After a long process of searching for your ideal home, you finally have the keys. The next step is to move in. This is another process that needs lots of planning. Before you move in, there are some things to consider. This article is a homeowner 101 guide on what you should do before you move into your new home.
Get Fresh Water
Water is life. This is why one of the first crucial things to look out for in your new home is fresh water. The last thing you want to deal with in your new home is a lack of water. You should set up your utilities and connectivity to avoid any inconveniences when you move in. Furthermore, you have to locate the necessary functions such as your water valve.
Your homeowner 101 tip with regard to water is that most shutoff water valves are located directly below the water meter. The location of the meter depends on where the house is located. In areas with cold climates, the water meters and valves are located inside the house – mostly in the basement. In warmer climates, the meter and valve are located either in an underground box or on an exterior wall.
You may want to get additional sources of water to supplement the main supply from your local government. An additional source also means you have a constant supply of water just in case the supply from your local council is disrupted. Contact a well drilling company for consultation on the most ideal area for drilling the well.
Make Your Water Clean
Having a constant supply of fresh water is not enough. The big question is, is the water fit for consumption? This question mostly applies to the water from your well – water from your city is already treated by the time it gets into your home. Here is an important homeowner 101 tip – get your water treated before consumption.
Public water treatment methods differ depending on the quality of the source. Surface water requires more treatment than groundwater. Since your well is a private water supply, you should treat it yourself by installing a water treatment system.
Before buying the treatment system, you should know how it works and the maintenance that will be required. Generally, water treatment systems use distillation, filtration, reverse osmosis, disinfection, or Ion exchange for treating water.
Change the Color of Your House
One of the things homeowners may want to change in their new house is the color of the walls. Maybe you like the color but don’t like the color of the house. Before you move in, the homeowner 101 tip is to look for a good painter to change the color.
You may also want to play around with the wall and change how it looks. One of the things you should consider is siding. There are several different types of siding materials to choose from. Your choice depends on your preferences and the location of your house. Good siding contractors should be able to advise you on the best materials to use. Common materials for siding include wood, metal, vinyl, and fiber cement.
Check Your Roof
Your roof covers your whole house. This should tell you how important it is, and it’s one of the crucial areas you should inspect before you move in. Failure to do a proper inspection may see you doing expensive roof repairs to make your home habitable.
You may not be able to climb on the roof to check for leaks. Hire a roofing contractor to do the inspection for you. In case of any leakages or other types of damage, ensure the existing homeowner does the repairs before you move in.
Although some roofing projects can be done while you’ve already moved in, they may cause some inconvenience to you and your family members. Another homeowner 101 tip for advance roof repairs is that it will ensure your belongings are protected from water damage.
Transform Your Basement
There are certain areas of your home that can be transformed to give you more space. For example, if you need an additional bedroom, a home movie theater, a gym, or a home office, you can do some transformations to your basements to give you the space that you need.
There are many basement remodeling ideas to pick from. The homeowner 101 tip here is to remodel the basement based on the function it will serve. For example, if it’s a bedroom, ensure it has essential amenities like a wardrobe. Get a reliable basement remodeling service to advise you and do the remodeling. In addition to the function the basement will serve, experienced contracts will ensure all your needs are accommodated in the remodeling.
The contractor will ensure that moisture is under control. Once the mixture is under control, the basements will be conducive to serving any purpose. This means you can also add wall-to-wall carpets in the basement. The contractor should also have an electrical plan for the basement in mind. The plan will depend on what you want to put in the basement. For example, if it will have a bathroom, the bathroom will need full electrical work.
Get Ready for Summer
You don’t want to be caught unawares when the weather changes and you either have not installed the HVAC system or it’s malfunctioning. To avoid such situations, an essential part of homeowner 101 is to ensure the house has a proper heating and cooling system.
Get an existing HVAC system inspected by a professional before you move in. If any repairs are needed, it should be done before you move in – you never know when the weather might change. If there is no HVAC, consider doing ac installation to prepare for the changes in weather.
A new home with a new HVAC system means you’re guaranteed of getting optimum performance from the system before it starts to underperform. HVAC professionals will advise you on the best location to place the system in your home.
Give Yourself Privacy
Got a new home but it’s too open for your liking? Don’t sweat it. Proper fence installation will ensure that you get the privacy that you and your family need. Not all types of fencing will give total privacy. Some types will protect you from outsiders, but they’ll still be able to see through. If privacy is a major concern, only specific types of fencing will give you the satisfaction you need.
Remember that the type of fencing you do will affect the ambiance of your home. The homeowner 101 tip in this section is to choose a type of fencing that gives you security and privacy without compromising on the aesthetics of your home.
One of the most common types of fencing that gives homes privacy is stockade fencing. This is because the fencing is made with side-by-side boards without gaps. A good alternative for your backyard fencing is a shadow box.
Turn Your Yard Into an Oasis
Do you love nature or some green space where you live? Does your new home have these green spaces? If the answer is no to the latter question, then you should do landscaping before you move in. Invite contractors who provide landscaping services in our area to have a look at your home and give you recommendations on what to include.
You can do the landscaping on your front yard, backyard, and anywhere else with enough space – based on the recommendations of the landscaping contractors. Get good design ideas and give them to the contractor to implement. A landscaped home not only looks beautiful, but also adds green spaces.
The homeowner 101 tip in this section is to ensure that your lawn will have constant and easy access to water. You don’t want your flowers or plants to dry due to lack of water – especially during dry seasons. Therefore, the landscaping design should include some form of irrigation.
Prepare to Entertain
Your home is the ideal place to host family and friends for birthday parties, wedding anniversaries, or events to celebrate milestones in your life. You can host them in your backyard or indoors, depending on the type of events or space needed.
Backyards are ideal for casual events that might include some games. Make sure the lawn is mowed and the place is neat as you prepare to host your guests. You can also host your guests indoors.
One of the best ways to keep your guests entertained is to play their favorite types of music, TV shows, movies, or sports. This means you should have a good sound system and TV large enough to ensure your guests don’t have to squeeze their eyes to see clearly. The TV should be in a good location. Look for an experienced technician to do the tv mounting service.
The experience of a technician comes in handy when you want to mount the TV for better accessibility to all the people in the room. An essential homeowner 101 tip on why you should use a technician for the mounting; the technician can tell where electrical cables have passed through inside the walls and locate ideal places to drill holes for mounting the TV.
Fill Your Home With Furniture
One of the last things you can do before finally moving into your new home is to fill it with furniture. Before you take your kids to their new home, you want to ensure their beds are already there, just in case they’re tired and just want to sleep. In case you want to get new furniture for the new bedroom, you can shop for baby bedroom furniture set online.
Some types of furniture are bulky and can be hectic to transfer them from one place to another. Get reliable moves in your area to transport the furniture from your current house to your new home.
Do a Walkthrough
The best way to spot missing utilities, appliances, and other essential parts of your new home is to do a walkthrough. Doing the walkthrough while it’s still empty will make it easy to discover any missing parts or utilities that are essential in daily living.
An empty house also makes it easy to verify measurements you saw in an ad or were given by an agent. In addition to visually inspecting the size, you can confirm the exact measurement by using a tape measure. Furthermore, if the agreement was to leave some appliances, this walkthrough would be essential in confirming if the appliances have been left behind. You can do a virtual walkthrough with your realtor if in-person walkthroughs are not possible.
Explore the Community
Your new home might be a totally new environment if you’re moving far away from your current home. Take a walk or drive to explore the new neighborhood before you move in. Does it have recreational areas like your current neighborhood? What about the schools, stores, and hospitals? What about security? You can find out answers to some of these questions by talking to the residents.
Your new neighbors are the best people to give you recommendations on local services. One of the effective ways to introduce yourself to new neighbors is by getting involved in the community. You can only do this after moving into the new home. After checking off everything on your list of things to do before moving in, the process of ensuring you’re in the right place continues by getting information from your neighbors. Get involved in a common cause and mingle with your neighbors and get to know more about your new neighborhood.
Moving into a new house involves lots of activities that need to be planned. More importantly, one of the most important homeowner 101 rules is to ensure that the new home has everything you need before you move in. if these things are not available, make them available before you move in. If they are available but are damaged, do repairs before you move in with all your belongings.