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11 THINGS YOU SHOULD DO BEFORE MOVING INTO A NEW HOME
PEST CONTROL
ROOF, GUTTER AND CHIMNEY CLEANING
Gutter cleaning should be done twice a year to ensure proper drainage in fall and spring.
UPDATE THE ELECTRICAL
You don’t have to worry about this so much if you purchased a brand new house. Like I stated before my home is an old geezer and needed some serious attention.
The electrical box was knob and tube, which is very old school. We had the panel upgraded (at the previous owner’s expense) and I changed all the light switches and electrical outlets. Making sure to add the GFCI outlets near any water sources.
Also, take the time to check all the light fixtures and replace them if needed. I replace all the light fixtures on the upper floor over the first year we lived in the house.
HAVE THE FLOORS PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED
You may think that the previous owners cleaned the floors before moving out. Not true. Most homeowners will rent a machine and attempt to steam clean the carpets themselves.
If they had pets, it’s more than guaranteed there will be pet dander and hair embedded in the carpet.
Luckily for me, our house has all hardwood so I just had the floor re-finished.
HVAC CLEANED AND MAINTENANCE
Our HVAC resembles something that you might find on a submarine. Hell-a old and worn. When moving into an older home, determine what type of heating you have, and have it inspected and cleaned accordingly.
SET UP ALL YOUR UTILITIES
PAINT, PAINT AND MORE PAINT
CHECK THE WATER QUALITY
I’m going to take a guess and say that you never thought of this one? Am I right? I have a cousin who could not drink the water at our previous residence. It would physically make him sick! That’s why I decided that it was important to check the water at our house.
Make sure to purchase a kit that tests for bacteria, lead, pesticides, nitrates, chlorine, hardness, and PH. Also if you find that your water sucks, buy a reverse osmosis water purifier. Worth its weight in gold!
CHECK FOR RADON GAS
Here in Portland, we have a very high number of homes that are affected by Radon gas. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that is radioactive, odorless, and colorless. It is estimated to cause 20,000 lung cancer deaths a year. Which makes it the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths overall.
Check your home prior to moving in. Really you should have it checked during the inspection. If Radon is detected have the previous homeowner pay for the mitigation process.
EMERGENCY PRODUCTS AND PROTOCOLS
Things you should buy and have on hand day 1 are:
CO2 SENSORS
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
WATER LEAK ALARMS
RADON GAS DETECTORS (IF APPLICABLE)
FIRE LADDER
BATTERIES FOR ALL SMOKE DETECTORS
SURVIVAL KIT FOR AFTER A NATURAL DISASTER
SIT DOWN WITH YOUR LOVED ONES AND GO OVER AN EVACUATION PLAN AND EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS. IF THIS IS THE ONLY THING YOU DO, I WILL BE ELATED. AFTER LIVING THROUGH A FIRE AND A FLOOD AND MULTIPLE EARTHQUAKES, I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW INVALUABLE THESE PLANS AND PROCEDURES CAN BE.
MAKE A HOME BINDER
A home binder is an essential part of any homeowner’s belongings. It’s a place to keep all the information about your appliances, warranties, evacuation plan, plat map, vendors names, insurance information, contact information for municipal offices, contact information for service technicians and so much more.
Having a home binder is a one-stop-shop for all things in your home. I also keep all receipts for appliances and work done by plumbers and such. It is really like having Bio about your home. In case of a disaster, it will serve you well with the information you are going to need to replace your belongings.
Tip’s for the home binder: Take pictures of EVERYTHING! And by everything I mean everything. After our house flooded the insurance company would not replace and fix some damage to the drywall in the garage because they said it was like that prior to the flood. Had I taken pictured of all the walls and areas I could have proven that it needed to be fixed.
