Excitement is high when you are about to move into your new home. However, you will need to turn back to reality once you check your house maintenance task. You will most likely be living in a house with previous tenants, which means that you will shoulder the repairs and problems that they had. Before buying your “new” house, you must have it checked by an inspector. This way, you will be able to anticipate repairs when reviewing the issues in your house.
Here is a checklist of the essential things you need to check when you move to your new home:
Entry Points
It feels convenient to buy a house that already had tenants before. However, its previous homeowners know their way inside your new house, which could be a threat to the safety of your family. Change your door locks the moment you move to your new house. You must also secure all entry points to avoid break-ins and robberies. You might have a different understanding of safety compared to the previous owner, so change security measures to make you feel comfortable. The list of entry points includes windows, air vents, and chimneys.
Plumbing
Leaky faucets and running toilets are a nuisance when moving to a new home. You have no idea how to properly fix them since you do not know their repair history. To solve this, you will need to check with your home inspector. Keep the water running when checking your home for maintenance to find out if there are plumbing issues like clogged drains. Avoid the do-it-yourself route and hire professional services if your new house needs plumbing repairs. It is ideal to fix such plumbing issues immediately to avoid getting costly water bills.
Pests
Moving to a new house means you will get a fresh start. However, your new home might have pests because of the previous owner’s past problems. Before moving in your appliances, check for small holes in the wall and possible hiding spots. You may not avoid pest infestation, especially when the purchased property is old, but there’s hope. For one, you can tap the services of pest control experts in Virginia Beach or anywhere in VA.
Fresh Paint
A fresh paint job is usually a welcoming sign for the new homeowners. However, the new color might be hiding something underneath. Aside from vandalism and nails, you might notice that the paint is covering a patch in the wall. It might also be hiding new repairs to help bring up the value of a house for sale. You should not trust new wallpapers inside a recently-bought house, even if it is a sign of good gesture. You need to analyze the paint, especially those that are only patched to find out if you need to have something repaired.
Electricity
You will need electricity for your house at all times. When moving in, you must first check the circuit box before unpacking your stuff. If you notice that some of the light fixtures do not have bulbs in them, you will start to get suspicious. When turning on the power valve, you should ask a family member to check if each part of the house’s lights is working. You must also check for faulty electrical outlets and appliances. You can hire an electrician before the moving day to help ease your worries.
Moving to a new home is an exciting chapter of your life, but you must always inspect the essentials before unpacking. A good design may get you to buy a house, but working systems will make it feel like home.
