Just Bought a House? These 3 Easy Moves Could Help You Avoid Trouble Later

After going through the long process of searching for a home, getting an offer accepted, and closing on the loan, many first-time buyers expect to finally relax and settle into their new space.

But one real estate agent on TikTok says the period right after closing can actually be some of the busiest.

She says there are a few important tasks new homeowners should handle right away to make life in the house run more smoothly. Those same steps, she adds, can also make selling easier down the road.

Some of the advice costs nothing at all, which is likely welcome news for anyone who already felt financially stretched by the closing process.

Here’s what she says every new homeowner should do as soon as they get the keys.

Create a Dedicated Email Address

@lizbrownrealtordaily Just bought a house? Congratulations! Now go do these three things before you forget. 1. Create an email address just for your house. Send every receipt, invoice, warranty, and record of improvements there. When it’s time to sell, you’ll be glad you kept everything in one place. 2. Find your main water shutoff valve. Not when water is pouring across your kitchen floor. TODAY. And make sure you know how to turn it off. 3. Change your locks and reset your garage door openers. You have no idea who still has a key or a code to your house. BONUS: Buy a plunger. Seriously. This is not something you want to discover you need at 11 PM. None of this is complicated, but you’d be surprised how many homeowners forget these things. Know someone who just bought their first house? Send this to them. They might thank you later. #FirstTimeHomeBuyer #NewHomeowner #HomeBuyingTips #VirginiaRealEstate #HomeownerTips ♬ original sound – Liz Brown Real Estate

The first item on Brown’s list is to set up an email account just for the house. She says it can be almost anything, but her example used the street number and name, such as “[email protected].”

“Then everything you get that has to do with your house goes to that email,” she said. “Every receipt, every invoice.” This helps keep home-related paperwork out of a personal inbox, and it also makes it easier to pull together records for an appraiser when it’s time to sell.

Locate the Main Water Valve

Brown says her second tip may sound obvious, but many people do not think about it until there is an emergency, such as a broken pipe. She says new homeowners should find the home’s main water shutoff valve as soon as possible.

Change the Locks

Her final recommendation is to replace the locks and reset the garage door opener codes. “You have no idea how many people have access to your house,” she explained, pointing out that former owners may have shared that information with anyone from relatives to dog walkers.

She says these simple steps can make day-to-day life easier and help prevent bigger problems later, especially the water valve tip, making them essential items for any new homeowner’s checklist.