: [13:22] Yes.

Christian: [13:22] Because you're going to forget, and it's gonna, you're, you're gonna come blind to it if you skip over doing it, you know, three, four times, and then you're like, "Oh, I forgot even that existed." Mm-hmm. And the very first time you notice it, you're much more likely to go, "Oh, yeah, I need to write that down," and then you just write it down. It's super quick. It's very easy. Then you have your list to send. Yeah, and then you set a reminder 11 months down the road to reach out to the builder, and you say, "Hey, can we schedule our one-year walkthrough?" And again, you got a whole month to schedule it, so you're good to go there. Mm-hmm. And then they come out, and then they get all those things fixed, and then you got a brand-new house again. So. Yes. That's it for this episode of What the Heck Should I Do After I Bought a House? We turned Southern.

Joanna: [14:07] I was gonna turn Southern again-

Christian: [14:11] We came- … to say bye. We came back, and I hope you learned something. So, uh, thanks for listening, and we'll see you on the next one.

Joanna: [14:17] Bye.

Christian: [14:18] Bye.