New Homeowner Checklist: 30 Things to Do in Your First Year

The first-time home-buyer checklist ends the moment the keys hit your hand — and the next list begins. The first year of homeownership is a compressed sequence of safety checks, paperwork, systems setup, and habit-forming maintenance that most first-time buyers underestimate. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Home Loan Toolkit, the stretch between closing and steady-state homeownership is one of the most error-prone in the entire buying process — missed insurance verifications, unfiled homestead exemptions, and overlooked maintenance in the first 90 days are among the most common regrets new owners report. This checklist organizes 30 essential tasks across five time horizons — Day 1, Week 1, Month 1, Month 3, and Year 1 — so you can move from "I just bought a house" to "I run a house" without the whiplash. Print it or save it to your read-later app and check items off as you go. Pair it with a scan of the most common mistakes when buying a house so you're not still paying for pre-close missteps in Month 3.

Key Takeaways

• Prioritize safety and access on Day 1 — change the locks, locate the main water and gas shutoffs, test smoke and CO detectors, and change the HVAC filter before you finish unpacking.
• Within Week 1, transfer utilities, verify homeowners insurance is active, file your homestead exemption (where available), set up USPS mail forwarding, and store your closing documents.
• Budget roughly 1% of the home's purchase price per year for maintenance — a rule-of-thumb echoed by the CFPB Home Loan Toolkit, NAR, and Consumer Reports.
• Build a contractor rolodex (plumber, electrician, HVAC, roofer, handyman) inside the first 30 days — before you need one urgently at 10 p.m. on a Sunday.
• Year 1 sets the cadence for recurring items you'll repeat forever: annual HVAC service, gutter clean-outs, tax-record filing, insurance review, and a rate-watch cadence for a potential refinance.

Why the First Year Matters

The 12 months after closing are when your maintenance habits, financial routines, and emergency preparation get set. Skip the Day 1 safety block and you're gambling on the previous owner's key control and detector batteries. Delay the Week 1 paperwork block and you can miss homestead-exemption filing windows or discover an insurance lapse the hard way. Push past Month 3 without a maintenance budget and you'll pay retail for what should have been preventive work.

The point of a time-horizon checklist isn't to overwhelm — it's the opposite. Every task on this list has a clear "when" so you can do the right thing in the right week and let everything else wait its turn.

The 30-Item Year-1 Checklist at a Glance

Here is the full list in one scannable view. Each item is expanded in the sections that follow.

Save this article to your read-later app, or print the page — the checklist is organized by time horizon so it's easy to work through top-to-bottom.

Day 1: Safety and Orientation (5 Items)

Day 1 is the safety and access block. Nothing else in this list matters if the house is unsecured or a detector is dead. Do all five before you finish unpacking a single box.

1. Change or rekey the exterior locks

You genuinely don't know who has copies of the old keys — previous owner, their contractors, a dog walker, a neighbor, an old realtor. Rekeying (roughly $100–$150 for a locksmith call, or ~$20 per lock for a DIY kit) is faster and cheaper than full replacement. Include every deadbolt, any keyed exterior knobs, the door from the garage into the house, and any garage-door keypad codes.

2. Read the utility meters and photograph them

Water, gas, electric — timestamp each reading on Day 1. This gives you a clean start point if a first-cycle bill dispute arises. It also flags any unusual usage that predates you.

3. Change every HVAC filter

Even if the seller "just replaced them" — verify. Note filter sizes on your phone so re-ordering is one tap. Standard cadence going forward is every 60–90 days, more often with pets or allergies, per EPA indoor air quality guidance.

4. Test every smoke and carbon monoxide detector; replace batteries

Press the test button on each unit. Replace any detector older than 10 years — write the install date on the back of new ones with a Sharpie. Detectors fail silently and are one of the cheapest safety upgrades in the house.

5. Locate — and label — the main water shutoff, main gas shutoff, and electrical panel

In an emergency you need to find these in seconds, not minutes. Tag each with a bright label, take a photo with the location noted, and share it with everyone in the household. Add the water heater shutoff and any interior gas shutoffs (furnace, range) to the map.

Week 1: Utilities, Insurance, and Mail (5 Items)

Week 1 is the paperwork block. Boring but load-bearing — missing a filing deadline here can cost you real money.

6. Transfer all utilities into your name

Electric, gas, water/sewer, trash, internet. Do this the day of or day after close — don't rely on the seller's cancellation timing to leave your service intact. If your closing timeline slipped, double-check that the transfer date actually happened on the utility's system.

7. Confirm trash/recycling pickup and any HOA rules

Check your municipality's website for pickup days and bulk-item rules. If your home is in an HOA, request the welcome packet, current dues schedule, and CC&Rs (the covenants that govern what you can and can't do to the property). If HOAs are new to you, start with what an HOA is and how dues work before you sign anything.

8. File the homestead exemption (where available)

In most states with a homestead exemption, filing can knock 15–25% off assessed value for property-tax purposes — and some states require you file within 30–90 days of closing to claim it for the current tax year. Check your county assessor's website for the form and deadline. Filing is free. Missing it is one of the most common — and most expensive — new-owner mistakes.

9. Set up USPS mail forwarding

Do it online at usps.com/move — it takes about five minutes and forwards first-class mail for 12 months. Also update your driver's license address (deadline varies by state, typically 10–30 days), voter registration, and any subscriptions that mail physical items or checks. The HUD homebuyer resources walk through the address-change checklist in more detail.

10. Verify homeowners insurance is active and store closing documents

Confirm the policy binder shows the correct effective date, coverage amount, and lienholder (your mortgage servicer). Save your closing packet — settlement statement, deed, title policy, disclosures, HUD-1 or Closing Disclosure — in cloud storage plus a physical folder. If you bought with Opendoor, closing documents are delivered digitally and remain accessible in your buyer dashboard — but you still want your own backup.

Month 1: Settle In and Set Your Systems (5 Items)

Month 1 is the systems-and-habits block. You're past the sprint and building the routines that will carry the next 11 months.

11. Deep clean before the last of the unpacking

Empty rooms and empty cabinets are your one no-obstacles chance. Focus on the inside of cabinets, behind and under appliances, HVAC vents, dryer ducts, and the traps in the dishwasher and washing machine. If the previous owner had pets, professionally clean the carpets before your furniture goes on top of them.

12. Walk the home with a punch list

Doors that don't latch, outlets that don't work, running toilets, leaky faucets, cracked caulk, chipped paint, HVAC vents that whistle. Note each with a photo. Prioritize any safety or water items first, cosmetic items last. This list is also your reference for warranty claims and any seller-credit disputes.

13. Build your essential contractor rolodex

Get names and numbers for a plumber, electrician, HVAC tech, roofer, and handyman before you need them urgently. Ask neighbors, check reviews on Angi or Nextdoor, and prefer trades that have served your specific block for a decade. Save all five in your phone contacts under "Home." The one call you can't make in a Sunday-night emergency is the one you should have made in Month 1.

14. Duplicate the new keys

At least two spare sets — one hidden or stored in a safe spot at home, one with a trusted person offsite. Also program any garage keypads and share the codes with anyone in the household who needs them.

15. Decide on a home warranty

Consumer Reports notes that home warranties tend to be worth it when major systems (HVAC, water heater, appliances) are older than 8–10 years — otherwise the annual cost often exceeds expected claim value, and exclusions are broad. If the seller offered a warranty at closing, read what's actually covered (and what isn't) before assuming it's a freebie. If you're buying one yourself, get quotes from at least two providers and compare exclusion lists side by side.

Month 3: Settle Deeper (5 Items)

Month 3 is when the house starts feeling like yours. You've been through one full billing cycle and one seasonal shift. Use it to lock in the habits that let the house run itself.

16. Finish unpacking. Really finish.

By Month 3, anything still boxed is likely something you don't need. Donate, sell, or trash it. Empty boxes and half-unpacked rooms hide problems and eat mental bandwidth.

17. Introduce yourself to at least three neighbors

Face-to-face beats a Nextdoor wave. Neighbors are the single best source of referrals (contractors, sitters, snow removal, dog walkers) and the earliest warning system for anything happening on your street — a package theft, a running toilet you can hear from the sidewalk while you're on vacation, a tree limb dangling after a storm.

18. Create a household safety plan

Fire-escape routes from every bedroom, a meeting spot outside, an updated emergency contact list on the fridge. Store a first-aid kit and a flashlight on each floor. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and one in the garage. If you have kids or elderly family in the home, walk them through the plan out loud.

19. Set a maintenance budget — apply the 1% rule

Budget roughly 1% of the home's purchase price per year for maintenance and repairs. On a $400,000 home, that's ~$4,000/year, or ~$335/month set aside in a home-maintenance sinking fund. This is directional — older homes, homes with pools, homes on larger lots, or homes in harsh climates should budget higher. The rule is echoed by the CFPB Home Loan Toolkit and by NAR homeowner surveys. The point isn't the exact number — it's that maintenance is a real recurring cost, not a series of surprises.

20. Schedule your first pest inspection (or ongoing service)

Especially in the South and Southwest, where termites, carpenter ants, and rodents are cheaper to prevent than remediate. A one-time inspection runs $75–$150; a quarterly service contract runs $30–$50/month. Ask neighbors what they use — pest pressure is hyperlocal.

Year 1: Annual Maintenance and Financial Review (10 Items)

Year 1 is the cadence-setting block. Everything here is something you'll do every year — spread across seasons where the timing matters.

21. Schedule annual HVAC service (spring for AC, fall for heat)

Two visits per year is standard practice. A tech will change filters, clean coils, check refrigerant, and inspect for safety issues (cracked heat exchangers on gas furnaces are the classic silent problem). Book the spring visit before AC season and the fall visit before you first run heat.

22. Clean the gutters twice — spring and fall

Clogged gutters cause more preventable water damage than any single other issue on this list — flooding foundations, rotting fascia, and pushing water into siding. If you have a two-story home, hire it out (~$150–$300); it's not worth the ladder risk. Gutter guards help but don't eliminate the need to check.

23. Flush the water heater once per year

Sediment buildup kills efficiency and shortens the tank's life. A 15-minute flush — connect a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the tank, run water out until it's clear — extends life by 3–5 years and lowers your monthly gas or electric bill.

24. Test the sump pump (if you have one) before every rainy season

Pour a bucket of water into the pit. The pump should engage and drain within about 30 seconds. If it doesn't, replace it before the next storm — sump pumps typically last 7–10 years and always fail at the worst possible moment.

25. Reseal caulking in wet zones annually

Kitchens, bathrooms, and exterior seams around windows and doors. Water intrusion is the highest-cost failure mode for homes — the NAHB housing-economics research tracks water damage as a leading driver of insurance claims. A $6 tube of silicone caulk and 20 minutes prevents four-figure repairs.

26. Change HVAC filters every 60–90 days (mark it on a calendar)

You did this on Day 1 — this is the recurring cadence going forward. Set a repeating reminder every 60 days for standard filters, 90 days for high-MERV pleated filters. Homes with pets or allergies should stay on the tighter end.

27. Inspect the roof from the ground each spring and fall

Binoculars are enough. Look for missing or lifted shingles, damaged flashing around vents and chimneys, and any granule loss visible in the gutters (dark patches of shingle-like grit). Catching a small issue at Year 1 costs a $200 repair; missing it costs a $15,000 tarp-and-replace.

28. File your tax records — including deductible items

Mortgage interest (reported on Form 1098 by your servicer), property taxes paid, and — if applicable — mortgage insurance premiums, points paid at closing, and any qualifying energy-efficiency improvements. IRS Publication 530 walks through what's deductible for homeowners and how to document it. Save every closing-related receipt in a folder labeled by tax year.

29. Set a refinance rate-watch

Even if today's rate is fine, set a rule and automate the watch. A common trigger: "if the 30-year fixed drops 0.75 percentage points below my rate, run the refi break-even math." Bookmark a rate tracker or set a Google Alert. Emotion-driven rate watching leads to bad decisions in both directions; a written rule filters out noise.

30. Review homeowners insurance annually — before renewal

Confirm dwelling coverage keeps pace with rebuild costs. Construction costs rose roughly 30% cumulatively from 2020 through 2024 per NAHB, and a policy set at purchase may now be underinsuring the home. Shop the policy every 2–3 years even if you like the current carrier — pricing moves faster than loyalty rewards. If you adjust insured value, reference recent comparable sales and rebuild-cost estimators rather than assessed value.

A Note on What Not to Rush

Big-ticket renovations — kitchens, primary baths, additions, floor-plan changes — benefit from a full year of living in the home first. You learn how the space actually functions, where the light lands in each season, where the traffic bottlenecks form, and what you never actually use. First-year renovations are also the most common source of expensive regret — decisions made under the emotional weight of a new house rarely age well.

Painting, minor fixture swaps, window treatments, and small cosmetic fixes are fine to do immediately — they're cheap and reversible. Structural, layout, or systems-scale renovations are worth deferring until you have real data on how you live in the home.