Before You Unpack, Follow These Steps
So, you’ve just bought your house and now it’s time to move in. Before the boxes are brought in and unpacked, performing a few tasks can help you settle into your new home properly. These tasks will help you prep your new house to be your primary residence.
#1 Change the Locks
Even if previous owners have turned over their only sets of keys to the home, many other people may have access to the property. Old neighbors, friends, family and people who worked on the property may also own keys. Changing the locks gives you a fresh start and ensures that your home is safe for your belongings.
When picking a lock for your home’s exterior doors, select a good deadbolt to help keep your home safe. Work with a certified locksmith to choose the right deadbolt for your property.
#2 Deep Clean
The house you’re moving into may have been cleaned by the former occupants, but did they deep clean? You can get the cleaning done right and to your satisfaction if you do it now, before your belongings have been moved into the house. Focus on cleaning parts of the home you’ll find much harder to clean once it’s full of furniture and stuff.
Cabinets, closets, carpeting, walls and the refrigerator are all parts of the house that become much more difficult to clean when all your things have been moved in. Spend a day cleaning the home, or hire a professional to clean it for you.
#3 Remove Carpeting, Refinish Floors
If you’re unhappy with the flooring in your new home, now is the time to make changes. If the home is carpeted, tearing it out should be easy. Pull up a section of the carpet at the corner of one of the rooms, then pull. Use a utility knife to cut the carpeting down into strips, then roll it up and haul it out of the room. Tear out the carpet padding next, then finally use needle nose pliers to pull up the tack strip and remove nails and staples in the floor.
If your new home has hardwood flooring, now is the time to refinish. Start by sanding down the floors with a sanding machine. If you plan to do this yourself, you can rent a sander from a home improvement center. Next, fill in any holes with wood putty and sand the putty until it is flush with the floors. Clean the floors one more time, then stain the floorboards to the desired color. Finally, seal the floors with polyurethane.
#4 Paint the Walls
Painting the walls is easiest when the room is empty and is one of the easiest ways to give a room a fresh face. Depending on the size of the home and the number of people helping you, repainting may be finished in a single weekend or may take several days. To ensure that the colors you choose are ones that will make you happy for a long time to come, paint samples on the walls before choosing the right shade for each room. View the samples in different lights at different times of day to help you decide which colors are best.
Good Luck In Your New Home
Once you’re finished with the painting, floor refinishing, cleaning and lock changing, your home should be ready to be lived in. If you’re in the process of buying a home right now and would like to finalize your plans for upgrading and changing the property, work with your real estate agent. He or she can help you get access to the new home before the close of escrow, so you can make whatever plans need to be made before the house becomes yours.
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