After Closing

After you are all moved in and feeling comfortable in your new home, here is your to do list:)

Go in person and submit your Primary Residence Form for your Property Tax. Your closing attorney should have given you this form in your closing folder. This is very important to save you money!! You want the lower 4% tax rate if you are using your home as your primary residence.

If there is an existing termite bond on your home from the previous owner, you will need to transfer the service into your name within the first few weeks of your ownership. If there is not an existing termite bond, please shop around and get a Termite Bond and pest control service for your house. Make sure your bond covers Formosan termites. Termites exist in the low country and you want this insurance. You will want to renew your termite bond every year and have a treatment twice a year.

Make your mortgage payment on the 1st day of every month to avoid additional interest.

Call your HVAC company and ask if an extended warranty is available. If it is, ask them to register your unit for extended warranty (Serial numbers are usually in book in the kitchen drawer or attached to air handler in the attic. It is important to do this, because it extends your warranty several additional years and is sometimes complementary.

If your home came with new windows, go on the window website to register for the window warranty. The information needed may be on the side of each window when you pop it out and tilt forward.

If you have PMI: Put on your calendar in 2 years to request that your Private Mortgage
Be taken off your loan. If you have paid every mortgage payment on time and you have 20% equity in your home based on equity and home value. Before contacting your lender and paying for a new appraisal: Have Kim, Hailey or Rhett run a Comparative Market Analysis and provide it to your Mortgage Holder.

If you purchased new construction:
I recommend having an 11 month inspection and giving the report to the builder to fix items found. The process for this is different with each builder.

Other homeowner recommendations:

If you have new tile, seal the tile in your showers. Research impregnating sealer. You only have to do it once, but it may change your grout color. The other type of sealer you have to apply more than once.

Make sure to change your air filters once a month with the cheap filters (not allergy filters).

Clean/Flush the tank less hot water heaters every other year.

Seal your granite counter tops every so often. They sell sealer at Lowes & Home Depot.

Replace weather stripping around exterior doors every couple of years:
Replacing worn or damaged weather stripping around exterior doors will save money on your energy bills. Take a piece of the old weather stripping with you to the home improvement store so you can easily match it. The weather stripping in newer doors fits in a groove in the door casing. To remove it, simply pull it out.