The New Homeowner Checklist

What to do on day one, in the first week, the first month, and the first year — in that order, with why each one matters. 27 items, free, no signup.

Day one — before the boxes are open

Everything here is about safety, or about knowing where things are before you need them at 2am.

  • Find the main water shutoff and turn it (10 min)
    Usually where the supply enters: basement front wall, crawlspace, or near the water heater. Turn it off and on once so you know it moves. This is the single most useful fact about your new house.
  • Find the electrical panel and label mysteries (30 min)
    Flip the main breaker so you know how, then work out any unlabeled breakers with a lamp and patience. Future-you, standing in the dark, says thanks.
  • Find the gas shutoff, if you have gas (10 min)
    At the meter, and often per-appliance too. You should know where the wrench lives. If you ever smell gas, you leave first and call from outside — but knowing the valve exists is still worth ten minutes today.
  • Change or rekey every exterior lock (book it)
    You have no idea how many copies of the old keys exist, and neither did the sellers. Rekeying is cheaper than new locks and takes a locksmith an hour.
  • Test every smoke and CO alarm, replace what is expired (30 min)
    The date is printed on the back: smoke alarms expire at ten years, CO at five to seven. Sellers rarely think about this, so assume nobody has.
  • Reset garage door codes and remotes (20 min)
    Clear the opener's memory and re-pair your remotes. The previous owner's contractor still having a working remote is more common than you would hope.

The first week

The house is teaching you how it works. Take notes — literally.

  • Locate the sewer cleanout, or the septic tank and its last pump date (20 min)
    If you are on septic and the inspection did not date the last pump-out, find out now. Three to five years is the interval, and 'unknown' means soon.
  • Replace the HVAC filter and note the size (10 min)
    Write the size on the filter housing in marker. You will never have to take a dirty filter to the hardware store as a sample again.
  • Set the water heater to 120°F (5 min)
    Hot enough for everything you do, cool enough not to scald, cheap enough to notice on the bill. Sellers often leave it high.
  • Check the dryer vent duct (45 min)
    Previous owners' lint is still your fire risk. Pull the dryer out, check the duct is metal (not white vinyl), and clear it.
  • Register warranties and collect manuals (30 min)
    Appliance model and serial numbers, photographed once, save an hour each time something needs a part or a warranty claim.
  • Update your address where it earns money or protects you (1 hr)
    Insurance, DMV, banks, employer, voter registration, and mail forwarding if you have not already. The rest can wait; these cannot.

The first month

The closer look. Your inspector had three hours; you live here now.

  • Walk the DIY inspection checklist yourself (half a day)
    The inspection report was a snapshot by a stranger. Walking the house yourself, slowly, is how you learn its baseline — what is normal, so you notice what changes.
  • Test every GFCI outlet and note any that fail (20 min)
    Press test, confirm the outlet dies, press reset. Kitchens, baths, garage, exterior.
  • Watch the water meter with everything off (15 min)
    If the meter creeps with every fixture closed, something is leaking somewhere. Toilets are the usual suspect and the cheapest fix.
  • Program the thermostat for how you actually live (15 min)
    The previous owner's schedule is heating an empty house at their hours. Ten minutes of setup pays every month.
  • Find your tradespeople before you need them (1 hr)
    A plumber, an electrician and an HVAC company, chosen calmly from recommendations — not chosen at 11pm from whoever answers. Save the numbers.
  • Start the maintenance record (15 min)
    Every service, repair and receipt from day one, in one place. When you sell, a documented history is a genuine asset; until then, it is how you win warranty arguments.

The first year

The habits that keep the house, rather than the house keeping you.

  • Run the seasonal maintenance checklist each season (ongoing)
    Gutters, furnace service, outdoor taps before the freeze — the full list is on the home maintenance checklist, by season. The first year sets whether it happens or does not.
  • Budget one to two percent of the house price for upkeep (planning)
    Not a superstition — an average. Some years take none of it, then one year takes a roof. The budget existing is what makes that year survivable.
  • Watch your first heavy rain from inside (20 min)
    Check the basement, the ceilings and the gutters while it is coming down. Water problems only show themselves when water is moving.
  • Note what every season revealed (ongoing)
    The room that would not warm up, the window that dripped, the tap that screamed. A house tells you its whole story in one year, once.

Worth owning from week one

The short, honest version of the essentials list.

  • Fire extinguisher for the kitchen ($25)
    ABC-rated, mounted where you can grab it without reaching past the stove.
  • Plunger and a small drain snake ($20)
    Bought before the day they are needed, which is always sooner than expected.
  • A real flashlight and a headlamp ($30)
    The attic, the crawlspace and every power cut. Phone lights are for finding the real ones.
  • Stepladder rated for your weight, plus caulk gun and caulk ($80)
    Half this page needs the ladder. The caulk gun is the best cost-per-repair tool a house has.
  • Water leak alarms under the obvious suspects ($30)
    Cheap battery pucks under the water heater, washing machine and kitchen sink. They scream when wet, which beats finding out from the ceiling below.