Just moved in
The list that only applies once, in the order that actually matters.
This week
Change every exterior lock
Don't waitYou have no idea how many keys exist. Contractors, the previous owner's family, a cleaner from four years ago. This is the first thing, every time.
Find the water, gas and electrical shutoffs
Don't waitFind them on a calm Tuesday, not at 2am with water coming through a ceiling. Photograph each one and where it is.
Replace every smoke and CO detector
Don't waitYou don't know their age, and the unit expires after about ten years regardless of the battery. It's a cheap afternoon and it's the one that matters.
Label the breaker panel properly
Two people, one with a lamp. An hour now saves an hour every future time anyone needs to kill a circuit.
Photograph every room, empty
This is the only chance you'll get at clean 'before' photos. They're the baseline for every insurance claim and every deposit dispute for as long as you're here.
This month
Change every filter and note the sizes
HVAC, fridge, water. Assume none were done, write the sizes down, and you never measure again.
Read the water meter, then read it again with everything off
Don't waitIf it moves with nothing running, you have a leak. Best possible time to find that out is before you own it emotionally.
Have the HVAC serviced and get its real age
The listing said what it said. A technician will tell you what's actually true and how long it has left.
Pull the permit history for the address
It tells you what's been done and — more usefully — what was done without a permit, which becomes your problem when you sell.
Before the first three months are up
Find a plumber and an electrician before you need one
Ask three neighbours who they use. Choosing in an emergency is how people end up with whoever answers.
Scope the sewer line if the house is over forty
A couple of hundred dollars for a camera down the line. Finding cast iron failing under a slab later costs five figures.
Check the deed, survey and any easements
Where the property line actually is, and who has the right to cross it. This is the fence argument you avoid having in year three.
Once this is done, everything you recorded doing it — the shutoff photos, the filter sizes, the permit history — is the start of your home's permanent record. See how it's building