Tips for Moving Into a New Home

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Moving into a new home can be an extremely exciting time in a person’s life.  However, it can also be incredibly hectic.  There are some things that can be placed on the back burner during the move in process.  With these five easy tips on moving into a new home, you can be sure to back your house as safe and cost efficient as possible.
 
Change the Locks

At closing time, the seller of a house turns over the keys to the new owners.  Many times, though, the previous owner will have given a spare key to a friend or neighbor in case of emergency.  Enlist a locksmith to come to the house and change all of the locks and get new keys made.  This final transition from one owner to the next will give the new homeowner peace of mind.

Reprogram Your Garage Door Remote

Along with changing the locks of your home, reprograming your garage door remote will ensure the safety of your house.  Depending on the brand of remote, steps in reprograming it may differ, but the process is simple for nearly all brands.  Most remotes have a “Learn” button, which you must hold until the indicator light blinks.  While the indicator light blinks, press the button on your remote.  This should reprogram your garage door opener remote.  If this does not work, contact your remote manufacturer or local hardware store for assistance.  Also, make sure you change the code on the garage door pad to something personal that isn’t easily guessed.

Change Your Home’s Air Filters

Most air filter manufacturers recommend that you change the HVAC air filters once every month. Due to the increased amount of activity of moving furniture in and out of the house, a larger concentration of dust will collect in the ventilation system.   In order to improve the air quality in your home and increase heating and cooling efficiency, make sure you change your air filters right when you move in.

Install New Batteries in Smoke Alarms 

When a person is selling their home, there are many different procedures they must do to ensure that it is ready for sale.  Often times, during the stress of the home selling process, the smoke alarms are forgot about.  Ensure the safety of your home and family by changing the batteries in the smoke detectors when you move into a new house.  This cheap and quick home improvement has the potential to save your family’s life.

Get a Fire Extinguisher 

While there's a good chance that your fire extinguisher will sit on the wall for years, collecting dust, it could end up saving your property and even your life. The kitchen is the best place to keep an extinguisher for this is the place most likely for a fire to start. Also, make sure that you and your family members are familiar with how to work your fire extinguisher; it will do you no good in the case of an emergency if you don’t know how to use it.

Install an Alarm for Your Fridge and/or Freezer

If the power goes out in your home or if someone leaves the door open on your refrigerator or freezer, you can lose weeks’ worth of food to spoil. In addition to rotten food, an ajar refrigerator door can kill your energy bill by forcing the appliance to work overtime to keep the food cool. The best way to prevent this is to install an alarm on your refrigerator and freezer that lets you know if the temperature is too high for the appliances to work properly.

By following these easy steps, a person who has just moved into a new home can make their house as safe and cost efficient as possible.